Pumpkin enthusiasts and growers from all over the world descended upon Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland on Saturday for the National Pumpkin Weigh Off.
It was a rare opportunity to experience locally what happens all over the globe each year.
According to the National Pumpkin Weigh Off website, the North American record for the heaviest pumpkin is 2,560 pounds. The state record is 2,356 pounds
The world’s biggest recorded pumpkin was in Italy in 2021 with a weight of 2,702 pounds, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
The growing process takes almost half a year, according to pumpkin grower Brant Bordsen.
In order to get a pumpkin to grow to the 1- to 2,000-pound range, it’s vital to be vigilant for about the first five to six weeks of the process, Bordsen said.
Bordsen said as the vine grows you need to bury soil around every leaf node in order to create another root. Eventually, Bordsen said, a grower will have 1,000 roots and one big one.
Bordsen said the process also includes a lot of fertilizer and patience from the grower.
“If you grow four plants, it’s like a second job,” Bordsen said.
Bordsen was hoping for his pumpkin to tap the scale in Wheatland at over 1,200 pounds.
Brian Myers, chairperson of the California Pumpkin Growers Club, said Bordsen’s pumpkin was one of 56 that were weighed on a certified scale that eventually will be charted and compared with other competitive pumpkin growers across the world.
Bordsen said Nov. 1 is when growers can see how their pumpkins fared against the world.
One of the biggest pumpkins on Saturday was estimated at over 2,100 pounds – a gem grown by Vancouver resident Dave Chan, who flew into Wheatland for the first time solely for the National Pumpkin Weigh Off.
Chan built a greenhouse during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for the sole purpose of growing pumpkins. He said each pumpkin needs about 1,000 square feet of space during the spawning process.
Chan said he has been growing over 40 years and the ones he brought to Northern California are some of the biggest he has ever had. Chan’s next stop is Half Moon Bay, where he said he has a beauty to show off and weigh.
Myers is planning for the National Pumpkin Weigh Off in Wheatland to be an annual event set each year at the end of September to coincide with the fall tradition of Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm, which opens each September through November.
Bordsen called the Wheatland adventure Disneyland in Yuba County. It’s a local treasure that he said can transition into local trips to schools to showcase the prized pumpkins.
“The favorite part of (growing) is we take ours to schools and parades,” Bordsen said. “There’s nothing like being up close to see one of these big pumpkins.”
