Minnesota pumpkin grower aims to squash his own world record

CATHY WURZER: Hey, did you know that the world's largest pumpkin on record was grown right here in Minnesota? It weighed in last fall at nearly 2,750 pounds. And its grower, Travis Gienger, has been working on beating his record at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival in California this month.

For 30 years, Travis has been aiming to grow the perfect pumpkin. And he's here with us to talk about how he does this. Travis, thanks for taking the time.

TRAVIS GIENGER: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

CATHY WURZER: Wow, I did not know you were so into pumpkins. And you spend your time growing pretty big pumpkins. I mean, these things are huge, I mean-- what-- the weight of a hippo, I understand. So how do you start the process?

TRAVIS GIENGER: So you start planting in about April 10 is when I start in a little-- well, inside. And then we move them outside with the Minnesota weather.

CATHY WURZER: OK, so you start. You start them early. Go ahead.

TRAVIS GIENGER: Yep, and then once June, July comes, you pollinate one pumpkin and then watch it grow. It can grow up to 70 pounds a day, 400-and-some odd pounds a week. Yeah.

CATHY WURZER: What? Do you do anything special, then, to keep it going? Any fertilizer? Do you water it every day? What happens?

TRAVIS GIENGER: Yeah, so that's kind of the crazy thing. This year, we were so wet it was hard to fertilize. So I used a lot less fertilizer than I'm typically used to. But yeah, we do try. And right now, the trend's the biology in the soil that everyone's putting in, the mycorrhiza, the bacillus species, and really takes everything in the soil and just cranks it.

CATHY WURZER: Wow. So had it been not so wet this year, how many times you would have to water this thing a day?

TRAVIS GIENGER: Well, I do things a little differently. I water little bits throughout the day, so I might water some even 12 times a day, a little bit at a time. OK.

CATHY WURZER: Yeah. And then as you're getting closer, as this thing is growing, as the pumpkin you decide to pick to really nurture as it starts to get bigger and bigger and bigger, do you do anything else? Because I would think, wouldn't it-- is there a danger that it could split or not?

TRAVIS GIENGER: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I lost one in July. It was 1,783 pounds, growing pretty well. But it got a little split, so it was done.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, shoot. How do you keep it from splitting, or is that just impossible?

TRAVIS GIENGER: There's a lot of theories on it-- humidity, excess moisture, this, that. But there's not much you can do.

CATHY WURZER: OK. As you get ready to get them prepared to show them and to transport them, do you do anything else? As it gets colder at night, is that good or bad for these things?

TRAVIS GIENGER: Well, to be honest, we had a really warm fall, and it kind of got scary because it's too warm, and they can rot. So this cool weather, I don't mind it at this stage. They're not doing much. So you're just kind of trying to preserve and make it to the way off. But yeah, last night, we had frost again, and I watered throughout the night, so the plant would still live.

CATHY WURZER: OK, wow. Oh, I just saw a picture here that was sent. I see this must be your daughter on top of this mammoth pumpkin. That is such a cute picture. Oh, my gosh.

TRAVIS GIENGER: [CHUCKLING]

CATHY WURZER: So, the obvious question here that I completely missed at the beginning of our conversation is, how the heck does a guy like you get into growing pumpkins as a hobby?

TRAVIS GIENGER: So I started 30-some odd years ago. And my dad was growing little pumpkins, say, 100-pounders and just kind of picked up gardening in general and decided, hey, this is something I want to try. So when I was 14, I grew a 447-pounder, and that was pretty big for the time, and been doing it ever since.

CATHY WURZER: What attracts you to this hobby?

TRAVIS GIENGER: I guess it's the whole uncertainty. Kind of like fishing, you never know what you're going to catch. Growing, you never know what you're going to grow.

CATHY WURZER: [LAUGHS]

TRAVIS GIENGER: In fact, we had a contest today of guess the weight and I think it's human nature to just kind of say, hey, what does this thing actually weigh? No one really knows.

CATHY WURZER: I guess there's no way can even have an idea. I mean, as you get ready to move this pumpkin-- which that's another whole kettle of fish, I'm sure--

TRAVIS GIENGER: Oh, yeah.

CATHY WURZER: --do you have any-- oh, I'm going to get to that in a minute. Is there any way that you can weigh it at all before you start to take it to California?

TRAVIS GIENGER: Absolutely. I don't. I think it wrecks the fun.

CATHY WURZER: OK.

TRAVIS GIENGER: I've done that in-- I don't know. It's just better left unsaid.

CATHY WURZER: Sure. Almost like not knowing the sex of your baby. You know what I mean? Just kind of surprise me--

TRAVIS GIENGER: Right. [LAUGHS]

CATHY WURZER: --maybe I suppose. OK, say, do you--

TRAVIS GIENGER: That, I might want to know, but.

CATHY WURZER: [LAUGHS] Right, true. Good point. Do you have special seeds that you use, by the way? I mean, if you grow a really big pumpkin like you have, obviously, over all these years, do you save the seeds? And are they special seeds, in a sense?

TRAVIS GIENGER: Absolutely. They go around the world for lots of dollars. But my seed from 2022 has grown some of the biggest ones in the world. So these seeds, they'll go all around the world again. People will grow them. So--

CATHY WURZER: That's pretty cool. Wow. Now, that's pretty cool. So, OK, the obvious question is you've got this big pumpkin that's sitting out in your backyard, and you're going to have to get it to California. So what do you plan on doing? How do you move something this big?

TRAVIS GIENGER: So it'll be a skid steer. We'll pull up to it. And then there's a harness that goes around it. So it's a bunch of straps. And then on the bottom, you wrap a rope around those straps, cinch it tight, and then you put it on the pallet.

CATHY WURZER: And pray it doesn't fall.

TRAVIS GIENGER: And the pallet goes on a trailer. Yeah, exactly. And it has.

CATHY WURZER: Aw.

TRAVIS GIENGER: [LAUGHS] It has.

CATHY WURZER: Aw. I can only imagine the adult words that were said when that happened. [CHUCKLES]

TRAVIS GIENGER: Yeah, that one fell probably only a, well, foot and a half maybe. But we had the pallet underneath it with all the foam and made it to California.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, it did. OK, so it didn't split. So you got foam underneath this. Well, that's a good idea.

TRAVIS GIENGER: Yeah. Yup, yup.

CATHY WURZER: OK, so but driving it to California, is that an issue, too? Can it be?

TRAVIS GIENGER: Yeah, I mean, there's some big potholes, bumps, elk that pop out at you in the middle of the night. So, yeah, if it doesn't get there in one piece, you don't get anything.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, gosh. So are you thinking? Are you thinking this year might be, again, another big year for you when you get to California?

TRAVIS GIENGER: [CHUCKLES] Yeah, I was just outside measuring, actually, and it's right there. I mean, it's all going to boil down to how heavy and dense it is on the inside, I think. But it'll be close. I don't think it'll be far off, one way or another.

CATHY WURZER: Are folks like yourself who grow big pumpkins, is it kind of a unique group of individuals? Is it pretty cutthroat competition?

TRAVIS GIENGER: Yeah, I mean, it's a worldwide deal. I mean, there's a lot of guys who put a lot of resources into it, a lot more than I do. And it's getting to be pretty involved.

CATHY WURZER: [CHUCKLES] Pretty involved. How involved can it get? Just give me an idea.

TRAVIS GIENGER: Well, I mean, I know our friends in the UK, they've got multi-million dollar greenhouse, all automated, CO2, shadecloth-- you name it. So there's a lot of resources.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, come on. I mean, yeah, really? That doesn't seem like that's-- that's kind of cheating in a way.

TRAVIS GIENGER: Yeah, here I am in my backyard with frost and everything, and they've got it 60 degrees at night, and yeah.

CATHY WURZER: Well, I mean, could you put blankets on your pumpkin if you need to?

TRAVIS GIENGER: Oh, for sure. But I mean, it's the whole plant and environment.

CATHY WURZER: Sure, sure. And then here you are in your backyard in Anoka growing these humongous pumpkins. So I have to ask, do you name your pumpkins?

TRAVIS GIENGER: Yep. Every year, it's got a new name. Last year was Michael Jordan because it was the year '23. 2020 was Tiger King. So I kind of try and do something to remember the year. But this year, I had some problems early on with my plant and the way everything was going. So I need kind of a comeback story. And the name Rudy came to mind, and that's what this year's is called.

CATHY WURZER: Rudy, OK. So when are you and Rudy leaving Anoka to go to California?

TRAVIS GIENGER: We will leave Saturday morning and drive 35 hours straight and get there Sunday night.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, my gosh, Travis. Mm. All right. Well, the good thing is you're heading west. Weather should be OK for you and Rudy and your team. So we'll be watching, and fingers crossed. We hope you win.

TRAVIS GIENGER: Yeah. It should. Well, I mean, I don't know. We'll see what's out there. [LAUGHS]

CATHY WURZER: Yeah, don't jinx yourself. Don't jinx it right now.

TRAVIS GIENGER: Yeah, we don't know. We don't know. We got to lift it first. I mean, there could be a hole underneath, too, so, yeah.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, no, don't even say that. All right, well, we wish you well. Thanks for walking me through your pumpkin growing process. I have to say, I've never heard of such a thing. And now I feel like I'm pretty well-versed on growing pumpkins. So I appreciate that.

TRAVIS GIENGER: Well, thank you.

CATHY WURZER: Travis Gienger has been with us. He is a horticulturist in Anoka.