Rhode Island Dad Breaks Son’s Giant Pumpkin Record With 2,261-Pounder

On Saturday, a man from Rhode Island took first prize in a pumpkin contest with a 2,261.5-pound gourd, and in doing so smashed a nationwide record previously held by his son.

Richard Wallace’s enormous pumpkin squashed the North American giant pumpkin record set by his son, Ron, at the same event in 2015, according to the Herald Tribune.

While the lopsided, pasty pumpkin may not be the winning any botanical beauty contests, its enormous weight garnered a first place prize for Ron Wallace. At 2,261.5 pounds, the gigantic gourd’s weight is on par with a small convertible sports car!

At the Frerichs Farm Pumpkin Weigh Off in Warren last year, Ron Wallace’s massive pumpkin topped the scales at 2,230 pounds. Also, in 2012, Ron Wallace was the first person in the world to break the 1-ton barrier when he grew a 2,009-pound pumpkin.

Last year, when asked what the secret to his success was, the younger Wallace said “a lot of hard work,” and some help from what he refers to as the Wallace organic wonder fertilizer.

In 2015, Ron told the Smithsonian magazine regarding growing the massive pumpkins: “Basically it’s like horse racing. We’re breeding big pumpkins into big pumpkins every year to create bigger pumpkins.”

The Pumpkin Weigh Off competition has been taking place at Frerich Farms since the year 2000.

Would you like to have this huge pumpkin as part of your Halloween decorations?

[H/T Herald Tribune, Washington Post]