1,776-Pound Pumpkin Is On Display Near Owings Mills

COCKEYSVILLE, MD — A pumpkin weighing 1,776 pounds is a short drive from Owings Mills through the end of October.

Nicknamed "The Patriot," the monster ushers in the annual tradition at Valley View Farms of bringing in an unusually large pumpkin ahead of Halloween for public viewing and a seed counting contest.

When they visit the nursery on York Road in Cockeysville, visitors can guess how many seeds are inside.

The Patriot will be on display until Oct. 31 at Valley View Farms at 11035 York Rd., Cockeysville.

The largest pumpkin ever recorded in the U.S. was grown in 2018 by Steve Geddes of Boscawen, New Hampshire. It tipped the scale at 2,528 pounds to win the top prize at the Deerfield Fair. The impressively sized pumpkin was 165 pounds heavier than the previous U.S. record.

Neither came close to besting world record-holder, Mathia Willemijn, whose 2016 record still stands for the 2,624.6-pound pumpkin that won that year’s European Weigh-Off in Germany, according to Guinness World Records, which describes the gourd as “car-sized.”

Where’s the biggest pumpkin you’ve seen?

Here are some places to start near Owings Mills and Reisterstown:

• Fresh McKenzie's, 5445 Patterson Rd., Baldwin
• Baughers, 1015 Baugher Rd., Westminster
• Clark's Elioak Farm, 10500 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City
  

See Also: Best Owings Mills, Reisterstown-Area Pumpkin Patches 2020

For those looking to grow a gourd, the health of the vine matters, according to one Chicago-area pumpkin destination.

“If you are attempting to grow a massive pumpkin, you should realize that the entire vine is working toward that same goal,” the pumpkin experts at Bengtson's say. “All of the water and sunlight received by the leaves and roots are being dedicated to the single pumpkin.”

Making sure the pumpkin has room to grow is another key. Growers should tear out roots that may be near the pumpkin while taking care not to detach the stem.

Once the pumpkin reaches the size of a softball, remove all the other pumpkins from the vine so all the plant’s energy is directed at creating a prize-winning pumpkin.

Related: Owings Mills Pumpkin Patch Bounty: How About From-Scratch Pie?

— By Elizabeth Janney and Beth Dalbey