See it: Long Valley, N.J. Man Squashes Competition with 863-Pound Pumpkin

That could make a lot of pies. Like, a lot of pies.

It requires a forklift to pickup from the ground and has been farmed like any other piece of produce for more than five months.

It’s just a pumpkin, of course, but it’s not your ordinary jack-o-lantern. It’s an 863-pound member of the squash family, raised on Schooley’s Mountain by Long Valley resident Michael Starr.

“I always wanted to grow a giant pumpkin,” Starr said Tuesday. “So my wife bought some of the materials and instructions on how to do it, and here we are.”

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Starr planted the seed that would grow to nearly half a ton on April 15 this year, and at times over the summer saw the pumpkin amassing up to 30 pounds each day. When the pumpkin was cut from its vine last week, it was still gaining about five to seven pounds per day, Starr said.

The white whale of a product grew in Starr’s front yard alongside three more, each with their own impressive weight totals. The next pumpkin has been weighed at 750 pounds, and two smaller ones have been tabbed at 400 and 300 pounds, respectively.

But what to do with such a giant object?

“I thought, ‘I’ve got this really cool pumpkin sitting in my front yard, but who’s going to see it?’” Starr said. “I wanted people to enjoy as much as I do.” That’s when he called the Ort family, owners of Ort Family Farms on Bartley Road, one of the area’s largest fall season attractions.

“When Harvey (Ort) saw the pumpkin, he was genuinely excited,” Starr said. “He was probably the only person as excited as I was because he knows what goes into this sort of thing.”

The pumpkin was picked up from Starr’s house and set up at the Ort Farm on Sunday, Sept. 28, where it will remain on display for the fall season. Ort Farms is located at 25 Bartley Road in Long Valley and is open from 9 am. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

Pictured: Michael Starr in his front yard with the 863-pound pumpkin planted on April 15. Photo Courtesy Ort Farms.