The Biggest Pumpkin In The Patch: Can Fredericksburg Beat Record?

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — There’s a contest for everything, and pumpkins are no exception. You may be rightfully proud of that enormous pumpkin in your patch, but unless it weighs upward of 2,500 pounds, you’re not flirting with any kind of record. It could be a record in the Fredericksburg area, though.

That’s a fun challenge to consider as you and your family head out on a rite of fall and visit the pumpkin patches around Fredericksburg. Where’s the biggest pumpkin you’ve seen?

You can even make it a diversion from the coronavirus pandemic with a classroom outing. Teach them a little about pi — not pumpkin pie, but the mathematical formula to calculate the circumference of a circle — or how to convert pounds to kilograms.

Here’s where to start:

Braehead Farm
Address: 1130 Tyler Street, Fredericksburg
Season opening/closing dates: Sept. 26-Oct. 25
Attractions: Opens Saturday, Sept. 26, for its Fall Heirloom Pumpkin Picking
Hours: Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Pricing: Pre-purchased $9 ticket online
Phone: 540-899-9848
Website: https://braeheadfarm.com

Sneads’ Farm
Address: 18294 Tidewater Trail, Fredericksburg
Season opening/closing dates: Sept. 26-Nov. 1
Attractions: Continuous hayrides with bales placed for social distancing 7 days a week this year, in an effort to promote visitors to spread out throughout the week instead of all coming on the weekend. Some of the best prices in town on giant heirloom pumpkins.
Hours: Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Pricing: $9 weekdays, $12 weekends
Phone: 540-371-9328
Website: www.sneadsfarm.com/about-the-farm

Belvedere Plantation
Address: 1410 Belvedere Drive, Fredericksburg
Season opening/closing dates: Sept. 13-Nov. 8
Attractions: While the Maize Maze and Pumpkin Patch are primary attractions at Belvedere Plantation in the fall, there are 30-plus activities and events to make your visit really exciting. Belvedere Plantation is open to the public weekends and weekdays, closed Mondays.
Hours: Time slots vary from weekdays to weekends
Pricing: $13.95 per person. $45.95 for season pass. Online sales only. No tickets will be sold at the farm. The entire farm is cashless this year due to the coronavirus.
Phone: 540-373-4478
Website: https://belvedereplantation.com

Round Hill Farm
Address: 6347 Everona Road, Culpeper
Season opening/closing dates: Oct. 3-31
Attractions: Round Hill Farm and the Pumpkin Patch welcomes families to join in the celebration of fall with Halloween pumpkin picking, old-fashioned hayrides, a barnyard petting-zoo, corn maze, pony rides, apples and more
Hours: General admission. No reservations required. Weekdays 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Weekends 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Pricing: $10 admission includes hay ride to Pumpkin Patch, 200-foot zip line, 100 foot super slide, hay bale maze and pyramid, corn maze and farm animals.
Phone: 540-308-8245
Website: http://round-hill-farm.com

Read more here: Fredericksburg-Area Pumpkin Patches 2020

The largest pumpkin ever recorded in the U.S. was grown by Steve Geddes. The pumpkin that the Boscawen, New Hampshire, man grew in 2018 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-holder.

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.”

Whether pumpkins are in the 2,500- or 2,600-pound range, it’s a lot of pumpkin.

Ask the kiddos this: What else found in nature weighs that much?

A hippopotamus living in the wild can weigh about 5,800 pounds, but some of the smaller hippos weigh about the same as Geddes’ pumpkin.

The largest and heaviest bovine species is the Asian gaur. The bulls can weigh up to 2,500 pounds, but cows weigh significantly less. Another fun fact that separates these cattle from many other species: Both male and female gaurs have horns.

The world and U.S. record-setting pumpkins both are larger than the Australian saltwater crocodile, the largest croc species in the world. They can weigh more than 2,200 pounds.

And here’s another fun fact from Bengtson’s, a Chicago-area pumpkin patch, and perhaps a lesson in agriculture for the spring: The health of the vine matters.

“If you are attempting to grow a massive pumpkin, you should realize that the entire vine is working toward that same goal,” the site says. “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.