Thompson & Morgan’s giant pumpkin seed compared to a regular-sized pumpkin seed

Not just any pumpkin seed – this is world record-breaking pumpkin seed!

Update – February 19th, 2013

Michael Perry, new product development manager, was interviewed on Anglia News last night about the record-breaking pumpkin seed. He said:

“Growing a record breaker is a challenge, but we have the very best seed to begin with. Growing giant, record-breaking pumpkins needs almost 650 square feet of space and good warm conditions, such as a polytunnel or greenhouse. We also need a good, reliably warm summer with consistently good light levels. Growing pumpkins need almost 100 gallons of water every day and a nutrient-rich fertilizer.

We’re aiming for the top. The current UK record is 1504lbs, whilst the world record is 2009lbs.

We are still looking for a grower to help us with this project, so please get in touch!“

Growing giant pumpkins is no longer a hobby- to many it has become a competitive sport! So if you want to grow the biggest and the best, you need to start off with the very best genetics.

At 9pm on Saturday 19th January, the European Giant Vegetable Growers Association held a live auction of pumpkin seed varieties as part of www.bigpumpkins.com chat room. A total of 23 lots were included in the sale.

Poised by their computers, 67 enthusiasts logged on to take part in the bidding which went on for almost 4 hours. However, lot 23 was the one everyone was waiting for; it was seed from last year’s world record-breaking pumpkin – a hybrid raised by Ron Wallace of Greene, Rhode Island, which weighed in at 2009lbs at Topsfield Fair in the USA. Ron’s was the first ever pumpkin to weigh more than 2000lbs. After a frenzied bidding war, a single seed from Ron Wallace’s prize-winner was sold to Thompson & Morgan for €200.00 / £170.

Managing director, Paul Hansord said, “When compared to the usual giant pumpkin seed price of around 46p, this seems extortionate. But we’re paying for the pedigree. If you want to grow a really huge pumpkin, you need to start with record-breaking, genetically proven, premium seed.”

Auctions of pumpkin seed have been running since 1997. Trading encourages growers and enthusiasts to raise stronger and more competitive hybrids. The highest price paid for a single pumpkin seed was in 2011 from a previous record-breaker which weighed 1810lbs. The price was $1600; an exceptionally high price due to the fact that the fruit had only produced 5 seeds.

Thompson & Morgan is now searching for a ‘growing partner’ with specialist knowledge of growing giant vegetables to help raise this precious seed in an attempt to break the record for the world’s heaviest pumpkin.

Competition

Do you think you can grow a record-breaking pumpkin? You’ll be in with a chance of winning £10,000 if you break the world record! The current world record is a phenomenal 2009lbs.

To enter into the competition, you will need to present your giant pumpkin at the Autumn Pumpkin Festival in Southampton on Saturday 12th October 2013.

Even if you don’t manage to beat the world record, there are still other prizes up for grabs.

Please click here for further details and to read the competition terms and conditions.

Rebecca Tute

Rebecca works in the Marketing department as part of the busy web team, focusing on updating the UK news and blog pages and Thompson & Morgan’s international website. Rebecca enjoys gardening and learning about flowers and growing vegetables with her young daughter.