Another MN farmer comes up short of record with giant pumpkin

Another farmer comes up short of pumpkin record

The Stillwater Harbor Festival celebrates all-things fall, including a pumpkin-weighting contest. One contestant, the eventually winner, was hoping to set a record.

STILLWATER, Minn. (FOX 9) - After one Minnesota pumpkin grower set a record in California with his 2,700-plus pound gourd, another farmer was chasing that feat on Saturday.

The record attempt was part of a pumpkin weighting contest at the Stillwater Harvest Festival on Saturday. The pumpkins were so heavy they had to be driven in on trailers.

"You get lots of thumbs up and pictures," grower Charlie Bernstrom said of his drive from Lancaster.

Bernstrom may have stolen the show with a pumpkin his daughter named "Joy."

"On June 20 [this pumpkin] was the size of a golf ball," Bernstrom said. "It [takes] about an hour and a half each day to water and fertilize and bury the vines."

Earlier this month, FOX 9 shared the story of Travis Gienger, an Anoka County pumpkin farmer who recently brought a 2,749-pound world record-breaking pumpkin to California.

This weekend, Charlie followed in Travis’ steps, with a pumpkin that he grew from seeds he got from Gienger. It took first place on Saturday, weighing in at 2,501.5 pounds.