Raise 500-pound pumpkins in your backyard: 5 tips from America's world-record gourd grower

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Travis Gienger is the Michael Jordan of giant pumpkins: the greatest of all time. 

The stone craftsman, horticulture teacher and gourd whisperer from Anoka, Minnesota set the world record last year by growing a 2,749-pound pumpkin. 

The orange colossus was boldly named Michael Jordan in the spring, in honor of the basketball player widely considered the GOAT (Greatest of All Time).

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It measured 21 feet, 1 inch in circumference.

"Giant pumpkins make everyone smile," Gienger said in a phone conversation with Fox News Digital. 

Winner Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota, poses with his giant pumpkin, 2,749 pounds in weight, at the Safeway 50th annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Oct. 9, 2023, in Half Moon Bay, California.  (Liu Guanguan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

Michael Jordan's unprecedented size is just one of seven Guinness World Records for pumpkin proliferation held by the hall-of-fame harvester.

He was raised in a pumpkin-growing family and has mastered the skills needed to produce epic fruit. 

"Giant pumpkins make everyone smile."

But he only raises them in his spare time.

Gienger said anyone with a little space in a suburban backyard can plant giant pumpkin seeds in April and reasonably expect to produce a 500-pound fruit by autumn.

Travis Gienger's record-setting pumpkins are about the size of a softball when pollinated in June. They will reach 2,500 pounds or more by September. (Courtesy Travis Gienger/WorldRecordPumpkins.com)

5 tips for growing giant 500-pound pumpkins from the GOAT of gourds

1. Get seeds with giant-pumpkin pedigree 

Much like thoroughbreds, giant pumpkins have strong genes. 

"If you go down to Walmart and buy a pack of pumpkin seeds off the shelf, they’re probably not going to do what you want them to do," said Gienger.

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The ideal variety is called Dill’s Atlantic giant, or simply Atlantic giant, he said.

Champion growers typically harvest the seeds from their biggest pumpkins and sell them the following year. Gienger shipped Michael Jordan's seeds as far away as Australia. 

2. Plant indoors in April, or before the last frost

April is the perfect time to plant your future fantastic fruit. 

In northern climates, this ideal time comes soon after the last expected frost.

Giant pumpkins have become the center of autumn festivals around the United States, including the Pumpkin Regatta at the annual Damariscotta (Maine) Pumpkinfest. Tom Lishness of Windsor, Maine, steers a motorized pumpkin on the Damariscotta River. (Carl D. Walsh/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Gienger will plant his 2024 giant pumpkin this week, on Wednesday, April 10.

He hopes to grow the first 3,000-pound pumpkin in history. 

3. Give your pumpkin plenty of space, sun, water and nutrients

Move your pumpkin outside after the threat of frost has passed, to an area with plenty of sun and room to spread. 

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The vine could grow 75 feet long. But a yard of just 20 feet by 20 feet provides enough space for a 500-pound pumpkin.

Travis Gienger of Minnesota celebrates his world-record 2,749-pound pumpkin in Oct. 2023 with daughter, Lily, and wife Megan. The pumpkin world championships are held each year in Half Moon Bay, California.  (Courtesy Travis Gienger/WorldRecordPumpkins.com)

"Route the vine to utilize your space however you want," said the national gourdsman. 

Feed it organic fish-and-seaweed fertilizer with the right mix of nutrients.

Nitrogen "cranks the plant," said Giegner, while the "pumpkin craves potassium."

4. Pollinate the pumpkin by hand

A golf-ball sized baby pumpkin will appear sometime in June, with a bright yellow female flower attached. When it opens, it's ready to be pollinated. 

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Pinch off the taller male flower elsewhere on the vine; remove the petals to expose the stamen. Then, rub the stamen inside the female plant to spread the yellow pollen.

Christian Ilsley poses with a giant pumpkin he grew in his backyard in Revere, Massachusetts, in 2017. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Your pumpkin is ready for showtime.

5. Enjoy the excitement as your giant pumpkin prospers

A backyard pumpkin should grow at shocking speed with the summer sunshine and plenty of water — up to 25 to 30 pounds per day, according to Gienger. 

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"You’ll know it's happy when you see it start to double in size in just 24 hours," said Gienger.

"It’s going to be pretty exciting. It's like watching God's handiwork." 

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