Newfoundland's Pothole pumpkin expected to hit 1,200 pounds
Pothole pumpkin is currently 996 pounds and expected to reach 1,200 by harvest, beating Lake's 1,034-pound 2022 record.
Newfoundland farmer Leslee Lake's giant pumpkin Pothole is on track to smash his personal record. Pothole is currently 996 pounds and Lake expects it to reach 1,200 pounds within about two weeks.
Gourdzilla, Lake's previous record holder, weighed 1,034 pounds in 2022. Pothole got its name from a heating-pad accident when Lake wrapped the pumpkin in a blanket and got a heating pad to warm it on a cold night, but the pad short-circuited and burned a hole in the fruit.
Pothole healed over the scar and kept growing. To fight Newfoundland's cool climate, Lake uses underground cables meant for melting roof ice, above-ground heaters, and careful soil chemistry.
He obsesses over genetics too, tracking pumpkin lineages across generations.
- 996 pounds
- Pothole's current weight
- 1,200 pounds
- Pothole's expected weight
- 1,034 pounds in 2022
- Gourdzilla record
- 5 to 15 pounds per day
- Daily growth rate
Why it mattersIt shows what one person can achieve with obsessive attention, creative problem-solving, and willingness to work with an unforgiving climate.
AustraliaNo direct Australian effect yet, but the successful techniques could inspire Australian growers competing in pumpkin festivals.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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