By LESLEY MARROQUIN
Staff Writer
This pandemic has led to many people being locked up in their homes. It has also led to many finding new hobbies, picking up new talents, or spending more time with their family. A man from Anoka, Minnesota decided to work on his pumpkin patch. With this extra time, he would water his plants almost 10 times a day. Then the man, Travis Gienger, would feed and fertilize the plants at least twice a day. Gienger then drove his 2,350 pound gourd to the 47th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco. This trip took him 35 hours. Gienger is a landscape and horticulture teacher at Anoka Technical College and has been growing pumpkins since he was a teenager. So, all of Gienger’s hard work paid off when he won $16,450! This was his first time competing, and he basically won $7 a pound for his pumpkin. The gargantuan gourd will be showcased during a parade through Half Moon Bay later this upcoming Monday. If you are curious, the world record for the largest pumpkin came in at 2,600 pounds in 2016.
