I am always confused at those giant vegetables competitions. Why a normal pumpkin plant would generate a massive pumpkin randomly? What happens in the plant to allow for this?
In: 12
Largely genetics. Giant vegetable growers breed and trade amongst each other and create their own hybrids. They usually get names like “mammoth.” They also start very early in the year, giving them a head start indoors before moving them into very special outdoor plots which are very sunlight, nutrient, pest, and water controlled. For pumpkins, vines are trained like bonsai trees so the pumpkins can be rotated without stressing the vine. But this applies to root pruning other giant crops as well.
Our neighbor used to grow giant sunflowers (!!!) and it seemed like they were caring for them round the clock, those people treat it like a very serious sport, it’s very cutthroat!
Maybe an actual farmer will chime in but huge pumpkins aren’t on accident. The plant is huge and healthy. Appropriate amounts of fertilizer. The huge pumpkin gets shaded. Lots of water. And most importantly every other competing pumpkin on that plant is cut off.
Believe it or not, you can breed giant humans too. Just have to keep selecting the traits you desire and mate them repeatedly.
It’s just much easier and faster to do with plants. You know cuz forcing people to have sex as soon as they turn 12 while over feeding them and killing every short person is kinda frowned upon.
My brother grows giants veggies (has held a few world records) and worked closely with the person who grew the largest ever in North America.
The most important thing is the Seeds (genetics). Even with ideal conditions you won’t get a true giant with regular Atlantic giant seeds.
Other important things are soil type, watering, pruning, fertilizing and temperature. Halfway between the North Pole and equator is ideal, not too hot or cold, which just so happens to be Minnesota.
This year we grew a giant pumpkin. Not anywhere near the size of a record holder, even locally, but notably bigger than all the others in our garden. To get it, we planted some seeds from a “giant pumpkin” variety that was already predisposed to grow extra large pumpkins. We also kept any other pumpkins from growing on the vine…but there were already fewer than you would expect trying to get started on it.
To get the really enormous ones, you have to do all sorts of extra tricks, but genetics alone will get you extra large vegetables, and selective pruning will make them even bigger.
In one word: genetics. In a phrase: good seed, good dirt, good growing technique and good luck. You can have and do everything right, but cant control the weather.
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