Rhode Island Farmer Makes Pumpkin History
Language
Reading Level
Listen to Article
Alignment
Ron Wallace of Greene, Rhode Island, is no stranger to breaking world records with giant pumpkins. In 2006, his 1,502-pound (681 kg) pumpkin became the first to top 1,500 pounds. In 2012, he became the first grower to produce a pumpkin weighing more than 2,000 pounds (907 kg).
Now, the 60-year-old farmer has done it again, this time with the first-ever pumpkin to weigh over 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg). In addition to setting a new world record, the 3,156-pound (1,431.5-kg) gourd won the top prize of $3,500 at the Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Growers Weigh-Off on October 10, 2026.
Wallace has been growing giant pumpkins for about 35 years. However, this was his first time growing a gourd in a greenhouse. The greenhouse allowed Wallace to better control temperature and water supply. It also protected the pumpkin from inclement weather. At its peak, the pumpkin gained as much as 60 pounds (27 kg) a day!
After setting a new world record, the giant pumpkin was shown at the Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins Festival on October 17 and 18. The gourd was then transported to Salem, Massachusetts. On October 24, a team of professional giant pumpkin carvers transformed it into the largest jack-o'-lantern ever. It is currently on display at Salem Common through Halloween.
While the massive pumpkin will be composted after Halloween, Wallace has set aside some of its seeds. He plans to donate them to pumpkin-growing clubs to auction for fundraising. Wallace himself may take next year off to finish projects around his farm. However, he has not ruled out another attempt.
“Let somebody else chase it for a year,” he said. “If someone breaks it, I’ll get back at it.”
Before Wallace’s win, Britain's Ian Paton briefly held the record. His 2,856-pound (1,296-kg) pumpkin had set the world record just a week earlier on October 3, 2026. According to Guinness World Records, it is extremely rare for the title to change hands so quickly. The last similar case was in 1999, when the record was broken twice in a single day!
Resources: Smithsonianmag.com, Guinnessworldrecords.com, Wisfarmer.com
Get the Workbook for this article!
Workbook contains: Article, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking Questions, Vocabulary in Context (+ answers), Multiple Choice Quiz (+ answers), Parts of Speech Quiz (+ answers), Vocabulary Game (+ answers)Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
29 Comments
- trevor136543 daysThat is such a big pumpkin
- mivozecajira3 dayshow do they move that
- revamiryjedi3 daysHoly squash, that thing's ginormous!
urcatlover123453 daysthat is bigger then my dad
looper4 daysImagine if that was turned into a pie… it would be HUGE! It would probably feed 3 families.- 35wtran4 daysThat is the hugest pumpkin I've ever seen
- brickspin263 daysya its the hugest pumpkin ever grown thats the whole point of the artical!! :)
- brickspin264 daysoh wow!! that is huge!
- lazowywewege4 daysCRAZY huge pumkin
turntochrist4 daysThat's a HUGE pumpkin!
1runner674 daysCarving that GIANT pumpkin is crazy.
