Forest pumpkin kings hope to tip the scales in battle for world record
GIGANTIC growers from across the UK will travel to the New Forest tomorrow (Saturday) as Lymington twins Ian and Stuart Paton stake their claim for the title of world’s biggest pumpkin.
Incredibly, the enormous specimen pictured here with Ian’s two-year-old granddaughter Martha Syrett, is not the cream of their crop – there are, in fact, two larger pumpkins set to be tip the scales during the weigh-in event at Pinetop Nursery.
Ian (59) told the A&T: “This year we have two absolute monsters in our pumpkin patch. By measuring the circumference we can estimate the weight and we believe one will be around the ninth biggest pumpkin ever grown and the other pumpkin is even bigger than that.
“This year our largest pumpkin's circumference is 500in which is over 20ft – it is an absolute monster and there is a very real chance it could take the world record which has been held by Mathias Willemijns since 2016.”
During its three-week growing peak, Ian and Stuart estimated the largest pumpkin was gaining 51lbs each day, with the pair spending around six hours a day tending to it.
As well as the huge time commitment, growing supersized vegetables is an expensive hobby with the pair investing thousands of pounds in equipment and specialist watering systems.
They decided to host their own official weigh-in event in Lymington this year after the annual Pumpkin Festival at Royal Victoria Country Park in Southampton was called off due to the pandemic.
Ian said: “We talked about what we should do and felt that is was very sad for all the growers who had gone to so much effort that they would be unable to get the pumpkins officially weighed, so we decided to hold our own drive-by event in line with social distancing rules.
“We have asked growers to register in advance – but we don’t really know how many will turn up on the day.”
In order for the weigh-in to be officially recognised, Ian and Stuart have arranged for special scales and a panel of three independent judges to join them tomorrow. The event will not be open to the public but will be broadcast live on YouTube.
The pair have already shipped one pumpkin to Spain for an official weigh-in there, which tipped the scales at 2,060lb, and they said the specimens they will weigh in Lymington are much larger.
They currently hold the UK record, for a 2,433lb effort which they grew in 2018, but have long set their sights on taking the world record held by Mathias Willemijns for a 187.5 stone – or 2,624lbs – pumpkin.
Ian said: “The prize money we do win is pretty insignificant when you consider the money and time we devote to growing the pumpkins. But we are very determined – one day we will get the world record.
“We started growing pumpkins over 40 years ago, when our biggest weighed 54lbs, and it is absolutely incredible to think that the pumpkins we grow now can gain around that in weight each day.”
