MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Fall is here and pumpkins are popping up across the region. A meteorology professor at Central Michigan University takes pumpkin growing seriously.
Dr. Jason Keeler has been fascinated with pumpkins since elementary school and has been growing them since the early '90s. This year he grew his biggest pumpkin yet!
"I haven't had a chance to harvest and weigh the pumpkin yet, but based on its size it's approximately 927 pounds," stated Keeler.
You read that correctly! This nearly 1,000-pound pumpkin is growing in his backyard. It's two times bigger than his previous largest pumpkin.
"I am hoping I can get it to last for Halloween. Although, getting that big can put some strain on them. They can actually split open because of the weight, sometimes putting on one to two pounds an hour," Keeler said. "But if I can get this one to last I am going to carve it for Halloween."
The pumpkin would make one jumbo jack o' lantern for all of Mount Pleasant to see. He does this by selecting special seeds from other extra-large pumpkins and a lot of love, care and practice.
Now, if you are wondering how it stacks up against the world record, it's not that close. The heaviest pumpkin on record is a whopping 2,700 pounds.
Still super impressive!
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