WHY DO PUMPKINS GROW SO BIG?
JONNY MALONE, OHIO
Prize-winning pumpkins just keep getting bigger, thanks to careful seed selection, plenty of growing space and gallons of water. The current record belongs to a gargantuan 1,226kg (2,702lb) pumpkin grown by Italy’s Stefano Cutrupi. Some varieties of pumpkin, such as the Atlantic Giant, are genetically predisposed to grow to spectacular sizes.