Leif Palmberg, his partner Anik Mommsen-Smith, and their son Victor smile beside their prize-winning giant pumpkin. (Courtesy: Leif Palmberg)
A massive pumpkin grown on Galiano Island has been crowned the winner of British Columbia’s annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off Competition. The colossal gourd, weighing an impressive 1,758 pounds, took the top spot on Saturday — beating the second-place entry by 132 pounds.
The winning pumpkin was grown by Leif Palmberg, a first-time competitor and proud father, who said he started the project hoping to grow a pumpkin big enough to impress his two-year-old son, Victor.
“I thought I’d grow a 500-pounder,” Palmberg said. “But once I started, I figured if I’m putting in the work, I may as well try to grow a giant.”
From Garden Dream to Record Gourd
Palmberg’s garden project turned into a full-scale operation. Preparing the soil alone required two truckloads of manure, composted over the winter and mixed three feet deep into a 1,000-square-foot patch.
He germinated the seed in April and planted it outdoors in May, keeping it under a makeshift greenhouse for the first month. Each day, he removed the cover, watered by hand, and tended to the growing gourd. By summer’s end, the pumpkin had grown into a record-breaking heavyweight.
“It was about an hour of work every day,” Palmberg said. “But Victor loved being out there with me. He thought the garden was awesome.”
A Road Trip to Remember
Getting the giant pumpkin to the weigh-off was a feat in itself. Palmberg used an excavator and heavy-duty slings to lift it onto his truck. With his wife, son, and three French bulldogs, he made the ferry trip from Galiano Island to Langley’s Krause Berry Farms, where the competition took place.
“Everyone gave us funny looks,” Palmberg laughed. “Driving down the highway with this giant pumpkin in the back — people were waving, honking, taking pictures. Everyone loved it.”
(Courtesy: Leif Palmberg)
But when they arrived, it wasn’t the enormous pumpkins that caught little Victor’s attention.
“He didn’t care about the big ones,” Palmberg said. “He ran straight to the tiny pumpkins and wanted to show me those instead.”
When Palmberg’s wife asked if he was happy their pumpkin was the biggest, Victor smiled and said yes — “because Daddy really wanted that.”
What’s Next for the Pumpkin King
The champion pumpkin now rests safely inside a shipping container, where Palmberg hopes it will last until Halloween. He plans to display it at the local Lions Club’s annual party later this month.
But Palmberg isn’t done growing. “I know I could have made it even bigger,” he said. “Next time, I want to go well over the 2,000-pound mark.”
For those inspired to try growing their own giant gourds, Palmberg suggests starting with quality seeds from Giant Pumpkins British Columbia — and a lot of patience.
