He Grew a 3,156-Pound Pumpkin: It Could Make More Than 3,000 Thanksgiving Pies

Thanksgiving pumpkin pies usually start with a can of purée or a small baking pumpkin, but one Rhode Island grower has produced a pumpkin weighing enough to make thousands of pies in theory. Ron Wallace’s giant pumpkin tipped the scales at 3,156 pounds (1,431 kilograms) in October 2026, becoming the first pumpkin on record to exceed 3,000 pounds.

The 60-year-old grower has broken the Guinness World Record three times. His first winning pumpkin weighed 1,502 pounds in 2006, followed by a 2,009-pound giant in 2012. His latest entry surpassed both records and reclaimed the title for the United States.

The pumpkin’s weight has been compared with enough raw material for more than 3,000 Thanksgiving pies, although giant competition pumpkins aren’t the same as the smaller sugar pumpkins grown for cooking. Their flesh tends to be more watery and less sweet, making the pie comparison a measure of size rather than a practical recipe.

One pumpkin, thousands of potential pies

The record-breaking pumpkin weighs more than a small car, with a mass equivalent to hundreds of ordinary pie pumpkins.

Turning that weight into actual pies would depend on how much usable flesh remained after removing the rind, seeds, and fibrous interior.

Competition pumpkins are bred for enormous growth rather than flavor. Unlike sugar pumpkins, which have dense, sweet flesh suited to purée, giant varieties can produce a less concentrated filling.

That means the estimate of 3,000 pies is a comparison, not a verified cooking yield.

Three records across 20 years

Wallace became the first grower to pass 1,500 pounds in 2006 and 2,000 pounds in 2012.

His October 10, 2026 pumpkin added another milestone by crossing 3,000 pounds, surpassing a world record set by British grower Ian Paton just one week earlier.

The achievement reflects two decades of work cultivating giant pumpkins, with growing conditions, water, nutrients, and temperature contributing to their development.

For Thanksgiving cooks, a small sugar pumpkin remains the better choice for pie. But Wallace’s enormous harvest puts the scale of pumpkin production into perspective: one fruit weighing more than 3,000 pounds, grown from a single plant.