Giant pumpkins grown in North Dakota and Indiana

BISMARCK, N.D. — A North Dakota pre-school teacher says he planted a few pumpkin seeds in August with the sole purpose of showing his students how they would blossom.

But Lincoln teacher Joshua Smith tells KXMB-TV he never imagined what those seeds would turn into.

Smith ended up with two huge pumpkins: One weighed 460 pounds and the other 500 pounds. The vines were 38 feet long.

Smith tells the station he decided to move the pumpkins to Papa’s Pumpkin Patch in Bismarck to give more children the opportunity to take a look. The pumpkins are so big that Smith had to use a special sling with his boat tire to move them.

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ALBION, Ind. — An Indiana man is growing pumpkins that weigh hundreds of pounds in a backyard pumpkin patch.

Keith Edwards of Albion began growing pumpkins as a hobby about four years ago and is now experiencing his most successful harvest yet. WANE-TV reports he’s produced seven pumpkins weighing a total of more than 7,000 pounds since he started growing Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds a few months ago. The largest was 1,364 pounds and the smallest was 798 pounds.

Edwards says he tries to outdo his past harvest every year.

He says his Atlantic Giant pumpkins require hours of attention each day, including protecting them from wind, drought and bugs. Edwards uses charts to project their growth. He says his pumpkins can grow 25 pounds a day.