Billy Boerboom, owner of The Apple Barn, has been growing pumpkins of all shapes and sizes at his Summerland farm.
In addition to the pumpkins used for carving, he has also produced some some massive pumpkins. Three years ago, Boerboom challenged himself to grow a huge pumpkin at his farm. He has been working to grow large pumpkins since that time.
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This year, he had 150 Atlantic Giant pumpkin plants growing. The largest of his pumpkins weighed in at around 300 kilograms or 650 pounds.
Despite a challenging year for farmers and gardeners, Boerboom said the extreme heat in late June and early July, the extended hot weather throughout the summer and the heavy smoke from wildfires did not affect his pumpkin production.
The world record for a pumpkin is 1,190 kilograms and the Canadian record is 886 kilograms. The heaviest pumpkin Boerboom has ever grown at his farm was in 2019, when his largest pumpkin tipped the scales at 337 kilograms.
The pumpkins Boerboom does not sell through his produce store are chopped up and sold to a dog food company.
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