Dad takes home $20K for growing stunning pumpkin the size of a small sedan

An engineer and gardening enthusiast is taking home $20,000 after winning the top prize at an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California.

Brandon Dawson’s giant jack-o’-lantern gourd weighed in at 2,346 pounds (1,064 kilograms) — roughly the same weight as a small sedan or a large bison.

The Santa Rosa, California, man secured the victory Monday at the 52nd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.

“My mind is kind of racing because I was in this position last year when I lost by 6 pounds (3 kilograms),” Dawson said in an interview.

He pumped his arms in the air and sat his two children on top of the giant pumpkin after being crowned this year’s winner.

Dawson, a manufacturing engineer at electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive, said he has been growing massive pumpkins for five years. Precision skills acquired at his job helped him with the right watering and sunlight to help his gourd grow, he said.

He said he enjoys getting his children involved in the process.

“We like to spend time out in the patch and watch the thing grow,” Dawson said about his 2-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.

“My 4-year-old now can really pay attention to the growing process,” especially since the giant pumpkins can grow by 50 to 70 pounds (23 to 32 kilograms) a day, he added.

Dawson's pumpkin was the runner up in last year’s contest at Half Moon Bay when the winning gourd grown by Minnesota horticulture teacher Travis Gienger came in at 2,471 pounds (1,121 kilograms).

Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, set a world record at the California contest in 2023 for the heaviest pumpkin when his giant jack-o’-lantern gourd weighed 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms). Gienger's pumpkin was damaged earlier this season and he couldn’t enter this year's contest in California.

Two brothers in England earlier this month broke Gienger's record with a gourd that weighed 2,819 pounds (1,278kg).