(WXYZ) — There's a backyard garden out in Waterford that will make you say, "oh my gourd!" That's because it's home to a pumpkin. A very, very large one.
"I just can’t believe how big it is this year," joked Stephanie Morse.
When most people baked bread during the pandemic, her husband, Frank, studied and grew giant pumpkins.
"I was like, 'you know, let's start a garden,'" he said.
But this garden wasn't just any ol' garden.
"I thought he was crazy at first," joked Stephanie.
The mission this year: break some records. According to Michigan Giant Pumpkin Growers, the current world record is 2,702.9 pounds, the national record is 2,528 pounds and the state record is 2,118 pounds.
This is Frank's third attempt, and you know what they say, third time's a charm.
"It will still be 2,400 pounds, I would think, but I hope it’s 27, ya know, I hope it’s over 27," said Frank.
There's plenty involved in getting this behemoth. Just ask Frank’s dad, Mike. The 72-year-old Vietnam veteran built its greenhouse and wakes up every day at 6 a.m. to feed it.
"From starting from like quarter after six until about 9:30, 10 o’clock, that’s how long it takes," said Mike.
Mike helps care for the big pumpkin baby when Frank's at his day job, frequenting a local grow store for the growth mixture supplies.
"The guy says, 'so what are you growing, what kind?' And I say, 'well I’m not doing marijuana, I’m doing a giant pumpkin,' and right away everyone in the store says, ‘you gotta be kidding me,’” said Mike.
Frank's attention, especially in the last few weeks of the growing season, has been focused on the pumpkin.
"I’ve kind of become a pumpkin widow," joked Stephanie.
Now Frank's holding out hope that he could just have the biggest pumpkin around. That is, if things go just right: no big cracks, no rotting, there’s a lot that can go wrong.
"It’s been a ton of weird stress over a pumpkin," laughed Frank.
The Morse family hopes their dedication will pay off, because giant pumpkin growing is some serious business.
"These seeds sell for 100 to 200 dollars a seed," said Frank. And for record-breakers, the price goes up.
But regardless of what happens — Frank will be at it again next year, because the whole journey surely gives people pumpkin to talk about.
"When you show anyone this, it always puts a smile on their face," said Frank.
The next step is picking this pumpkin next week and then weighing it, the moment of truth. We’ll of course keep you updated.
To watch the pumpkin grow, click here.
