“How big can pumpkins get?” It’s a question Alex Wilson, better known as Big Al of Big Al’s Pumpkin Farm in Sherrard, hears all the time. It was one of the first asked during his visits with the Mercer County Ag in the Classroom program this month, in Mrs. Hoover’s second grade classroom at Winola Elementary, where Mrs. Flickinger’s students joined for the lesson, and later at Sherrard Elementary.

He has some impressive answers. Wilson said the new world record for the largest pumpkin tipped the scales at 2,703 pounds, grown in Ohio. He said he has a friend in Iowa who grew one weighing 1,538 pounds.

Each year, he told students, he orders 70 different types of pumpkin seeds, carefully planning which ones go where in his fields. “I know exactly what I’m planting and where,” he said. His personal favorite? The “Fat Jacks,” prized for their big, sturdy stems—perfect for carving and easy to carry.

 

In addition to hearing from Wilson, students also learned pumpkin trivia and fun facts from Kelly Goode and Teresa Bell, regular presenters for the Ag in the Classroom program. They shared that:

• Pumpkins can float because they’re hollow inside.

• They come in white, gray, red, yellow, green, and even blue—not just orange.

• The hardest color to grow is a bright “mellow yellow,” which can turn out too light or too dark depending on sunlight.

• Pumpkins are a fruit, grown from flowering plants.

• Students even got a simple pumpkin pudding recipe to try at home using canned pumpkin, vanilla pudding, milk, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and graham cracker crumbs.

The visits gave students a hands-on look at pumpkin farming, fun agricultural facts, and plenty of fall spirit to take back to their classrooms.