This pumpkin just might be the biggest in Topeka. It's grown from the seeds of a 2,000-pound gourd. (2025)

Brianna Childers|Topeka Capital-Journal

Most of us knowtheHalloween special "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."

It is a classic tale that tells of "Peanuts" character Linus' dream to see and receive presents fromthe Great Pumpkin.

On the night of Halloween, Linusgoes to a pumpkin patch in hopes of seeing the Great Pumpkin rise above the rest of the gourds. Instead, Linus mistakes Snoopy for the Great Pumpkin.The cartoon special ends with Linus still optimistic he will one day encounter the Great Pumpkin.

The Halloween special instilled in children and adults alike that they toomight one day see a giant pumpkin. Or better yet, grow one of their own.

That is exactly what Topekans David and Janalynn Walker have done.

The couple who lives in southeast Topeka isgrowing and soon planto harvest their pumpkin which they estimate to weight more than 250 pounds.

It is the first pumpkin David Walker has attempted to grow, but it won't be the last.

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Idea to grow a giant pumpkin started in Napa, Calif.

"I've always been interested in big pumpkins," Walker said.

The Walker family moved from Topeka to California in 2020. During a trip to Napa, the family visited a winery where a near2,000-lb pumpkin was ondisplay.

"He walks in and he almostlost it," Janalynn Walker said. "He goes, 'This is the third-place winner in the world.' He lost his mind."

The giant pumpkin had placed third in the 2020 World ChampionshipPumpkin Weigh-Off competition.

David Walker inquired with the wineryto connect with the grower, and four months later, he received a packet of pumpkin seeds originating from the 2,000-lb pumpkin.

When the couple moved inMay back to Topeka from California, David Walker began his journey to grow a giant pumpkin.

He started byplantingin June two Atlantic giant pumpkin seeds, one of which didn't germinate.

Growing pumpkins isn't as easy as planting and watering it and watching it grow.

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Kansas' weather isn't ideal for growing large pumpkins

The earlier pumpkins are put in the ground the morelikely they are to grow successfully. David Walker said the ideal planting time is March.

"If you do, you can get 1,000-lb pumpkins," David Walker said. "The thing about growing a big pumpkin is it's best the farther north you are," David Walker said. "It doesn't like Kansas heat."

When temperatures reach the 80s and 90s,pumpkins tend to stop growing, David Walker said.

"We had a big tarp we would put over it, so it wouldn't get too much heat," David Walker said."We'd have to turn the sprinkler on to water it and keep it cooled down."

Using the correct fertilizer, insecticideand fungicide is keyas pumpkins are sensitive to insects.

The success of a pumpkin's growth is also reliant on the proper soil.

"The No. 1 thing you must do is you've got to test the soil before you get started," David Walker said. "When this is optimized, the pumpkin can put on 50 pounds a day and that's how people get a 2,000-pound pumpkin."

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Walker hopes next year's pumpkin is even bigger

David Walker is still deciding what he will do with his giant pumpkin once it's harvested.

"I've got grandkids, so what I'll probably do is get pictures with the grandkids," David Walker said. "I might let (Janalynn) carve it or make it into something."

David Walker said he is happy with the success he had growing his first giant pumpkin.

"There's something magical about a big orange gourd," David Walker said.

David Walker still has one seed from the 2,000-pound pumpkin and plans to plant it in addition to seeds from the pumpkin he grew.

Next year, David Walker plans to plant the seeds in February for optimal growth.

"I kind of got a late start, and I was so eager to get something in the ground that I took the dirt I had versus tilling it up and putting more compost in it," David Walker said.

If the pumpkin grows large enough, hewill consider entering it into the Kansas State Fair.

"I think I can get 800, 900 pounds," David Walker said. "I know we have the seeds that can do it. It's just, can Kansas weather support it."

Brianna Childers is the food and fun reporter for theCapital-Journal. Reach her at bchilders@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @brichilders3

This pumpkin just might be the biggest in Topeka. It's grown from the seeds of a 2,000-pound gourd. (2025)

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