Alumni Great Gourds! CALS Alum Grows Gigantic Pumpkins Stories You May Like Student-Run Farm Grows Crops—and Community What Makes a Beautiful Campus Even Prettier? Hydrangeas! Artist Alum Has an Unusual Medium: Earth Itself At his Connecticut nursery, Alex Noel ’13 nurtures specimens so big, you could use them as a boat (and some people do) By Melissa Newcomb Alex Noel ’13 isn’t quite sure why—but when he was three, he loved pumpkins so much that he’d tuck one into bed with him at night. The quintessential fall vegetable has remained a huge part of his life ever since—both literally and figuratively. The CALS alum runs a nursery in northern Connecticut, where he grows award-winning pumpkins. But these specimens are much too big snuggle up with; in fact, they’re so enormous that they don’t even fit on the front porch. A pumpkin mogul in the making. A champion grower, Noel holds his state’s record for heaviest pumpkin—a whopping 2,471 pounds—set in October 2024. Another one of his gigantic veggies took first place at the All-New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off in 2021 (and yet another won in 2019). Each year, Noel grows massive pumpkins and enters them into various competitions before selling them, usually to institutions or businesses. Noel holds his state’s record for heaviest pumpkin—a whopping 2,471 pounds. “I do it for the fun; it’s full-time farm labor, but I enjoy it,” says Noel. “It puts smiles on a lot of people’s faces.” (And for the record: as Noel clarifies, pumpkins are more properly described as fruits, botanically speaking—but since they're commonly referred to as gourds and most people consider them vegetables, we're using the vernacular here.) Noel first attended the annual New England pumpkin competition—held at a fair in Topsfield, MA, located north of Boston—with his mom at age 10. Entranced, he left with some seeds—and the following year, he entered one of the fruits of his labor. “I just barely made it over the minimum threshold, which was 350 pounds at the time,” he recalls. “I had 370.5 pounds, but I was thrilled.” With his record-setting specimen in October 2024. Having gone on to major in plant breeding and genetics on the Hill, Noel has been refining his technique ever since. And his hard work has paid off: his pumpkins have performed well at the contest numerous times, including taking second in 2024 and 2022. So how does one grow a massive pumpkin? Noel starts by using seeds of a particular variety, Dill’s Atlantic Giant, that was bred specifically for size. Stories You May Like Student-Run Farm Grows Crops—and Community What Makes a Beautiful Campus Even Prettier? Hydrangeas! Celebrating a first-place victory. They’re planted indoors in April, then transferred to a greenhouse-like enclosure in early May. The gourds have a cushy setup, with daily fertilizing, multiple irrigation systems, and underground heat to control the soil temperature. At a certain point, Noel culls the plants down to the three most promising specimens. “Growing giant pumpkins is a full-time job for about six months of the year,” says Noel, estimating that he puts 1,000 hours per season into the effort. At their peak of growth, the pumpkins—which can reach five feet high and six feet wide—gain about 65 pounds a day. But if a specimen has even the slightest pinhole or crack, Noel explains, it’s automatically ineligible for weight competitions. At their peak of growth, the pumpkins—which can reach five feet high and six feet wide—gain about 65 pounds a day. “They are growing several pounds per hour and there is a lot of movement involved with that,” he says. “They can just tear themselves up.” And harvest is hardly the high point of the process; in fact, he says, it’s the most stressful part, because the pumpkins have to be transported in pristine condition. Three growing gourds get white-glove treatment at Noel's nursery. First, a tractor lifts the giant vegetables out of their patch. Then they’re placed on pallets so a forklift can load them onto a truck or trailer before they head off to a contest or customer. Noel has sold his giant pumpkins—priced at around $2 per pound—to hotels, supermarkets, casinos, car dealerships, and even the New York Botanical Garden. Some of his specimens have been used for carving—and as Noel notes, the process is much more intense than for a standard jack-o'-lantern. With his wife at a weigh-off. “People sculpt a giant pumpkin for multiple days,” says Noel, who has carved some himself for fun. “The wall is eight to 15 inches thick; the fastest way in is a chainsaw, an axe, an ice pick, or a pruning saw used for trees.” Noel has also supplied vessels for pumpkin regattas, in which costumed participants hollow out the gourds and compete in water races. But one thing his pumpkins aren’t used for? Pies. That’s because the variety Noel grows are bred for size—not for flavor. Top: Noel with two of his giant pumpkins en route to a competition. (All photos provided.) Published October 16, 2024 Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. 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