'Oh my gourd!' Tennessee farmer grows 910-pound pumpkin, converts it to a kayak
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (WTVC) – Around this time of year, most people take to carving pumpkins.
But a farmer in Cleveland, Tennessee took things one step further.
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Justin Ownby grew a massive pumpkin that weighed 910 pounds - almost half a ton.
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But he was not satisfied merely by its ornamental delights that enhance the season.
Ownby's wife Christin Ownby shared video with WTVC that shows Ownby hollowed out the pumpkin, and converted to a buoyant watercraft that he tested on his farm's pond.
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A second video has someone off camera asking him to do his impression of "Washington crossing the Delaware!," and Ownby stands up as the pumpkin submerges under the sudden weight.
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"He has tried for four years to grow giant pumpkins," Christin Ownby tells us. "This year is his biggest at 910 pounds. We do this on our farm in Cleveland. We occasionally grow lots of pumpkins but this year he put all of his work into the one."
Ownby says Justin used a seed to grow the pumpkin that came from a record-breaking pumpkin grown in Tennessee that weighed more than 1,700 pounds.
"He chose a spot where the water ran off easily, keeping it cool in the heat of the day, keeping it watered and making sure that squash beetles didn’t overtake it," Ownby says.
Christin Ownby says the pumpkin remains floating in the pond at last check, saying "It will make a great snack for the catfish!"
