Daughter breaks dad’s record for largest pumpkin at Canfield Fair

CANFIELD, Ohio (WKBN) — Growing the largest pumpkin at the Canfield Fair takes skill. This year’s beast was grown by 12-year-old Kali McMillin of Salem.

Kali’s pumpkin weighed 1,951 pounds — a new Canfield Fair record — and 258 pounds heavier than the previous record holder from two years ago.

“I thought it wouldn’t really be that big. I thought it’d only get to like 1,000 pounds. But apparently I was wrong,” she said. “I beat my dad’s. He had the current record, but I got rid of his record.”

“She did everything,” said Ben McMillin, Kali’s father. “She went out there, spent the time, did all the work in the garden, and I watered for her, but that was pretty much about it. I was pretty proud of her.”

McMillin has four daughters and growing pumpkins is a family affair. This giant pumpkin was planted indoors on April 1 before eventually being moved outside. Dad noticed that Kali had quite a different approach as it was becoming a behemoth.

“Honestly, she probably spent less time out there than I do,” Ben McMillin said. “Maybe I spent too much time out there, and [it] worked out really well for her.”

The gigantic pumpkin is over 4-feet wide. It was moved into the place where the largest pumpkin is displayed. Kali has a trophy and banner proving she grew the biggest pumpkin. She believes it could’ve been bigger. Her dad put some fertilizer on it just before it was picked.

“So it stopped, almost stopped growing,” she said. “It would have got to like probably 2000 pounds if he didn’t, like, burn the leaves.”

Kali grew a pumpkin for the fair last year, but it didn’t turn quite as orange as this one. That’s how she knew it was going to be special. And she had a special touch for making sure it was being watered correctly.

“The more water you put, like, I feel like it would grow more, because the water helps the stems go up to the pumpkin and help with the growth,” she said.

The world record for a pumpkin is 2,749 pounds. Kali is less than 100 pounds from that. The largest pumpkin weighed in Canfield — at the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off in October — has been 2,517 pounds.

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