A Minnesota teacher’s 2,389-pound pumpkin just earned him his 5th competition and $21,501 — is growing giant pumpkins a lucrative side hustle?

“Travis has done it again!” the competition posted on its official Facebook page. “Earning his 5th ring at our Half Moon Bay World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off, Travis Gienger’s 2,389lb pumpkin has taken home this year’s prize. Congratulations, Travis!”

The victory adds to a growing list of accolades for Gienger, who has already won the competition four times.

But how much money can someone actually make growing giant pumpkins? The answer depends on the competition, the weight of the winning entry and whether or not the grower happens to break another world record.

Giant pumpkins can bring in thousands of dollars in prize money

The Half Moon Bay competition offers a substantial financial incentive for growers who can produce the biggest pumpkin. According to the event’s official website, the winner receives $9 per pound, with an additional payment to bring the total prize to $30,000 if the pumpkin breaks the world record.

At that rate, Gienger’s 2026 2,389-pound pumpkin would earn $21,501 in prize money before taxes and expenses.

For Gienger, the potential earnings reflect years of experience. Inspired by his father, he has been growing pumpkins since he was a teenager. He first competed in Half Moon Bay’s annual weigh-off in 2020, the AP reported.

In 2020, Gienger won Half Moon Bay’s competition with a 2,350-pound pumpkin. In 2022, he produced a winning 2,560-pound pumpkin, which broke the North American record. And in 2024, he won with a 2,471-pound pumpkin, despite falling short of his previous year’s world record.

“I put in the work so that I can put a smile on people’s faces and it’s just so nice coming out here to see everyone in this town,” he told AP in 2023, after his record-breaking 2,749-pound pumpkin surpassed the previous Guinness World Record of 2,702 pounds, set in Italy in 2021.

While a British man claimed the Guinness World Record earlier this month with a 2,856.8-pound pumpkin, Gienger still got to take home $30,000 in 2023 for it — a substantial payout for a gardening hobby.

Leading up to his 2026 win, Gienger had already earned a total of $96,429. His latest entry brings his total earnings up to $117,930 over the last six years.

That said, the prize money doesn’t necessarily translate into profit. Growers must still account for the cost of cultivating their pumpkins, maintaining their growing spaces and transporting their enormous entries to competitions.

The costs of growing a competition-winning pumpkin

For competition winners, growing giant pumpkins can become a source of supplemental income. But winning is key to that capital, and producing a pumpkin that weighs more than a ton requires considerably more work than tending to an ordinary backyard garden — even though Gienger indeed grows his pumpkins in his backyard in Minnesota.

In 2023, he told the AP that he gave his plants extra attention, watering them as often as 12 times a day and increasing the amount of food and fertilizer with which he provides them. Other expenses include pumpkin seeds, soil amendments, irrigation equipment and gardening tools.