Two New Hampshire seniors achieved an extraordinary gardening feat after growing an 837-pound pumpkin, which they affectionately named “Large Marge.”
Seventy-nine-year-old Jim Cross, who grew up gardening, and eighty-six-year-old Daniel Reich, a bread baker and outdoors enthusiast with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, are both residents of Brookdale Spruce Wood Senior Living in Durham. Together, they turned an ordinary spring and summer gardening project into an unforgettable autumn celebration that showcased their remarkable accomplishment.
Their massive pumpkins have captured the attention of not only their fellow residents but also passersby who drive through the area.
According to the duo, neither had ever grown a pumpkin of this size, making it a truly unforgettable first-time achievement, as cited by WMUR9.
The project began in 2025 after Cross became interested in growing giant pumpkins. He and Reich eventually turned their curiosity into a community gardening project, officially planting their pumpkin seedlings in June 2026.
They received help from Dr. Chris Hernandez, an assistant professor of plant breeding at the University of New Hampshire who leads its Cucurbit Breeding and Genetics Program.
“They just came and found me,” the assistant professor at the University of New Hampshire told the outlet, adding, “Jim looked me up — pumpkin genetics, pumpkin UNH — I guess my name comes up for that, and he just came and found me the old-fashioned way.”
To make the project a success, Hernandez sought help from Steve Geddes, a renowned giant pumpkin grower from Boscawen.
He previously made headlines by growing a massive 2,528-pound pumpkin, which ranked as the largest in North America at the time.
“This sure sounded like it would be a really fun thing to do, so I said I’d be more than happy to give seeds and anything else that’s needed,” Geddes shared, recalling his excitement about participating in a different kind of project in Durham, New Hampshire.
With the help of the experts’ guidance, Cross and Reich learned new techniques to help their pumpkin grow to an enormous size.
These special techniques included focusing the plant’s nutrients on growing a single pumpkin, watering it consistently, applying fertilizer regularly and carefully maintaining the vines.
The duo’s senior gardening project produced several giant pumpkins, each with its own name. One was named Dolly Plumpton, after the late iconic singer Dolly Parton, while the other was called Gourdon Lightfoot.
Meanwhile, the largest pumpkin was named “Large Marge,” which became the highlight of their efforts.
Moreover, the special pumpkin, which weighed 837 pounds, placed seventh in the heaviest pumpkin category and won first place in the prettiest pumpkin category at the Deerfield Fairgrounds.
In addition, Large Marge also took home the coveted Howard Dill Award, which represents the “ideal characteristics of a giant pumpkin variety, including its shape, color, symmetry, and overall appearance,” according to Brookdale Spruce Wood’s official Facebook post.
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