New Hampshire resident Steve Geddes grew a pumpkin that not only won him $6,000 and a blue ribbon at Deerfield Fair, but set a record in the process. The 2,528-pound champion gourd is also the largest pumpkin ever grown in North America, reports The Boston Globe, besting the previous record-holder by almost 200 pounds.

　　Geddes falls short of the world-record holder, set two years ago in Belgium with a pumpkin that weighed in at 2,624 pounds. Still, as October kicks off, we think that growing a ginormous, good-for-not much-except-breaking-records pumpkin is something to celebrate. Just think of the jack o’ lantern—or pie—it could become.