13-year-old Massachusetts boy grows pumpkins weighing hundreds of pounds

A 13-year-old boy on Martha's Vineyard has been growing pumpkins weighing hundreds of pounds and is now setting his sights on competitions. 

It all started with a Christmas gift from his grandmother. Last December, Harold Harris was given seeds meant to grow pumpkins. 

"My grandma got me some giant pumpkin seeds," Harris told WBZ-TV. "I think from a 2,000-pound pumpkin or something." 

In April, Harris planted the seeds indoors before putting them in the ground a few weeks later. From there, his project really grew. 

Harris began watering each pumpkin with 1 or 2 gallons of water each day, adding in seaweed extract once a week. At first, one pumpkin was growing at 8 pounds per day while the other was growing 4 pounds per day. 

"Then the growth really picked up," Harris told WBZ-TV. "A week or two after that, one of them was growing like 27 pounds per day." 

Harold's dedication and love of gardening helped make it all happen. He rode his bike to the farm every day and added plenty of fertilizer and used slow-drip irrigation to water the pumpkins for hours. 

"At that time, I was giving them maybe about 100 gallons per day," he said. 

Harold's parents told WBZ-TV their son has a "go big or go home mentality." 

"When he puts his mind to something and really focuses, he finds something that he loves and is passionate about. This year it's been pumpkins," said Harris' mother, Emily Reddington. "When Harold learns, he learns deeply and it's really incredible to see what he creates." 

The smaller of the two pumpkins grown by Harris weighed 340 pounds and the larger topped the scales at 535 pounds. 

Now, the teen plans to make this Halloween extra special by carving it out with a chisel. 

"I think since the walls are pretty thick, I might try to sculpt it into maybe a face or something," he said. 

And Harold said his days of growing gourds are far from over. 

"Next year I think I'm probably going to maybe shoot for 800. Maybe enter it into a competition. I don't know," he said.