At the growing area operated by Hoa Binh Lieu Cooperative, around 45-50 pumpkins have reached an impressive size and attractive color, making them suitable for visitors to view and photograph. Covering about 5,000 square meters, the garden grows Atlantic Giant pumpkins beneath peach trees.

Nguyen Thanh Hai, director of Hoa Binh Lieu Cooperative, said giant pumpkins are not particularly difficult to grow compared with conventional varieties. The plants are vigorous and produce fruit relatively easily, although careful cultivation techniques are essential for the pumpkins to reach an exceptional size.

One important technique involves covering the plant’s secondary vines with soil. As the vines spread across the ground, growers can place a layer of soil over sections of the stems, encouraging them to develop additional roots.

On average, growers need to spend only about 10 minutes a day monitoring and tending each plant. With suitable soil conditions that allow the vines to grow naturally, pumpkins weighing around 50kg are relatively common.

According to Hai, the cooperative began experimenting with giant pumpkins in 2025, with this year’s crop planted starting in February.

It takes around four months from sowing for the pumpkins to fully mature. During the first two months, the plants grow their vines and leaves and begin flowering. The fruit then continues developing for around 60 days before reaching its maximum size.

Hai said the period between 10 and 30 days after fruit set is when the pumpkins grow particularly rapidly. On some days, a single pumpkin can gain nearly 3kg.

For its first crop, the cooperative planted 30 vines and harvested 47 pumpkins. A second planting added another 17 vines, with around 20 pumpkins still growing. The largest pumpkin at the cooperative currently weighs about 126kg.

“The cooperative currently buys seeds from overseas, mainly through e-commerce platforms or by asking relatives, friends and students in Australia to purchase them at supermarkets and bring them back to Vietnam. Next year, we plan to select the largest pumpkins for their seeds, both to propagate our own plants and potentially supply seeds to local residents,” Hai said.

Speaking to VietNamNet, Giap Van Ngon, chairman of the Hoanh Mo Commune People’s Committee, said Hoa Binh Lieu Cooperative’s giant pumpkin model is currently developing well.

According to Ngon, the locality sees the giant pumpkins as a new tourism product, creating another distinctive photo spot for visitors to Hoanh Mo.

The giant pumpkins are not only impressive in size but can also be eaten and are said to taste quite good. However, most of the best-looking pumpkins are kept for visitors to see, leaving growers somewhat reluctant to harvest them when the time comes.

Scattered throughout the garden, the enormous pumpkins have delighted visitors, particularly those seeing fruit weighing dozens or even more than 100kg for the first time. Numerous groups have already visited the growing area to see the pumpkins and take photographs.

“Besides creating a unique attraction for visitors, the giant pumpkins can also be used as food. Our largest pumpkin currently weighs 126kg, and we are aiming for 150kg next season. It is a new agricultural product, but it has also sparked visitors’ curiosity, so many groups have come since the beginning of the year to see the pumpkins for themselves,” Ngon said.