Last Sunday, an entourage of giant pumpkins and their growers rolled into the town of Ludwigsburg, Germany. Part of the world’s largest pumpkin festival, they were there for the annual weigh-in to reveal who had grown Europe’s heaviest pumpkin in 2024. Belgium’s Mario Vangeel was crowned champion on 13 October, with a colossal pumpkin weighing in at 1,152kg – around the same as a small car. No newcomer to the art of growing giant pumpkins, Mario was the 2019 Belgian national champion. He also made headlines in 2021, with a pumpkin that came second to that year’s world record-breaking effort by…