ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It’s New Mexico’s version of “James and the Giant Peach” – Allen and the Giant Pumpkin.

Allen Clark has been documenting the progress of his giant pumpkin on his YouTube channel. For more than an hour each day, Allen feeds the pumpkin and sprays it down. He also cuts whatever he needs to ensure the pumpkin grows bigger and bigger.

Now, Allen has just a week left until he starts harvesting the giant gourd to get it ready for the State Fair.

“Basically spoon feeding it nutrients every single day is what I’ve been doing. And I found a schedule that kind of works for me. [I’ve been] giving it about 20 gallons worth of food a day,” he said.

Allen just wanted to outgrow his personal best pumpkin, which was 53 pounds.

Let’s just say he is well beyond his goal.

“At its peak in mid-July, I was getting 35 pounds per day on this pumpkin,” he said. “Here we are today at about 1,047 pounds estimated.”

If Allen’s estimate of 1,047 pounds is right, that would break the New Mexico record for a giant pumpkin of 988 pounds.

Allen realized he had grown himself into a wall. How was he going to get this massive pumpkin to the fair?

He spent days searching for ways to get the potential prize winner to the competition. He thought about using a piano moving company and even asking a news station for a helicopter to help.

Eventually, he got a plan in place.

“We’re essentially going to be taking this structure down, removing all the plants, cradling the pumpkin with several lifting straps and having a crane come down, lift it and put it onto the back of this truck to be taken to the State Fair for judging,” Allen said.

As for after the competition…

“If a local business would want to purchase it for display purposes. Or bring people to photo ops that might be cool. Or I’d just like to carve it up in my front yard,” Allen said.