The pumpkins people grow in Wisconsin are so humongous it’s as if aliens planted seeds in their backyard and zapped them with gamma rays.

Tipping the scales at more than 1,700 pounds each, the Martins’ pumpkins are actually a bit on the slender side compared with other giant pumpkins grown in Wisconsin this year.

Wisconsin ranks fifth in giant pumpkin winners, according to statistics compiled by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, which established rules for contests.

Wisconsin Giant Pumpkin Growers started 20 years ago with 14 growers.

As with many things in Wisconsin, it started in a bar. A bunch of guys standing around saying, ‘I can grow a bigger pumpkin,’ Glen Martin, a pumpkin grower said.

For a $25 fee, members get a how-to booklet, a packet of seeds and a list of growers. The group schedules a free pumpkin patch tour for the public in late July, where gardens are laden with gigantic vegetables and gourds.

These pumpkins grow so fast, you can almost watch them grow.

Giant pumpkin vines typically grow 6 inches a day and the fruit packs on 2 pounds per hour. Just because it’s a really big pumpkin, it doesn’t mean it’s filled with thousands of seeds. Many only have 100 to 200 seeds. Seeds can sell for as much as $500 each. 

 Glen Martin grew a 1,810-pound giant in 2010 that broke the world record. He has been chasing that record ever since, particularly since world records have been broken nine out of the past 10 years. This year’s world record holder so far is a guy in Switzerland who grew a 2,096- pounder. This season's biggest pumpkin is close to 1,400 pounds.

For contest weigh-offs, giant pumpkins cannot be broken, have holes or excessive rot. Growers use special harnesses attached to Bobcat tractors to lift the fruits of their labor, load them onto flatbed trailers and travel to the scales.

A giant pumpkin can only be entered in one contest.