Thad Starr stands next to his 1,528 pound pumpkin.

California ? Thad Starr’s giant pumpkin really began putting on weight in August – a lot of weight.

The pumpkin, picture with its grower, above, gained about 30 pounds a day on its way to victory Monday at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off in Half Moon Bay.

Starr’s pumpkin finished at a record 1,528 pounds. Starr won last year with a pumpkin that that was four pounds lighter and also set a record.

Starr, of Pleasant Hill, Ore., bought a trailer to transport the pumpkin. It has a circumference of 15 feet.

He says his secret to growing big pumpkins is good soil: “We really pamper them.”