RALEIGH — A whopping 232 pounds. That’s the weight of the newly crowned biggest watermelon ever at the State Farmers Market.

It bested the previous record, set in 2002, by 1 pound.

This year’s competition came Thursday as part of the annual Watermelon Day at the market.

H.C. Williams, the first-place winner of $1,000 in prize money, grows big watermelons as a hobby in his nursery in Wilson County.

“It’s a lot of work,” Williams said. “And Mother Nature’s got to cooperate.”

Williams estimates that he spent two hours a day, six days a week on the fruit since the end of April.

For anyone looking to get into the giant-watermelon circuit, third-place winner Larry Boyette of Wilson County says, “Good luck!”

Huge watermelons require about twice as much fertilizer, said grower Robert Worley.

Too much water can harm the plants. And this year’s growing conditions – with erratic temperatures and rainfall and even a hailstorm for some – were not always ideal.

And how do such giant watermelons taste? That’s up for debate.

The size means that they probably aren’t very ripe on the inside, Williams said.