Growing the Big One
6.3/10 · 863 ratings20101h 29mWeirdness 5/10
Where to watch
Via 
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The premise
A radio talk-show host inherits her grandpa's pumpkin farm. When she loses her job, she's forced to take over the farm and host a new 'green' program. To keep the farm and pay off the mortgage, she hopes to win the pumpkin-growing contest.
How unusual is it?
Middle of the road, with a twist — an enemies-to-lovers arc keeps it from being totally by-the-book.
Who’s in it
Behind the camera
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Directed by
Written by
Wait, what?
The quirks and curveballs that make this one a little weirder than your average Hallmark. No spoilers, promise.
- The 'Pumpkin Widow Support Group' for wives neglected during growing season
- Deciphering 'Pumpkin Poetry' code to learn how to fertilize plants
- Singing 'Yankee Doodle' to pumpkins to help them grow
- The 'Stealth Run' which is essentially agricultural espionage
- A marriage proposal involving a pumpkin seed instead of a ring
- The 'Extreme Nutrient Machine' used for time-released raw manure
Every trope, all in one place
Here’s everything this one has going on, from the setting to the way it wraps up. Tap any of the 36 to find more movies that do the same thing.
Setting2
Time & season2
Characters8
Conflict6
Romance6
Tone & quirks3
How it all plays out
Already seen it, or just can’t wait? Open this up for the whole story, ending included.
Full story (spoilers)
Emma Silver is a successful city girl hosting 'Seattle Pulse' in Seattle. After a corporate merger and the death of her grandfather Walt, she travels to Valleyville for the funeral. There, she discovers Walt left her his farm, which is $75,000 in debt and facing foreclosure by the ambitious Mayor and banker Kyle Finster. Simultaneously, Emma's radio show is taken over by a younger host, and she is reassigned to 'Green is the New Black,' a gardening show. Her manager, Kate, decides to broadcast the show from the farm via webcams, turning Emma's life into a reality-style program. Emma decides to enter the local giant pumpkin contest, which offers a $50,000 prize for breaking the world record. She meets her neighbor Seth Cullen, a mechanic who she initially threatens with mace. Seth is revealed to be a Stanford-educated engineer who left a high-stress life in L.A. for the honesty of rural life. After Emma wins a poker game against him, Seth becomes her partner in the pumpkin patch. The town is filled with pumpkin-obsessed characters, including the 'Pumpkin Widow Support Group'—women whose husbands ignore them for their gourds. Emma struggles to decipher Walt’s 'pumpkin Bible,' which is written in cryptic poetry. She eventually realizes the poems are codes for care instructions, such as singing 'Yankee Doodle' to the plants and using an 'extreme nutrient machine' to pump raw manure. The rivalry with Mayor Finster escalates during a 'stealth run' (espionage) on his patch, which ends with Emma and Seth being sprayed by a skunk and briefly jailed. As the pumpkins grow to massive sizes, Emma is offered a dream job as a morning co-anchor in New York City. At the final weigh-in, Emma and Seth’s pumpkin weighs 1,880 pounds, breaking the world record and securing the prize money. Emma initially prepares to leave for New York with the corporate executives but realizes she has found a real community. She rejects the 'Big Apple' for the 'Big Pumpkin,' returns to Valleyville, and Seth proposes to her during a live broadcast using a pumpkin seed instead of a ring.
Beat by beat
Opening
Emma inherits her grandfather's debt-ridden farm and is reassigned to a gardening radio show broadcast from the property.
Inciting Incident
Emma decides to enter the giant pumpkin contest to win $50,000 and save the farm from Mayor Finster's development plans.
Midpoint
Emma and Seth form a partnership after a poker game, using 'pumpkin poetry' and an 'extreme nutrient machine' to grow a monster gourd.
Rising Action
A 'stealth run' to spy on the Mayor's pumpkin patch results in a skunk-spraying incident and Emma and Seth being arrested.
Climax
Emma and Seth's pumpkin breaks the world record at the weigh-in, but Emma is immediately whisked away by a job offer in New York.
Resolution
Emma abandons the limo to New York, chooses to stay in Valleyville, and accepts Seth's marriage proposal.
36 tropes in one movie
We counted 36 distinct Hallmark tropes packed into this one — a genuine greatest-hits reel.
The backstory
Growing the Big One is a 2010 Canadian-American television film directed by Mark Griffiths. It was developed as one of twenty-four programs scheduled for broadcast on the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries during the 2010–11 television season.
How it stacks up
Where this one’s rating lands against every other rated Hallmark movie.
Higher-rated than 38% of every rated Hallmark movie. The median is 6.4.
Where this one fits
The corners of the catalog Growing the Big One belongs to — handy if you’re after more of the same.
- Hallmark Fall MoviesCozy autumn setting.
- Hallmark Enemies-to-Lovers MoviesStarts with sparks of the wrong kind.
- Hallmark Wedding MoviesWedding bells are involved.
- Hallmark Dog & Pet MoviesA four-legged matchmaker.
- Hallmark Baking & Cooking MoviesPlenty of time in the kitchen.
- Hallmark Ranch, Cowboy & Country MoviesOut in ranch-and-country territory.
Lines worth quoting
The lines that stuck with us — the ones you’ll be repeating after the credits roll.
“I have a nail salon that actually understands my cuticles.”
— Emma SilverEmma listing the reasons she cannot leave her life in Seattle. “I want the big pumpkin, not the big apple.”
— Emma SilverEmma's realization that she wants to stay in Valleyville instead of taking the New York job. “She is hungry for your kiss. Feed her with the bounty of your being.”
— Emma Silver (reading Walt's journal)Emma reading the 'poetry' that turns out to be instructions for fertilizing pumpkins.
Meet the characters
Who’s who before you press play. Nothing here gives the ending away.
Emma Silver
LeadRadio Host
AmbitiousResourcefulCity-dwellerDeterminedSeth Cullen
Love interestMechanic / Engineer
Neighbor and pumpkin-growing partner
SarcasticIntelligentGroundedProtectiveMayor Kyle Finster
AntagonistMayor / Bank Manager
Banker holding the farm's mortgage
GreedyCompetitiveUnkindBobby Ellis
SupportingLawyer / Manure Salesman
Grandfather's lawyer and unsuccessful suitor
EccentricEntrepreneurialFriendlyMarie Burns
SupportingGeneral Store Owner
Local mentor and friend
NurturingGossipyWise
Questions people ask about Growing the Big One
Where can I watch Growing the Big One?
Growing the Big One is available via Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, and Shout! Factory Amazon Channel. Streaming options change often, so check current availability before settling in.
How long is Growing the Big One?
Growing the Big One runs about 1 hour and 29 minutes, and was released in 2010.
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Our review
We watched Growing the Big One so you don’t have to
Alanna sat through every minute of this one and recapped the whole thing — the plot holes, the chemistry, the parts that made no sense — over on the Talking Hallmark channel.
Reviewed by Alanna53-min recap
“Size really DOES matter to the Hallmark girlies | reacting to bad movies”
Data and sources
Curated by the Talking Hallmark team.Last updated .