Carolyn Tucker really didn’t know how much it weighed.

It really wasn’t the fact of whether it was big, but just how big was it.

In the end, the watermelon she harvested from her Marion Junction garden tipped the scales at 48.3 pounds; far from any record, but for her, it was the biggest one she had ever grown.

“It is easily the biggest one I’ve ever grown,” Tucker said as she was photographed by the Times-Journal holding the large melon. “This is all due to a lot of hard work and a lot of praying.”

Tucker said she moved to Marion Junction four years ago after the death of her brother, Oscar, and continued working the garden he had worked for three years.

“I did a lot of talking to him while I was tending the garden,” Tucker said. “I just picked up right where he left off.”

In addition to growing watermelons in her garden, Tucker said she also had some purple hull peas, tomatoes and collard greens.

“It’s a lot of work, but I love it,” Tucker said.