COMPETITIVE VEGETABLE GROWING
Size matters
It’s a world in which giant tomatoes are tenderly cradled in old bras and pampered pumpkins are wrapped in duvets at night. The UK’s top giant vegetable growers reveal what it takes to cultivate colossal crops
by REBECCA NORRIS
Go large
Ian Neale with his prize winning veg at the Harrogate Flower Show in 2018
ANDREW McCAREN/LNP/SHUTTERSTOCK
August is a tense time of year in the world of giant vegetable growing. With a month to go until the national championships, the would-be winners are diligently nursing their marrows, carrots and swedes. These last weeks are full of potential, but also of worry. At any point, a promising pumpkin could crack, a star squash could rot, and hopes could be dashed. Plus, there’s no way of knowing the competition that lies elsewhere, expanding in secret on a plot miles away.
‘I’ve thought, “This is a winner” with no doubt at all,’ says Graham Barratt, 65, an experienced grower from Gloucester. ‘Then one of my mates will turn up, pull down the side of his wagon, and reveal an absolute monster. It’s hilarious. You’d cry if you didn’t laugh.’ Last year, he placed second for longest cucumber (1.032 metres) and longest chilli (42.2 cm).
The championships will be held in Worcestershire at Malvern Autumn Show from 27-29 September. More than 100 growers are expected to enter about 30 categories, from heaviest squash, leek and radish to longest parsnip, beetroot and runner bean. This year, there is a special prize of £1,000 for the heaviest cantaloupe melon. While a win would reward months of work, some growers are aiming higher. Adjudicators from Guinness World Records attend to check out the vegetables shooting for global, not just national, dominance. In 2023 eight Guinness World Records were broken, including longest broad bean pod (43.1cm) and heaviest cucumber (13.388kg).