The Complete Vegetable Grower

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The new record was certified by the Australian Giant Pumpkins and Vegetables Supporters society, where Oliver also holds the record for Australia’s largest giant green squash, a 612kg specimen grown in 2015.

National Vegetable Society | Home

Our vegetables are far bigger than his ever were,” Fortey says, wistfully. “Dad never achieved a world record. Sometimes I wish he was around to give me help with them.” DGM are growers and innovators, our portfolio reflects our niche expertise and speciality vegetables, we look for the new and unique to offer a comprehensive basket of delicious produce. Alongside this we strive to do so in the most environmentally sound way, being proud to have achieved over 1.5 million meals to FareShare and investing in the latest growing technology and facilities to reduce both our food miles and carbon footprint.Australian gardeners, who tend to grow pumpkins to eat, usually favour Australian developed varieties like Queensland Blue, Jarrahdale, and Ironbark. Home gardeners who wish to see how big those varieties can get are advised to follow the same basic formula as Oliver: prepare your soil with rich organic matter and keep the water up.

Raised Bed Gardening | Dobies Raised Bed Gardening | Dobies

We grow UK chard, chicory, celeriac, courgettes and fennel. We have long standing relationships with our growers in the UK and Europe, based on commitment and trust which delivers the highest standards possible. Our ambition is to widen our UK portfolio through innovation and technology. On his Facebook group, Fortey troubleshoots the common mistakes that first-time growers make, such as overfeeding their crop or not supporting them properly: a metre-long cucumber will fall off the plant unless you rig up a supportive contraption. (Tights are commonly used.) Timing is everything. “Starting too early is a problem,” says Fortey. “People are keen to get their seeds in the ground in March, but some plants don’t get started until late April, May.” He tells me that the giant-vegetable scene has come on leaps and bounds in the past decade, as more people discover the hobby. As a result, world records are continually being set, as people refine their seed strains and their techniques, often using polytunnels and lamps to grow their crops. Cheating is unusual, but not unheard-of. ‘They’re the lowest of the low,’ says Peter Glazebrook

The appeal of growing these beasts is not hard to understand. Only the truly joyless would struggle to summon a smile at the sight of a marrow as big as a lawn mower or a cabbage as wide as a double bed. Giant-vegetable-growing is as life-affirmingly ridiculous as it is gloriously escapist. Plus, it is a technical challenge. “You can grow them bigger every year, so you’re always improving,” says Short. Fortey sees it more like a sport than a hobby. “We’re like athletes, absolutely,” he says. “We’re all aiming to get the world record. Usain Bolt runs the world’s fastest 100 metres and we’re aspiring to get the longest vegetables.”

British Growers Association | Representation, Promotion

The best of British vegetables From our Lincolnshire base, we're busy bringing our customers the very best of both British and imported vegetables. Oliver told the ABC it took “a lot of work” to grow the the enormous Cucurbita, which required careful pruning, fertilising, and soil testing. “There’s a lot of science in it,” he told the ABC.

Competitive giant vegetable growing is not as popular in Australia as it is in the UK and the US, Sansom said, which could explain why Australia’s records are slightly lower than those set overseas. Record-breaking hot and dry September weather, followed by an unusually warm beginning to October, has meant that top-fruit and grape harvesting could progress without wet weather issues....