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I’m known as Mr Giant Veg – I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing’ ... Kevin Fortey at Chelsea flower show in 2019 with the world’s heaviest beetroot. Photograph: provided by Kevin Fortey 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. A gardener from northern New South Wales has set a new record for the biggest pumpkin in the southern hemisphere, beating his previous record by more than 100kg. Of course, the turnip in the room is that, well, this is all a bit phallic. “It’s a macho thing, isn’t it?” says Fortey. “Who can grow the biggest vegetable?” Fortey does his best to recruit female growers, often sending them seeds in the post. Jenna Brown, a 40-year-old landlord from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, is a rare woman in the scene. Every year, she grows giant pumpkins in her garden, carves them out with a chainsaw, puts her children inside and takes photos. “You see these older guys standing there holding a metre-long cucumber,” says Brown. “There are so many things you want to say, but they’re all inappropriate. They take it really seriously. It’s like: ‘Hey, look at the size of my turnip. Doesn’t this make me look manly?’” 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.”

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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.” It’s been difficult this year, with all the national shows being cancelled,” sighs Peter Glazebrook, 76, a retired surveyor from Newark in Nottinghamshire. Glazebrook is a legend in the giant-vegetable scene, having held 15 world records over a 29-year career, including for carrots, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and cauliflowers. He retired from pumpkin-growing 15 years ago, because they were too difficult to manage – pumpkins are the goliaths of the giant-vegetable world.And yet, despite this year’s award-winning crop of giant vegetables, celebrations and exposure have been limited. Many of the events at which growers would normally exhibit their supersize wares have been cancelled, which means fewer people have been able to wonder at the extraordinary bounty. This year’s Grow Show tour – run by Canna, a producer of nutrients to aid plant growth – was a socially distanced replacement for the national giant vegetables championship, held every September in Malvern, Worcestershire. The annual autumn pumpkin festival in Netley, Hampshire, was cancelled, although a weigh-in was held instead. The Harrogate autumn flower show – the pre-eminent giant-onion show in the country – was also cancelled.

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I find Medwyns very helpful, and it’s nice to know that they remember you from year to year!! I have been buying my seeds from Medwyns since 1996 Hello. I'm Medwyn Williams – Thirteen times Gold medal winner at the Chelsea Flower Show, Past Chairman of the Royal Horticultural Society Fruit Vegetable and Herb Committee and President of the National Vegetable Society.Williams judged this year’s roadshow, which passed without incident and in the spirit of sportsmanship. ( Every competitor this year, however, was male.) But the same cannot be said for previous years. Although cheating is unusual in the giant-vegetable community, it is not unheard-of: men can lose their morals when trying to grow the girthiest marrow in the room.

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It weighed in at a whopping 867kg, beating the previous record for Australia’s heaviest pumpkin of 743kg, also held by Oliver. A giant pumpkin was included in the World’s Fair held in Chicago in 1893, though it only weighed a 165kg – paltry by today’s standards. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Australian Kathy Ffoulkes, from Shoalwater in Western Australia, was also entered into the Guinness World Records in 2020 for growing the world’s longest snake melon, which measured 136cm.

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The Diggers Club chief executive Tim Sansom said growing giant vegetables was “a scientific challenge”. The soil must be well prepared and rich with nutrients, moisture kept up but not overdone, and the climate warm enough to encourage growth but not so warm as to split fruit and send things to seed.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 best of British vegetables From our Lincolnshire base, we're busy bringing our customers the very best of both British and imported vegetables. The world of competitive giant vegetable growing has gone through something of a renaissance in 2020, particularly in the UK. Three world records were set in the UK in September: the world’s heaviest red cabbage (31.6kg); the word’s longest salsify (5.6 metres); and the world’s longest beetroot (8.6 metres); and the UK’s heaviest ever pumpkin weighed in at 1,176.5kg in October. I have used Medwyns for over 30 years. Great range of high-quality seeds particularly for exhibitors. Lots of new varieties introduced by them which are now proven winners. Friendly and helpful advice if you need it and a personal service second to none. I make them my first choice for my seeds – they are a big part of being successful on the show bench. There are many diverse influences on the way that English is used across the world today. We look at some of the ways in which the language is changing. Read our series of blogs to find out more.