KINGS OF THE ROAD!
World records tumble at special giant veg event as entrants ba le local lockdowns
Three new world records for giant veg were bagged at a special covid-secure event for grower enthusiasts in Nottinghamshire. Recordholding grower Joe Atherton, secured two world records, breaking his own accolade for the world’s longest beetroot, with a specimen measuring an astonishing 8.56m (28ft).
It had been widely rumoured before the event that Joe had a world-beating contender, but the Mansfield-based grower followed up by establishing the first world record for longest salsify, with a 5.57m (18.27ft) specimen. Next in line was Neil Hands, who smashed the world record for heaviest red cabbage, his gargantuan heritage-variety specimen tipping the scales at a whopping 31.6kg (69.66lb). The Grow Show: On Tour offered UK growers the opportunity to weigh in or exhibit their show displays at three venues in Mansfield, Piddington in Oxfordshire and Anglesey, North Wales. The number of entries was down, with some exhibitors pulling out at the last-minute due to regional lockdowns. The trio of events were hosted by leading plant nutrient and growing medium brand Canna UK and champion grower and GN columnist Medwyn Williams, who also co-judged exhibits.
“It was certainly the strangest show I’ve ever judged, having been called in at the last minute to be adjudicator for the heaviest and longest vegetables,” said Medwyn. “Everything was assesesd to National Vegetable Society standards and under strict covid rules, with every exhibitor given a time slot to attend. The first exhibitor placed their entry at 8am and the last at 3:30pm, which meant judging couldn’t start until 4pm!
“It was a great weekend, but a very tiring one. Canna did a wonderful job of staging the event at great expense, thereby allowing the growers to stage their vegetables in a year where there have hardly been any shows at all. The quality was superb with a number of top exhibitors participating and without the event the record beaters would have gone unrecognised.”
For more information about The Grow Show: On Tour or to view the full results visit www.canna-uk.com/ grow-show-on-tour/.