Grow Your Own Magazine

Has anyone seen the December issue of GYO (brown/purple front cover)? The 'news' section (which can be a bit tabloid-y but is often surprisingly interesting!) has a 62kg marrow in it! My best marrow acheivement was getting a Tivoli (I think!) up to 5kg. And it tasted pretty horrible at that size (they're usually about half that). I guess I'm looking for reassurance from other growers that large veg doesn't come easy!?

Large veg should not come easy but i guess there is always a chance a fluek combination could work for you.

As a general rule of thumb.....you need to start with an exhibition or specifically large seed type, (it will be described as such in catalogue or choose a specialist catalogue). This would normally be grown in more specialised conditions from planting seed to harvesting result.

For example most of us will grow onions....the heaviest one i have seen weighed over 17lbs....quite a difference to normal weights!

I do grow some large veg, mainly as a bit of fun and a mini competition with my allotment neighbours....we grow onions, tomatoes, mooli radish and marrows....just a few plants of each alongside the regular varieties.

In fact would anybody like to have our own competition on here?

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Geordie

Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure

A competition? Count me in! The only problem with giant marrows is how on earth do you pick them up?

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Do you come here often?
What’s a pretty pumpkin doing in a place like this?
Or are these to old and Corny to work on modern pumpkins of the world?

Thats very good Jaxom, made me smile out loud!

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Geordie

Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure

Yes Jaxom very funny. But to return to the subject just how do you get enormous marrows off the ground. Into the car boot (without breaking the suspension) and then onto the show bench without doing your back in!!

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Ahh if only my worries were about how lift my veg. At the moment, i would settle for something that i could see...

Fellow Veggers

Full of enthusiasm resulting from my first year as a grower I challenged a couple of people to a carrot competition. Later I realised that one of them has been growing for many years and the other has parents who get a retired gardener help them with their allotment. I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew but nothing ventured etc....

If anyone has a sure fire variety that will help me then feel free to post here. I'm also interested in the marrow competition. Wallace and Gromit eat your heart out!

Like the sound of a competition for next season. D'you think we could convince the forum administrators at GYO to permit photos on the Grapevine - would help out with quite a few queries and I would be interested in seeing other "grapes" plots throughout the season
Cheers y'all
Rat

You need super size carrots....the first thing you need to consider is where to grow them, sprinkling a few seeds on your allotment is not going to get you 3 feet plus! This will also work with parsnips and beetroot.

Ideally you need to build a four sided enclosure from timber or brick. You then fill this with sand. When planting a carrot seed take a decent size stick, push it into the stand and using a circular motion make a hole that looks like a mould for a cornetto! (ie circular and wider at the top than the bottom) Fill this with a silver sand / compost or peat ( ) mix and put 3 seeds in the top. Your carrot will then grow to fill the compost space, discarding the two weeker seeds if all 3 germinate...producing a lenghty specimin.

If this sounds too much trouble use a length of drainage (not drainpipe) pipe made from terracotta. You either need to cut this in half vertically (sthil saw) and tie it back together before sowing, or break the pipe at harvest to get at the carrot.

In both examples growing medium needs to be kept moist to keep the carrots growing down.

As for variety you are getting into the exhibition territory where you need specialist suppliers:

try Keith Foster at www.exhibition-seeds.co.uk

He sells a variety called Javelot.

As for lifting giant marrows....if it is to heavy for two people to lift, slings are placed underneath and attached to a pole at the top. This is then shouldered by as many people as required.


The giant marrow competition seems to be gathering support, we also need something which can be grown in a pot. Not everybody has an allotment so we need a competition to include them. Any ideas....onion? tomato?

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Geordie

Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure

I like the idea of a competition but think it will only work if we all start off with the same seeds from the same supplier.
This would mean that the competition was about growing skill rather than secret seeds from Champion growers. I’m afraid that I know little about growing monster vegetables. I’m happy if I manage to eat anything from my garden that vaguely resembles that what was on the packets picture.
This year I grew carrots in my hanging baskets and they tasted fantastic. The only thing I should point out is that I didn’t sow carrots in my hanging baskets in the first place. I think it could be from my moving soil round in the garden and trying to create the perfect growing medium using soil in the potting mixes from my old vegetable beds.
Jax

Try Medwyns for exhibition vegetable seeds. He won the gold medal at Chelsea for 10 years with his vegetables. www.medwynsofanglesey.co.uk There are also articles on his site about growing the vegetables.

Jaxom I understand what you mean about it being fairer to newcomers if we all grow the same seed but I love showing vegetables!!

What about carrots or parsnips? You don't need an allotment or even a garden to grow them - you could grow them in a tub or a bucket or even a dustbin.

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Hi Folk, I have just dug out my seed catalogues and found what I was looking for.
“Mr. Fothergill’s” seeds are listed in the catalogue with a quick key guide to show extra details that they believe customers will find important. This is the guide
Exclusive: This variety is exclusive to “Mr. Fothergill’s”
Heritage: Old fashioned varieties, which have been included for their splendid taste and other reasons
Organic: Seeds, which have been produced by wholly organic means and certified by the “Organic Farmers and Growers”
Garden Friendly: Varieties with high disease and pest resistance. Ideal for “Natural” or Organic growing. Shopline varieties are marketed as healthy vegetables with out Chemicals
Showbench: Good Variety for “Showbench” use
AGM: Award of Garden Merit.
Now I know some of you want to grow monster Vegetables so I’m not sure if the “Showbench” type would produce what folk need but it would at least get you into the judging tent of most growers shows. The Green Valley Summer fete is open to all Grapes to enter and information can be found if you ask in the “Gardeners Rest” inn. I’m sure the Landlord or one of the Valley People could tell you all you need to know. The “Gardeners Rest” Inn can be found here.Gardeners Rest
Jax

For the show bench you don't need monster vegetables unless there are classes for them. What you want are good, clean examples of vegetables and when a class calls for more than one vegetable i.e. A Pair Of Table Marrows they must be matched in size and colour - like identical twins.

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Here is one of my entries...but with leeks

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Geordie

Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure

Wow Geordie. Perfect triplets
You must be a very proud dad.

Geordie very nice indeed. What variety are they?

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[quote=dni_dave]Fellow Veggers

Full of enthusiasm resulting from my first year as a grower I challenged a couple of people to a carrot competition.



Well - the time is approaching as more people than I first thought have taken up my carrot competition. The trouble I now have is what rules I put in place.

Does anyone know what the judges mark the carrots on? Is it just pure length? Thickness at the top and length? Do you have to have the whole root or can the very thin bit at the end be broken off and not get marked down?

If anyone knows the answer I would be extremely grateful. I've even been in to town and bought a cup for the winner!!! Might end up entering them all in a local show to be completely fair.

Either have the entry as 2 carrots or 3 carrots. They must match each other, be straight, clean and free from any holes or nibbles. Trim the green top to 3 inches. You must not break the carrot off getting it out of the ground and include the long thin tap root. There are 2 varieties of carrot you have blunt ended ones and pointed end ones. Ideally they should be in seperate classes. Judging doesn't just go on the length of the carrot they need to match and be top class examples.

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Lesley - thanks for that. I had no idea I would come under such pressure from an "off the cuff" challenge to a couple of friends.

I think the plan is to get together with neighbours and have a glass or two but the judging will take place when we are sober. I only hope I don't shoot my mouth off and go for more next year!!!

I've started to build the raised bed and fill it with sand as per Geordie's recommendation. I've bought the exhibition carrot seed off the internet and the OH is going to be in charge of watering while I'm away.

It's only the start of feb but I'm already getting nervous. All good fun though.

Mentioned throughout this thread is the idea of a competition between us grapes. If we are going to get it off the ground, we need to decide what veg or veggies we will be entering and decide whether we can choose our varieties ourselves, or should we all grow the same variety ?
We need to bear in mind also that some people have allotments, some gardens and some pots, so whatever we decide on has to be able to be grown in pots or containers.
My own feelings are that we should all just grow what we want and have a "Grapevine Show" with various classes at the end of the season.
What do you all think ?
Rat

As this is my first season I will be very happy if I have vegetables to eat at the end.
I would love to see all the other Grapes with their Giant vegetables. Perhaps we could send photos to the magazine and they could have a page or two showing us Grapes with big smiles and even bigger vegetables.
Jax

in another kitchen garden mag, there was an article about a chap who grows all his veg in pots & tubs. Also, we've hard threads about growin spuds in bags (this is a show/grow method) so I think the following would be a start

Spuds 3 per entry 1 class coloured & 1 white.

You cold grow onions in flower buckets so there's another.

Short Carrots Or other than long I think they are called) you could grow these in tubs

I've never showed veg so I couldn't say how they would turn out but it would be a giggle.

ntg

Or we could do a collection of 5 vegetables. 1 vegetable per variety laid out on a tray or table. That way it wouldn't matter what each individual grew so long as they grow at least 5 different vegetable varieties.

Jaxom we don't need to grow giant vegetables just really good, clean examples of the variety.

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