Vegetable growers claim to have smashed crop world records
A champion vegetable grower says he’s smashed the world record for the most tomatoes on a single plant after spending two-and-a-half hours harvesting 5,891 from a vine.
Douglas Smith counted the haul of red and green tomatoes which weighed more than 20kg, the equivalent of two mountain bikes.
The 44-year-old’s yield broke the old record of 1,355 by more than four times, which was held by Surjit Singh Kainth, from Coventry, West Midlands, following his harvest in 2013.
The green-fingered dad’s success follows his two earlier Guinness World Records, for ‘most tomatoes on a single truss’, standing at 1,269 and a 20ft tall sunflower.
Douglas Smith (pictured) with his record breaking tomato plant. The dad smashed the previous Guinness World Record four times over, beating Surjit Singh Kainth’s harvest in 2013
The 44-year-old dad knelt down and posed in front of all of his hand picked tomatoes in his back garden. It took him two and a half hours to pick to collect and count the massive haul of red and green tomatoes which weighed
Mr Smith’s tomato plant (pictured) produced more than 5,891 in one go. The green-fingered dad’s success follows his two earlier Guinness World Records, which included ‘most tomatoes on a single truss’, standing at 1,269
Mr Smith and his friends take the harvest from his record-breaking plant in a greenhouse. The IT manager is hoping his efforts will get official recognition
And the IT manager, who lives with his son Stellan and wife Piper, in Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, now hopes this year’s record attempt will get official recognition as well.
Mr Smith was assisted by Matthew Oliver, from RHS Hyde Hall, and Emily Adcock, Paul Cramp and Spencer Dockray, from Amberley Garden Services.
The record was also watched over by two independent witnesses, Reverend Sarah Forrest and Chair of the Parish Council, Mike Dormon.
Another angle from the enormous tomato plant which resembles a Christmas tree. According to research Britons consume more than 500,00 tons of tomatoes each year
The 44-year-old dad was pictured with his arms stretched out as if he was trying to measure it. Consumers spend almost £1bn on the on tomatoes annually, with a fifth of this expenditure used for home-grown ones
Mr Smith previously hit the headlines in 2020 when he grew the UK’s tallest sunflower, which at 20ft towered over his family home.
According to research Britons consume more than 500,000 tons of tomatoes each year.
Consumers spend almost £1bn on the on tomatoes annually, with a fifth of this expenditure used for home-grown ones.
Meanwhile a Hampshire grower and amateur gardener has grown the world’s largest cucumber in his allotment.
Sebastian Suski’s extraordinary salad vegetable is four times the length of the average supermarket variety and weighs twenty times as much.
If sliced up, the three foot eight long, eight kg whopper could make more than 400 cucumber sandwiches.
The father of four, from Southampton, Hants, was delighted to discover last week that it is the biggest in history.
Sebastian Suski (pictured) with his Guinness World Record breaking cucumber at his allotment in Southampton. The dad of four has been growing the organic cucumber in a polytunnel since 25 May
His super long vegetable smashed the previous Guinness World Record holder by 6.4 cm.
The 44 year old, who works nights packing contact lenses, has been growing the organic cucumber in a polytunnel since 25 May.
And he says his secret is a daily dose of warm water – rather than cold.
Proud Mr Suski refers to his prize cucumber as ‘his baby’ and keeps ‘her’ safe at home wrapped in a blanket.
He says his four children, aged between three and fifteen, did not all previously share his love for growing giant vegetables but changed their minds when their dad was handed his official world record certificate.
Mr Suski said: ‘The kids weren’t interested but now I’ve got this world record they are. At first they said ‘Daddy can’t win it,’ and then they saw this and they went ‘wow!’
His record attempt has been helped along the way by his wife, Renata, who had to step in and care for his king-sized cucumber at a crucial moment when he was hospitalised.
Mr Suski: ‘There was found to be a leaking blood vessel in in my head and so I spent a week in hospital. Luckily for me my wife Renata was on hand to care for the cucumber and keep her well-watered and nourished.
‘Without Renata, I wouldn’t have this record.’
Mr Suski – who is also growing large water melon and butternut squash – has had a positive reaction from his allotment neighbours.
‘Many of them came over to congratulate me when I got the record,’ he said. ‘They were not jealous at all.’
Mr Suski has big plans for his giant cucumber, but it won’t be ending up in a sandwich or tzatziki anytime soon.
The big veg grower said: ‘I’m going to keep the seeds so I can grow more big cucumbers in the future.
‘The flesh would be no good for eating as its too ripe now so I’m going to put it on my compost heap.
‘It will be good for my other plants because it’s got lots of nutrients in it.’
Mr Suski offered a number of tips to budding big veg growers including avoiding the use of a hosepipe for watering.
He said: ‘Only water using a can with warm water.
‘If I poured cold water all over a person they would be shocked and it’s the same for a cucumber. Cold water will kill it.
‘You also have to be careful not to over-water them. One or two watering cans a day should be enough.’
