AN ANNUAL giant vegetable competition, which is rapidly becoming one of the highlights of the horticultural calendar, took place in Carmarthenshire on Sunday (Oct 16).
Aberglasney Gardens in Carmarthenshire hosted their fourth annual Giant Vegetable Growing Competition – the only one in Wales. In addition to attracting competitors from all over Wales, the event was filmed by a Japanese TV crew who went along to cover the competition for NHK, the Japanese equivalent of the BBC.
Despite a year of both very cold and very hot weather, making for tough growing conditions, the display of vegetables at Aberglasney did not disappoint.
From mammoth-sized marrows to colossal cabbages and titanic-sized tomatoes, logistically, it’s not an easy event to hold, but nevertheless it is one of the Aberglasney Head Gardener’s favourites.
Speaking after the competition, Joseph Atkin said: “We had to borrow a special custom-built scales from West Wales Weighing in Haverfordwest, and then needed some serious man power to get the entries onto the scales! It is, however, a great day and our competitors have once again put on an incredible display.”
The official weigh-in was conducted by gardening guru Medwyn Williams MBE, who travelled from his home in Anglesey to be at Aberglasney and was delighted to record some fantastic weights.
Amongst the most impressive vegetables was a marrow weighing 36kg (79.58lb) grown by Kevin and Gareth Fortey from Cwmbran. Kevin and Gareth also won the class for the heaviest leek weighing in at 4.3kg (9.48lb). The pumpkin class was won by Jenny Jones of Kidwelly with a weight of 30.6kg (66.50lbs). Ian Neale of Langstone in Gwent grew a cucumber measuring 80.4cm and a parsnip of 186.2cm long.
10-year-old Jamie Courtney- Fortey, who is Kevin’s son, is obviously following in his father’s footsteps having won the class for the largest sunflower head with his entry which had a diameter of 41cm.
Thanks to the generosity of event sponsors Kings Seeds, the prizes in each category were well worth growers efforts – first prize was £40 or a joint annual membership for Aberglasney worth £75; second prize £20 or a single annual membership for Aberglasney worth £55; and third prize was a family day ticket for the Gardens (two adults and two children).
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