Battling heatwave havoc, giant veg growers prepare for judgement

Across allotments and deep in the heart of gardens, excitement is building ahead of a big date in the calendar - the Canna UK National Giant Vegetables Championship, later this month.

For the many who spend months tending their plants to get their vegetables as big as possible, the time for judging is nigh, with the show starting on 25 September.

Take for instance Neil Hands - talk to him about why he gave up coaching a children's football team to take on his own allotment and that is when he really lights up.

Eighteen years into his vegetable-growing journey, he said his proudest moment was winning a Guinness World Record four years in a row, for the biggest red cabbage.

"I used to watch Alan Titchmarsh on Gardeners' World and that was it," he smiled.

"I took an allotment on and never looked back."

After his world records, Hands' hopes are high of another winning time for his red cabbage, at the championship in Malvern, Worcestershire.

While he lives in Walsall, he says he is part of a community of growers, spanning the country.

"The camaraderie is wicked. Everyone is so helpful and anyone can do it," he grinned.

"You just need to keep checking on your veg, get tips, watch tutorials on YouTube and my biggest tip is make sure you get the proper seeds."

The show is widely known as one of the UK's biggest harvest‑season celebrations, drawing thousands of visitors to the Three Counties Showground each September.

Growers enter supersized pumpkins, marrows, cabbages and more - often breaking world records each year.

Last year, records fell for the world's longest radish and heaviest celeriac, as well as UK and EU records for giant tomatoes.

More than 100 competitors are expected to take part, with rivalry described as fierce..

Growers present enormous, often record‑breaking vegetables ranging from celery and leeks to parsnips and cabbages.

Kate Dufton, who manages the event, said the stereotype of it only being men in their allotments was wrong - women have long been central to the show.

"From award-winning growers and floral artists to bakers, makers, gardeners and entrepreneurs, women have long played a vital role in shaping the rich traditions and vibrant atmosphere of Malvern Autumn Show," she said.

"Whether cultivating spectacular blooms, creating beautiful handmade products, demonstrating culinary skills or championing sustainable growing, women continue to be at the heart of the harvest season."

For some growers, the focus is all on the soil - others look at their manure, whether chicken or horse.

For Derek Hulme, it is Tender Loving Care - TLC - which is the order of the day when it comes to his approach.

The 65-year-old, from Stoke-on-Trent, told the BBC: "It all comes down to the weather conditions. You need some TLC and a lot of different variants to succeed. There's a lot to it.

"But the weather is a massive part. A lot of growers giant pumpkin and marrow growers have been devastated because their vegetables have split.

"The conditions have been so dry, we're watering more. But then the vegetables soak up more than it can actually cope with and then they split wide open."

The heatwaves this year have played havoc with the competitors, with Hands adding "it's been terrible".

"It's too hot for my cabbages this year, they need it to be cooler. I've just been watering and watering," he admitted, saying everyone was panicking.

The love of growing vegetables can start at a young age - for Hulme, it sprouted when he was a teenage barrow boy on the market in his home city, carrying produce for stallholders and customers.

The hobby side began when he started finessing things at his allotment and grew from there.

"As soon as I saw the giant veg in Malvern all those years ago - it was hook line and sinker," he smiled.

"It's a very strange thing to do, giant vegetable growing."

"It isn't like normal vegetables. If you lose one, you lose your hard work."

Hulme is taking his huge pumpkin - which he estimates already weighs more than 500lb (226kg), comparable to a tractor tyre - to the show this year.

"My best tip, if you want to get into growing, is get the right seed. It's got to come from a reputable grower," he added.

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