'How I grow my giant vegetables'

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Lee Herrington said the secret is in the soil the giant veg is grown in

Gigantic cabbages and super-sized squashes are among the vegetables that go up against each other in competitions every year - but what are the secrets behind ensuring they grow so big?

With pumpkins now so large they need to be transported in a lorry, growers have revealed the tips and tricks behind their dedicated green-fingered graft.

Lee Herrington, from Wollescote, in Stourbridge told the BBC he focuses on the soil, while Neil Hands from Wednesbury said horse manure is his favourite hack.

Their methods are all part of the bid for glory at the three-day Canna UK National Giant Vegetables Championship, which will be staged at Malvern Autumn Show in Worcestershire from next Friday.

Judges measure the length, breadth and weight of the giant vegetables each year, with growers aiming to break Guinness World Records.

But what sort of dedication does it take and how much room do you need to accommodate the freak plants?

'Get proper seed'

Mr Hands has been growing vegetables for 20 years, and broke the world record two years ago for his giant cabbage at 69 lbs 10 oz (31.5kg).

The 62-year-old, who visits his local allotment five times a week said beginners need to acquire the right seeds.

"You have to get the proper seed, you cant get any old seed," he says.

"Plant the seed between November and December and it could take eight or nine months from start to finish."

He said his top tip was to feed his vegetables nettles and comfrey plant, on the base of the soil, as well as horse manure.

The Canna UK National Giant Vegetables Championship will begin on Friday 26 September

Mr Herrington, 54, said his journey into giant veg began after his dad died, in 2012.

He told the BBC: "During the time he was getting towards the end, I'd promise him I'd help maintain his allotment. I didn't realise how much I'd start to enjoy it myself.

"Five years later, we went to the Malvern Autumn Show. When I went into the giant veg tent it took my breath away.

"It was like I'd gone back in time to those Jack in the Beanstalk days - I couldn't believe the size of them."

Mr Herrington, who broke the world record for the longest and heaviest runner bean last year, said his trick was to prepare the soil correctly.

"A lot of people grow and don't put the nutrients back in the soil. In October I sow something called field beans," he said.

"The roots develop nitrogen nodules – it's one of the buildings blocks of a plant. Early green growth relies on it. I chop them all down as they're about to flower and dig it into the soil."

'It's an obsession'

"The amount of space you need depends on which veg you want to grow," said record-breaking grower Joe Atherton, from Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire.

Mr Atherton, 70, broke the world record last year for the longest turnip at 15ft 10.6in (4.842m) and the longest radish at 24ft 3.4in (7.401m) - longer than a minibus.

He admits that for the pursuit of excellence with the freak produce it needs to be "an obsession".

"You've got to be working on it 24/7 and if you're not doing it, you're thinking about it," he said.

Lee Herrington, pictured with his giant squash - which has grown to 1,416 lbs (642kg)

Fellow competitor and champion veg grower Peter Glazebrook said his secret includes regularly watering the vegetables manually - he says that as a result he has not been on holiday for years.

The 81-year-old said: "We don't like to be away for more than a day from the garden. You have to be dedicated to win."

The retired building surveyor holds six current world records including heaviest potato 10lb 15oz (4.98kg), heaviest cauliflower 60lb 9.3oz (27.48kg), and longest runner bean 2ft 11.31in (89.7cm).

'Expensive to grow'

He has also triumphed with longest leek 5ft 2.3in (1.582m) and heaviest sunflower head 15lb 8.5oz (7.046kg).

"Veg, like onions, take the whole year to grow, so I'll be planting onion seeds in October," he said.

"In recent years, I've been growing a lot of my vegetables in a growing medium called coir (coconut husk), but you do have to buy special feeds for coir.

"You need special equipment for leeks and onions because you are starting them early in October and you've got to grow them over the winter.

"You need heated greenhouses with artificial lighting. Giant veg are expensive to grow."

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