73st pumpkin needs forklift to get into Midlands giant vegetable contest

A whopping 73st pumpkin was so big a forklift truck had to heave it into place at the annual National Giant Vegetables Contest.

More than 65,000 people are expected to flock to the Three Counties Showground in Malvern, Worcestershire., to catch a glimpse of potentially world record-breaking produce.

Last year, seven new Guinness World Records were smashed, including the longest radish at a giant 7.848 metres.

Now green-fingered gardening fanatics are hoping to break even more records when the show runs from tomorrow (Fri) to Sunday (27/9).

Among this year’s hopefuls is champion British giant vegetable grower Graham Barratt, who had to transport his massive 465.5kg pumpkin on a lorry.

The giant gourd has a staggering 130-inch circumference and needed a forklift to get it in front of the judges.

Former BT senior manager Graham, from Abbeydale, Gloucester, has nine entries this year and has already smashed the record for the tallest cucumber plant at 7.5m (24ft).

Grandad-of-six Graham, 67, said: “The pumpkin is 465.5kg and I’m sure that’s a personal best, but it’s not over till it’s over.

“There’s one or two which are fairly big but it all depends on how thick the skins are on these.

“With pumpkins the skin thickness matters - you could have a giant pumpkin with a really thin skin and it not weigh as much.

“We measured it and it came out with a 130ins circumference.

“It took a lot of effort to get it into the show.

“I’m very lucky and my plot is in Cheltenham, it’s on a farm, and they’ve given me a polytunnel to grow giant pumpkins in.

“At the end they’ve got forklifts and tractors who lift it on a low loader, and then we drive it up here.

“It’s a lot of hard work."

Graham said keeping the soil packed with nutrients was the secret to getting his vegetables as big as possible.

He added: “I tend to give all my methods away, it’s a case of feeding the soil.

“As the plants are growing, they take a lot of nutrients out the ground, so it’s a case of putting those back in to make sure it grows.

“And I feed with liquid seaweed to help encourage it.

“Because it’s been a hot summer they’ve all been finished earlier - it’s been bonkers.

“The exotic things have been growing quite well, but anything British refuses to grow once it gets over 28 degrees.”

But Graham faces some heavyweight competition.

Serial winner Joe Atherton, 71, who bagged the world record for the longest radish in 2024 and 2025, has returned with 20 entries.

He is hoping to claim top spot again with his 13kg cantaloupe melon and giant onions weighing a combined 18.5kg.

The retired miner, from Mansfield, Notts., said: “The melon and the potatoes have the best shot, and possibly the onions.

“It’s all about the wait for the weighing, then we’ll know.”

Revealing his secrets for producing monster veg, Joe added: “It’s all about getting the right seeds, and a bit of know-how.

“You get that stage right and then everything else fits in.

“There will be one or two wheeler dealings for seeds here I’m sure.”

Peter Glazebrook, 82, has been producing giant vegetables for 40 years and also fancies his chances with a hefty 3.564kg aubergine.

He said: “The weather has been difficult and against me this year, it’s been too hot and dry for anything to get any proper size.

“It’s all come and gone early before the show.

“I’ve got a beetroot at 11.66kg.

“My aubergine is at 3.564kg - it’s early days but I’m not expecting to win an but it’s a good entry.

“Growing giant vegetables doesn't just happen, you need the right seed.”