Joe adds to his monster veg success tally
Geordie ex-miner Joe Atherton has set a new world record for the longest radish at the Malvern Autumn Show’s Giant Vegetable Championships, measuring a whopping 5.023m. It was grown from a seed of the white-skinned ‘mooli’ strain April Cross F1, supplied by specialist vegetable seedsman DT Brown. The Geordie ex-miner also broke the world record for the longest carrot, with a 6.245m long root of St Valery at the show.
Joe, who now lives in Mansfield, has been growing giant vegetables for more than 25 years. He sowed the April Cross seed early in the season. Allowing a week for germination, it grew to its record length in less than four months. He grows his radishes in two long guttering pipes that are close together. They are held on an upward 45-degree angle in a polytunnel. For a growing medium, he uses a 50:50 mix of very fine peat and soil riddled to less than 1/16th of an inch. This allows the roots to grow as long as possible.
World record radish – plans for even bigger veg
Joe grew three radishes, but in future intends to sow two weeks earlier and use a longer pipe. This world record setter reached the bottom of the pipe, so it could have been longer still. At the Harrogate Autumn Show, Joe also won the giant onion competition with a 15lbs 10oz specimen and the longest runner bean (31.1024 inches) to go with his many other records.
DT Brown’s Tim Jeffries said: “While we pride ourselves on the quality of our seed, we take our hats off to Joe for setting new radish and carrot world records. They are tributes to his skill and hard work. Well done, Joe!”
For more information on the seeds, visit www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk.
