This 174-stone pumpkin is officially the biggest in the UK, weighing the same as a Ford Fiesta

Photo credit: Garden Health
Photo credit: Garden Health

From Country Living

Twin brothers from the south of England are celebrating after breaking their own record for growing the UK's biggest pumpkin, with a squash that weighs the same as a Ford Fiesta.

Ian and Stuart Paton at Pinetops Nursery in Lymington, near Southampton, traditionally grow pot plants, but also have a passion for producing super-sized pumpkins.

Photo credit: Alexander Spatari - Getty Images
Photo credit: Alexander Spatari - Getty Images

Last year, they impressed judges at the Jubilee Sailing Trust Pumpkin Festival in Netley, Southampton with a 162 stone vegetable. Now, they've gone one better by growing a 174 stone pumpkin with a 20ft circumference, squashing their own UK record. The pumpkin is just 13 stone shy of the world record (187 stone), set in Germany in October 2016.

While the brothers aren't disclosing their pumpkin growing tricks, they say they tend to the veggies for four hours every day using 100 gallons of water and "very light soil" with Westland Horticulture compost.

"The first pumpkin we grew was 54lb, now we watch them grow at 60lb a day," Ian told the BBC.

The pair were also crowned Grower of the Year over the weekend. Weigh-ins for three of their pumpkins took place in Holland and France before they were awarded the title.

Their supersized pumpkin will now go on display in London, before the brothers harvest its seeds to hopefully grow another record-breaker next year.

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