Hertfordshire gardener smashes own tomato growing record

Douglas Smith broke his own record with the bumper crop of tomatoes from a single stem

A man has broken his own world record for growing the most tomatoes from a single stem.

Douglas Smith from Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, grew 1,269 tomatoes on a single truss last September, a feat which has just been verified by Guinness World Records.

It beat his previous record of 839 which came from a plant that bore fruit just before the new record-breaker.

The title-holder prior to that was 488 which was set in 2010.

Mr Smith said: "The record attempts were only a few weeks apart but it took a little bit of time for the second record to go through the system.

"We counted up the first plant and there lurking in the background was the second one."

With so many tomatoes he said he had been able to keep friends and family stocked up with punnets of fresh produce.

Mr Smith said he researched different aspects to help him make the right choices for his record attempts, including taking soil samples to be tested at a laboratory to allow him to make any necessary adjustments.

In the past, Mr Smith has also grown a giant sunflower measuring 20ft (6m), a giant pumpkin and giant tomatoes.

"With all these things you want to have a bit of a run-up. Every year I'll split it up into two main camps," he said.

"I want to have stuff that I'm focusing on - this year it's on the most tomatoes, but then I'll run little experiments with other giant veg and giant crops.

"They won't be the focus of the year but you want to trial and experiment so when you do have a go you're going to be a little more up to speed."

This year's experiments are due to include peas, aubergines and potatoes.