Barry: 'Vince the Veg' grows world's heaviest cucumber

Vince's huge cucumber is his second world record-breaking marvel in two years

His family and friends call him Vince the Veg.

And green-fingered Vincent Sjodin from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, has certainly earned that nickname, having just grown the world's heaviest cucumber.

Measuring 4ft (1.2m) long, it weighed in at a whopping 29lb 8oz (13.4kg) - equivalent to an average mountain bike - at last month's UK National Giant Vegetables Championships.

The 51-year-old smashed the previously held record by more than 14oz (0.4kg).

It was carpenter Vince's second world record-breaking marvel in two years. In 2021, he grew a mammoth marrow, weighing in at an eye-watering 256lbs 10oz (116.4kg).

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"I started about six years ago after seeing the giant veg display at the Vale of Glamorgan show at Fonmon Castle," he said.

"I remember telling the blokes there, 'I'm going to have a go at that, I'll be back next year' - and I was."

Indeed, from a poly-tunnel on an allotment about two miles from his home, Vince has since been turning out all manner of colossal crop.

For example, at September's UK National Giant Vegetables Championships, Vince also scored another five firsts.

A flatbed truck was needed to transport Vince's 1,302lb pumpkin

"I also had the heaviest potato at 5Ib 2oz (2.4kg), a 60lb (27kg) marrow, a 1,302lb (590.6kg) pumpkin - which had to be driven there on a flatbed truck - and a tomato almost the size of a football which set a new UK best at just over 12lb (5.4kg)," he added.

So how does he do it?

"I look online for growing tips and swap advice and know-how with other growers. There are a few Facebook pages which are really good for that," said Vince.

"A lot of it is down to the seed really and I trade mine with other people all over the world.

"I swapped the seeds from my 2021 record-breaking marrow for some from guys based in American and Germany, and I'll do the same with my cucumber's seeds when I cut it open in the next week or two.

"Everyone wants seeds from a world record winner."

Vince uses beer cans in photos to give a sense of scale to his prize specimens

Talking of cucumbers, Vince's recent 30Ib effort was nurtured using a hammock and scaffold netting to stop it collapsing under its own weight.

"It takes a lot of work and I probably spent roughly four hours on the allotment each night after work during the summer and six hours every weekend," he said.

"Bad weather can be the biggest problem because it can cause mildew, and I lost a 217lb (98.4kg) marrow earlier this year as a result of all the rainfall - it ended up bursting open."

But Vince said he would not be drawn on the so-called "secret formula" he uses to aid the growth of his veg.

Is it anything to do with the cans of ale he positions next to his prize specimens in the photos he posts online?

"No, it's nothing to do with pouring beer in the soil," he laughed.

"Those cans are just there to give a sense of scale."

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