HAVE you got it in you to grow a whopper like this?

Joy and Michael Michaud from West Bexington-based Sea Spring Seeds have thrown down their annual growing competition gauntlet to see if gardeners can top their 1.72kg tomato.

In the past the challenges have included growing the most chillies on a plant (3,238) but now it's the biggest tomato.

Joy said: "Is this the biggest tomato in the world?

"While we’re unsure about that, we do know that the fruit are the biggest we’ve ever grown. They regularly weigh around 1kg, though in one instance a fruit reached 1.72kg.

"The original seed were given to us by our friend Ovi Rominger, who brought them back from Romania. After raising a crop and selecting the best plants, we ended up with a variety we felt was good enough for our customers."

After a lot of testing they now have commercial quantities of seed for sale in their catalogue this year.

And Joy says the fruit is as big on taste as it is on size.

She said: "Bigger is certainly better when it comes Ovi’s Romanian Giant, and the prizewinning size is exceeded only by the eating

quality of the fruit.

"The texture is smooth and juicy, with very few seed. For such a large tomato, the flavour isn’t at all insipid or dull. To the contrary, it is a memorably old-fashioned with a nice touch of sweetness."

Their competition isn't confined to Ovi's Romanian Giant entrants will likely have to get some of its seeds if they are to be in with a chance, says Joy.

She added: "Ovi’s Romanian Giant is open pollinated and probably an old, heritage variety.

"It is a red beefsteak tomato with multilocular fruit: the numerous small seed cavities are located around the circumference, leaving a large fleshy centre. The fruit

sometime suffer from catfacing, but this a common ailment in large-fruited heritage varieties. Though eating quality can be very good, harvests must not be delayed since the fruit quickly go soft once they ripen. The indeterminate plants are easily managed and well-suited to growing inside an unheated greenhouse or tunnel."

For details about the competition contact Sea Spring Seeds or visit the website seaspringseeds.co.uk.

For more information contact Joy Michaud by email joy@seaspringseeds.co.uk or phone 01308 897898.

Entries must be in by October 15.

The winner will received a £20 voucher to be spent on the seaspringseeds website to buy seeds.

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