Shropshire gardener grows 70lb cabbage

Shropshire's very own "tomato man" Graham Tranter could also be the county's cabbage king after growing this monster - weighing a staggering 70lbs.

Vegetable-growing Graham, whose tomato-producing greatness has earned him an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, has now proved he also has a passion for growing out-sized greens.

His colossal cabbage, weighing about 50 times that of an average specimen, stands almost three feet high and is about five feet across.

The five stone giant would be enough to make more than 300 servings of chef Jamie Oliver's cabbage soup but it is not for Graham's pot, even if he had one big enough.

The 66-year-old, from Glazeley, near Bridgnorth, said: "I entered it in the East of England Show at Peterborough last Sunday. Sadly, it came second to one which was about 4lbs heavier.

"I think I'm going to divide it up and share it out among friends. It will make a lot of cabbage soup.

"It will be very tasty but a bit stronger than normal cabbages.""

Graham, who is keeping tight-lipped about the secrets of his success, hit the headlines earlier this month when he grew 488 tomatoes on a single truss, a feat which landed him the world record.

His bumper crop beat the existing Guinness Book of World Records mark of 304 which he himself set the previous year.

Graham's cabbage may be a giant among veg but it still has a long way to go to match the heaviest one ever grown.

That world record belongs to Bernard Lavery, from Wales, who grew a cabbage in 1989 which tipped the scales at 124lbs.

It covered an area measuring 12 feet by three feet and it was still growing when it was harvested.

Veg grown in Shropshire is known for coming in all shapes and sizes such as Tam Fujii's pepper - which had a smiley face on it. The Wellington resident's find was the latest in a long line of quirky foods produced across the county.

Former Shropshire gardening champion Terry Norton was the last of the crop when he offered up a whopping 28-inch runner bean in the contest for the freakiest food.

Carrots and tomatoes have also featured heavily in the news.

By Simon Hardy