Many gardeners compete with each other in the right to grow the largest vegetable or fruit in their beds. Sometimes you get real garden mutants, surprising in their appearance. At specialized exhibitions, such instances amaze the audience. It is interesting to know when and by whom was grown the world's largest potato?
The opinion of experts
Seeing a potato weighing more than 200 grams, we will probably find it gigantic. Nevertheless, the organizers of "garden" events only rank large fruits weighing more than 750 grams. And what about specimens weighing 1.5 kilograms? But this is not the limit.
The largest potato in the world
A Saudi farmer, Khalil Semkhat, grew a huge potato in 2008, ahead of all European gardeners. She weighed 11 kilograms 200 grams. Of course, after this, the peasant and his fruit were listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The size of the potato was the girth of three human heads. It was sweet potato.
The record holder from Arabia surpassed the English achievement of 1975, becoming heavier by three kilograms. Khalil did not expect to receive such a huge fruit in size and was much surprised to dig it at his site. It’s even scary to eat such a large potato. Everyone who saw her wondered what the secret of this giant was and how to grow such a huge potato. The photo shows this "monster".
Semkhat admitted that he didn’t use any fertilizers, and he didn’t take special care of the plantings, he generally did not pay attention to them. The crop grew by itself, and this is what came of it. Giant potatoes weighing more than 11 kilograms can feed the whole village! What happened then?
After Khalil Semkhat grew the largest potato in the world, his interest in the "garden" business increased. And the number of buyers of farm crops has increased dramatically. Perhaps everyone seeks in the next bag to find the same record holder.
Competitor from Britain
For a long time, the record holder was headed by a fruit grown by a gardener from Britain, Peter Glasebrook. His potatoes weighed 3 kg 730 g. The fruit was presented at the National Exhibition of Gardeners, held in 2010 in the British county of Somerset. The 66-year-old gardener was so impressed with the success that he is now making a lot of efforts to surpass his own record. The gardener shares secrets with others. He believes that in order to grow the world's largest potato, it is important to choose the right planting material, as well as observe some nuances. In any case, you will have to spend a lot of effort, but all of them will not be in vain.
Glasebrook has been dedicated to growing giant vegetables for over 10 years. His achievements are not limited to potatoes. He raised:
- huge carrots about 5 m long;
- beets at 6.4 meters;
- parsnip weighing 16 kg.
Until 2010, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest potato was considered, weighing 3.5 kg. She was raised by a farmer K. Sloan from the UK.
The biggest - the most expensive?
No, this is not always the case. To date, the French Labonnot is considered the most expensive potato variety in the world, with a price ten times more than all others. It costs 500-650 euros. This unique variety grows on the island of Noirmoutier. Its originality is that such a potato grows in the sand, and it is harvested only young in early May, and only by hand, so as not to damage the tubers.
And Labonnot's taste is indescribable! Due to the fertilizer with algae, the fruits acquire salinity and sweetness at the same time. Potatoes are served as an independent dish in expensive restaurants around the world.
What miracles humanity has not seen! And giant potatoes are just one of them.