Giant pumpkin grower hopes to beat previous record

Despite a dry summer and health issues, a world record holding giant vegetable grower believes he is still set to break his previous record for Staffordshire's biggest pumpkin.

Derek Hulme, from Stoke-on-Trent, has an allotment at Proctors Nursery and said without their support and access to their water supply, he would have been out of the running this year.

The 65-year-old is taking his huge pumpkin - which he estimates already weighs more than 500lb (226kg) - to the Canna UK National Giant Vegetables Championship at the Malvern Autumn Show later this month.

He describes the potential prize winner as "the size of a tractor tyre" which he estimates will take five or six people to move.

"I'm hoping it's not hollow, I'm hoping it's got big thick walls in it, and that's where the weight will be," said the retired pottery industry worker who has been in the giant veg game for the last seven years.

The lack of rain during the summer had been "horrendous", said Hulme, adding he was lucky to be growing on a flood plain at a commerical nursery with its own water supply.

And it has been a tough time for the competitive grower too, after sciatica left him confined to bed for ten weeks during the main part of the growing season in June and July.

Fortunately, the head gardener at the nursery kept his pumpkin patch watered while he was out of action.

He is trying to beat his 2024 record of 466lb (211kg) for Staffordshire's official biggest pumpkin after last year's crop failed, with his biggest pumpkin weighing a mere 300lb (136kg).

The seeds for this year's entry were supplied by other champion growers, and the right seeds, along with decent soil and enough space, are the secrets to giant pumpkins success, said Hulme.

And they like music too.

"All plants just thrive on music. I know it sounds a bit strange, but it's true, it works," he said.

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.