A giant pumpkin grown in Chelmsford could set a new record on Saturday when it is weighed at a festival in Southampton.
The fruit was grown from the world’s most expensive pumpkin seed at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Essex by gardener Matthew Oliver.
The seed, taken from a pumpkin that weighed more than a tonne, was bought by Ipswich seed firm Thompson and Morgan for £1,250 at an auction earlier this year.
Giant pumpkin on the move #ukgiantpumpkin @RHSHydeHall. Well done Matt pic.twitter.com/wNtytY4Tpv
— Rob Brett (@HydeHallCurator) October 7, 2016
The 2,323lb (1,054kg) pumpkin was grown in Switzerland two years ago and is the world’s heaviest, according to the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth.
Oliver was asked by Thompson and Morgan to grow the seed, which was planted in mid-April and took six days to come up. “I was getting worried. Six days is a long time,” he told the BBC. “It had to be repotted a couple of times because they are such vigorous growers.”
The fruit, which has a circumference of about 4.5 metres (15ft), was loaded on to a truck and taken to Royal Victoria country park in Southampton on Friday.
I have arrived in Southampton with the #UKGiantPumpkin Live interview on BBC South news later. A first for me! pic.twitter.com/gpnm7dPkgy
— Matthew Oliver (@MattOliver87) October 7, 2016
#UKGiantPumpkin has arrived safe and sound in Southampton. Security is here to keep guard all night pic.twitter.com/VaoqzhAQkH
— RHS Garden Hyde Hall (@RHSHydeHall) October 7, 2016
It will be officially weighed at the autumn pumpkin festival on Saturday.
Although Oliver believes the world record will not be broken, he hopes his labour of love has resulted in the biggest pumpkin grown outdoors in the UK.
