A gardening dad has been named a champion for the second time, after claiming another title for harvesting 1,269 tomatoes from a single stem.
Douglas Smith previously hit headlines in 2020 when he grew the UK’s tallest sunflower of 2020—at 20-foot, it towered over his family home.
This time, the 43-year-old grew almost 14 lbs of red tomatoes weighing (6.2 kilos) which earned him official recognition by Guinness World Records last week.
Commenting on his latest world record, Douglas said he was “really pleased” with the “amazing” tomato harvest.
According to SWNS news service, the previous record for the most tomatoes on a single truss was 488, achieved by a Shropshire man in 2010.
Douglas, of Stanstead Abbotts, Herts, has explained how he spent hours poring over scientific research papers to perfect his cherry tomato growing techniques.
“You have to make sure the environment is well set up,” he said.
He sent samples of soil to labs to make sure the plants had exactly what they needed.
“I spent three or four hours a week tending to the tomatoes in an 8×8 foot greenhouse in my back garden.”
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Douglas, who lives with wife Piper, 45, and son Stellan, six, culled a number of plants down to two.
After counting the fruit on the first plant he tallied 839, but then the second vine had an even higher number – 1,269 little red gems.
The IT manager says this summer he plans to tackle two more world records, starting with the one for the most tomatoes on a single plant—a record currently at 1,355 claimed by a Coventry man in 2013.
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Douglas he also wants to set a new garden pea record but refused to give further details in fear of other veg growers trying to beat him to it.
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