Champion vegetables

Southern Living, Oct 1995 by Bender, Steve

Why would anyone want to grow a 7-pound tomato? A 700-pound pumpkin? A 260-pound watermelon? The answer is obvious. Because they can. Last summer, we traveled the width and breadth of the South to meet people very much like you, except for one minor difference--they aim to grow vegetables that are bigger than your head, and in some cases, bigger than your dog. Our first stop: Edmond, Oklahoma, where in 1986, a housepainter made a discovery that would forever change the way folks think about tomatoes.

"BREAKER ONE-NINE-THAT'S ONE HUGE TOMATO."

The CB radio crackles constantly from Gordon Graham's greenhouse beside his backyard vegetable garden. Gordon believes that the CB makes tomatoes grow bigger. "Right now, the plants closest to the radio are 14 feet tall, while the ones farthest away are only about 7 feet," he notes. If his theory sounds dubious, consider that the Guinness Book of World Records lists him as the grower of the world's biggest tomato. Nine years ago, one of his gargantuan fruits weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces--big enough for 21 tomato sandwiches.

The appearance of this monstrous 'mater surprised Gordon as much as anyone. "I was experimenting with letting the plant get humongous before any fruit set, on the theory that if I had a big plant, it would support a big tomato," he recalls. Thus, he watered and fertilized the stuffing out of it. "When the plant was 12 to 14 feet high," he continues, "a storm blew it over onto the cantaloupes. So I wrote it off completely and left it to shade the cantaloupes." Then one day, while checking the melons, he noticed a single tomato had formed. A rather large tomato.

The plant itself went on to set another world record. At 53 feet, 6 inches, it was the longest tomato vine ever grown. Together, the fruit and CBS This Morning taped a segment in his garden. And Miracle-Gro tabbed him to be the standard bearer for its $100,000 Tomato Challenge contest, to see if anyone could grow a bigger tomato. (So far, the nearest competition is more than a pound away.)

Miracle-Gro also presented him with a replica of his tomato to commemorate his achievement. Made from epoxy, it's the exact weight, shape, and size of the original. On trips, Gordon faithfully carries it with him, packing it in his wife's bowling ball bag. "I've had lots of fun at the airport, running it through their X-ray machine," he says. "They'll X-ray it, look at it, then X-ray it again."

If you'd like to grow a giant tomato, here are some of Gordon's tricks.

* Start with seeds of a big-fruited variety. Gordon prefers Delicious, but you can also use Beefmaster, Whopper, Big Boy, Big Girl, or Incredibly Grotesquely Huge. (I made that last one up.)

* Enrich your soil by mixing in lots of compost, peat moss, and manure. Gordon swears by the manure he gets from a nearsighted pet rabbit named Hubble. (Still no word from NASA concerning Hubble's corrective lenses.)

* Start seeds in January or February. When plants are 3 to 4 inches tall, lay each pot on its side and weigh the vine down so it grows horizontally. When it's about a foot long, plant it outside in a trench so that i only the top two sets of leaves show above ground. The plant will root all along the buried stem. Set out plants in early March. To protect them against frost, place an 11-inch diameter cage made of reinforcing wire around each plant. Then place a Wall O' Water (a water-filled . plastic teepee) around the plant inside the cage. This will keep your plant from freezing in temperatures as low as 10 degrees. When your plant outgrows the Wall O' Water, place a second one atop it, securing it with wire to the cage. Remove the Wall O' Waters after the last frost. (You can order them from Gardener's Supply Company, [802] 863-1700.)

* Feed your tomato plants every 7 to 10 days. Gordon uses 1 gallon of Miracle-Gro, mixed according to label directions, on each plant every time he waters.

* Don't prune the suckers. Let only one tomato form per plant. Then turn up your CB and pray.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

The red, wooden watermelon slice sitting in the window of the Chamber of Commerce says it all: "We grow Watermelons and Presidents in Hope, Arkansas."

There's a reason "Presidents" comes second. Prior to Bill Clinton's victory in 1992, Hope's sole claim to fame rested in its watermelon fields. The town's first world champion, Hugh Lasseter, grew a 136-pound melon in 1925. In the 70 years since then, Hope has held the title most of the time. That's why in Hope today you can find almost anything decorated as a watermelon. If you can lift it, fill it, push it, pull it, wear it, tear it, scoot it, or shoot it, some Hopite will paint a watermelon on it.

No family has done more to uphold Hope's honor than the Brights--Ivan, the patriarch; Lloyd, his son; and Jason, his grandson. The Brights grew the world's first 200-pound watermelon in 1979. Six years later, Jason set another world record with a 260-pound beast, an accomplishment that landed him in the December 23, 1985, issue of People. His record stood until 1990, when Bill Carson of Arrington, Tennessee, beat it by 2 pounds.