Every year, it seems that some gung-ho gardener or fanatic farmer manages to produce an absolutely gargantuan, make-their-eyes-pop-out-of-their-sockets, fruit or vegetable. Pumpkins, in particular, seem to be featured commonly in these mega-plant stories. (There is, in fact, a World Pumpkin Confederation that keeps tracks of such things. Really!) The record for these "plumpkins" is an incredible 1,131 pounds! Yikes, that's a lot of pie!

So I thought to myself that if they keep track of the record for the largest pumpkin, there must also be records for other plants. I checked and, sure enough, Guinness has them all listed. What intrigued me the most, however, was that one person—Bernard Lavery of Llanharry, Great Britain—had grown no less than six of the world records (and one honorable mention, to boot). Table 1 outlines what this Greenest of the Green Thumbs has produced.

Table 1. Bernard Lavery's humungofoods.
Comestible Size Year
Cabbage124 pounds1989
Carrot6 feet, 10 ½ inches1991
Celery46 pounds, 1 ounce1990
Cucumber20 pounds, 1 ounce1991
Marrow108 pounds, 2 ounces1990
Parsnip14 feet, 3 ¾ inches1990
Zucchini64 pounds, 8 ounces1990