Get interested in growing giant vegetables but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry! This article will show you all secrets to growing giant-sized vegetables from scratch with less failure, higher success rate. Let’s get started!
Choose Giant-Sized Vegetable Seeds
While enthusiastic giant-sized vegetable growers love seeking for rare seeds to grow, beginners should start with easy-to-grow ones.
The market of giant-sized vegetable seeds is vast and sometimes, a few marketing tricks push the price of some seeds up crazily while their germination rate is not always high.
I personally don’t spend much on seeds. My standards are to look for truly high-quality seeds and if I succeed in growing a giant-sized vegetable species, I can start saving heirloom seeds from the biggest crops.
You might need to spend time searching for varieties that suit the overall climate in your area and your garden soil quality. But here are some common options – which are very easy to grow - to consider:
Type of vegetables | Name | Fruit weight/Size | Days to harvest |
Melon | Carolina Cross | 100 pounds | - |
Banana | 5 to 8 pounds, up to 24” long | 90 | |
Tomatillo | Gigante | 4" | 99 |
Squash | Marina di Chioggia Squash | 10 pounds | - |
Giant Pink Banana Squash | 30" long | 100 to 105 | |
Dill's Atlantic Giant Pumpkin | 500 up to 2009 pounds | - | |
Tomato | Old German | 1-1/2 to 2 pounds | 75 |
Giant Oxheart | 2 pounds | 90 | |
Brandywine | 1-1/2 pounds | 100 | |
Beefmaster Hybrid | (2+ pounds | 75 | |
Big Zac | 4 to 6 pounds | - | |
Pepper | Chinese Giant | 4 to 5 inches deep 6 inches across | 90 |
Super Heavyweight Bell Pepper | 8-9 inches | 77 | |
Big Chile Hybrid | 40% larger than Anaheim's | - | |
Onion | Ailsa Craig Giant Exhibition | 2-5 pounds | 110 |
Find The Right Time For Sowing Seeds
Your giant crop will be impacted if you sow seeds too late or too early.
Ask a sales associate at the local nursery about growing requirements and caring guides of the seeds you buy. Or, look at the product description.
Most vegetable seeds require sowing either in spring or fall because of the cool weather conditions but not too cold. For example, giant pumpkins and cabbages. But be mindful of some exceptions – such as giant carrot seeds which need to be planted in mid to late winter.
Sow Seeds Properly
Giant-sized vegetable seeds can be sown in earth ground or in a pot (but make sure it is at least 12” in size).
There are three big notes you should keep in mind when sowing seeds:
- Sow seeds with fertilizer
- The required depth to bury seeds in the soil should be 2x the seed’s diameter. For example, dig a big, 8mm-deep hole if your seed is 4mm in diameter.
- After burying seeds, top up with a thin compost layer.
Besides, if you want to increase the germination rate, sow more seeds in separate pots.
Apply The Right Fertilizer For Your Giant-sized Vegetables
Just like standard garden-variety seeds, each plant requires specific kinds of fertilizers to grow happily and produce the highest-quality crops. Here are common guides for some popular seeds:
Slow-release, nitrogen-rich fertilizers - best for giant cabbage plants
Nitrogen-rich fertilizers – best for giant-sized corn stalks
Bone and fish blood, or a compound of potassium and oxygen combining with potash, phosphorus, and nitrogen in a 6:3:2 ratio – best for giant-sized pumpkins.
Only feed the root system and not the leaves, and do so weekly until harvest.
Provide Lighting
Giant-sized vegetable seeds germinate more quickly in a warm, full-sun place, therefore, you should choose the right position to sow them or place the pot by a window to receive enough sunlight per day.
How To Water Giant-sized Vegetables Properly
During seedlings, remember to water them daily or skip a day if it rains. Keep the soil damp, but not dripping wet. It is recommended to use warm water.
You can water the plant multiple times per day but do not overwater because it might cause the fruit to split
What To Do Once Fruits Show
Regularly check the fruit development to ensure they aren’t rotten away. Once you find out the shiniest contender – which is a fruit being properly growing, remove other fruits from the plant to concentrate its energy and nutrients into that one fruit.
Regularly prune the plant if it starts overgrowing. Cover the cut in a compost layer.
Get Advice From Fellow Exhibitors
While just a few competitors are coy, many people love sharing their experience and knowledge about how they grew their giant-sized vegetables.
For example, I have learned this interesting trick from a fellow exhibitor, which is collecting your morning pee to feed giant-sized cabbages. The reason is that morning pee contains a lot of nitrogen – which is an important factor to help the plant grow massively.
I did and found it worked!
Conclusion
Once your vegetables reach the desired size, harvest them! The vegetables used for cooking are frequently harvested earlier than those for entering a contest. For a too-big veggie, consider asking a family member, a friend, or use a wheelbarrow to transport it.
That’s all my secrets to growing giant-sized vegetables. Thanks for reading!
