Man breaks record by growing world's heaviest gooseberry

Graeme Watson called it the "Holy Grail" of goosebery growing
PA
Jacob Jarvis6 August 2019

A delighted fruit grower who nurtured the world’s heaviest gooseberry has expressed his pride over the “little beauty”.

Graeme Watson, 59, described his achievement as "the Holy Grail of gooseberry growing" after it weighed in at 64.56g – just above the weight of a standard tennis ball.

He said it was a "good feeling" to break the record and described his "race against time" to submit the champion fruit to Egton Bridge Gooseberry Show after it was picked.

Mr Watson, of Ainthorpe, North Yorkshire, said: "It was picked last night, it was a little bit of a surprise. I got my hands on it and thought, 'this is a good one'."

The gooseberry beat stern competition to be crowned the heaviest
PA

Detailing how he knew he was on to a special pick, he said: "It was nice and ripe, which means they weigh a little bit more than an unripe one. When I got it on the scales I couldn't believe how much it did weigh.

"I didn't get much sleep last night when I realised this might just happen. I had a bit of a sleepless night. The nerves were a bit jangly this morning but I was trying not to show any emotion.

"I have been trying a long, long time. It's probably a once-in-a-lifetime gooseberry for most growers.

"It's a good feeling. It's the Holy Grail of gooseberry growing."

Mr Watson explained how the fruit begins to lose weight from the moment it is picked and said: "It was a race against time to get it to the show and get it officially weighed. I had to sweat it out to make sure it hadn't burst on the way.

"I had it in a box like a little mini suitcase. A mini carrying box padded out inside and lined in egg trays. I had it on my knee in the car just in case we hit any potholes or cattle grids."

Mr Watson's offering weighed in at 64.56g
PA

Mr Watson's gooseberry, a yellow variety called Millennium, weighed in at 64.56g at 9am.

It beat around 30 other competitors and the current world record of 64.49g, which Guinness World Records says has been held by Kelvin Archer, of Scholar Green, Cheshire, since 2013.

He said the key to growing record-breaking gooseberries was "attention to detail" and added: "It can be a little bit testing where we live but it doesn't stop us from trying.

"We have to keep the bushes healthy, keep pests off them, get the fertiliser requirements right. It's just paying attention to detail.

"Have to protect them later on in the year when they're getting ripe. I use umbrellas over them to stop them getting wet and they don't particularly like hot sun."

Mr Watson is a member of Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Society.

The group was established in 1800 and runs the show annually on the first Tuesday of August.

He said: "You join an elite band when something like this happens.

"I just love the tradition of our society and our history. They're a lovely group of people as well. Things go the same way at the show as they would have done 50 years ago.

"The way the gooseberries are weighed, the way it's recorded, that's what it is for me."

Mr Watson said the society would be seeking to get his record ratified by Guinness World Records, which did not have a representative at the show.

Additional reporting by PA.

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