Transcript
Alexis : Welcome to Hort Culture Podcast, where we're dropping the beat on the largest beats today.
Brett: Thank you.
Alexis : um
Brett: Oh.
Plant People: The largest of many things, apparently.
Alexis : oh
Plant People: Is this not the case?
Alexis : List of largest.
Plant People: The largest of whatever.
Brett: Y 'all need...
Alexis : veg.
Brett: So y 'all need to chill. Okay.
Plant People: ah brett had Brett had an opening.
Alexis : We're hot. It's spicy.
Brett: saying saying stupid saying saying stupid unfunny stuff is sort of my thing so please
Alexis : Let's go.
Plant People: Brett had something.
Plant People: Listen, we need to know our role.
Brett: stay in your lane. ah Well, we're coming off of State Fair. in Kentucky. state fair season and county fair season generally across i think the united states as well. And there's lots of things to talk about in the past. We've talked, there's yeah we have previous episodes about kind of. what happens at county fairs. and all the entries and the little, the dish gardens and the. the clover What are they called? Cloverbuds?
Alexis : Mm hmm.
Plant People: Yep.
Brett: which is like the young 4 -H 'ers who have stuff at the state fair.
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: But... We're going to sweep all that aside. And talk about the only thing at the state fair that everybody cares about. the largest insert produce of any sort.
Brett: That the people can grow Now, I am just curious. What is your all's vibe on the whole? about this concept of So let's see who can grow the biggest.
Plant People: a
Brett: pump Whatever.
Plant People: It's... It's fascinating, man. I mean, and we were just, you know, at ah as we were opening the show and kind of making some show notes, getting started today, I told you guys that I'm ah always curious about like ah just the sheer entertainment value of a humongous, whatever, humongous pumpkin.
Plant People: That's a classic ride and I love fall. So I'm going to lean on pumpkins. Just the sheer entertainment value of folks that may not, you know, know a lot about the farming or food production aspects, you know, but they will come up and take a picture of a ginormous pumpkin or beet, Alexis, versus, you know, kind of the educational.
Alexis : mm -hmm
Plant People: ah piece behind that, but maybe just bringing awareness that. That is a giant pumpkin.
Brett: yeah
Plant People: Maybe it has some educational value. But just the whole balance of entertainment versus education. and why this has persisted since the late 1800s. as a national thing and only grown, no pun intended, only grown. over time.
Plant People: This category of. thing.
Brett: Yeah.
Plant People: ah So, yeah, it's curious, curious to me.
Brett: And I'll just...
Alexis : because We just like to look and be like, whoa! Like, everybody likes to have a whoa moment.
Plant People: Show me something weird. Yeah, just humongous, whatever.
Brett: fans of the Fans of the spectacle.
Plant People: Yes.
Brett: Uh...
Plant People: Yes.
Brett: I think me Michel Foucault might have something to say about that.
Plant People: i'
Alexis : I feel like that's a cool band name, fans of the spectacle. That's ah that's a band name.
Brett: Yeah.
Alexis : The end.
Brett: Oof.
Alexis : copyright Take care.
Plant People: The cult of spectacle or something. I mean, you know.
Brett: well Yeah, so... ah well briefly i'll mention if you if you haven't heard it we have a do have a previous episode with Joe Kuzman, a friend of the pod who came on and talked about him. grow He grows giant pumpkins and he talked about the seeds and the growing process and all that stuff. It was really cool to hear from him.
Brett: And with all respect to Joe. and other competitors I Do not. Get it. I do not get it.
Alexis : ah ah
Plant People: but
Brett: And i I love absurdity. Absurdity is like the core of who I am, actually.
Alexis : Hmm. I think...
Plant People: Where's your whimsy, Brett?
Alexis : This is this is people who just like to push the limit because what we you know if you go back and listen to that episode, you'll hear all of the crazy. things that big pumpkin growers go through to not only like get right seed but like protecting it from sun scald pollinating it and it's just like people who like to push the limit but like maybe skydiving isn't for them
Plant People: They go through a lot.
Brett: Yeah.
Brett: I respect the game. I respect the game. I just don't like I would be much more into like. Uh...
Plant People: Good day.
Brett: Crop. like ah the crop that most resembles like a holy image appearing you know when people say like a water stain it looks like jesus or something or it's like
Plant People: Like a ginseng root or something, yeah.
Alexis : m
Brett: having a ah a thing that most resembles like a person that like this one looks like my grandma and you have a picture of your grandma and then like the eggplant or whatever
Plant People: specifically your grandmother.
Alexis : ah
Brett: like that that's the type of absurdity that but the biggest thing i mean it's But it's a crazy game. And again, I respect the game. But. I never really, even as a kid, even as a kid, I remember like all my everybody was like all excited about it.
Alexis : It's not your game
Brett: when we would go We went to the State Fair every year when I was a kid. and ah Everybody be all excited about and I was like, yeah I mean...
Plant People: Yeah, that's that's a big pumpkin.
Brett: It's cool.
Plant People: yeah
Brett: Yeah.
Alexis : I think I... probably was more like you brett until i learned more about like growing things and so now i'm interested in it because i know the absurdity to get it there like it's it's like cool this is a giant whatever but it's like imagine what they had to do like that's the part that throws me i'm just like
Brett: m
Brett: Yeah.
Alexis : You did, you injected milk into the, vet what?
Brett: I.
Brett: Just for anyone keeping score, Alexis just said.
Plant People: I mean...
Brett: I was kind of like you Brett until I learned and grew up.
Plant People: Until I learned better.
Alexis : mean I I have a degree in horticulture.
Plant People: Until I learned better and I did better.
Alexis : You do not.
Brett: That's right.
Alexis : That's a fact.
Brett: That's right.
Alexis : There's nothing wrong with it.
Brett: And I'm also just a little baby.
Plant People: I have a degree in whimsy, so there you go.
Alexis : Just a baby.
Plant People: Touche. I'm like, show me your giant beat. Because I want to see that.
Brett: Whoa.
Alexis : Whoa. whoa the um
Plant People: But it is persistent, this whole this whole concept. um and And I think by and large, it is ah it is pretty cool because you go to state fairs and you just see people when they walk up to these things.
Plant People: You know, whether I'm at the Iowa State, a couple of years ago at the Iowa State Fair, and saw large exhibits of whatever, and I was kind of still blown away. It doesn't matter if it's the largest cow I've ever seen or the largest pumpkin.
Brett: Right.
Plant People: And to see people's reaction to this is pretty cool. Like I said, they may not be. you know, with the whole production game of a fruit or a vegetable or, or grown up on a farm, but it's something that.
Plant People: brings people to that. And that that's always been kind of curious to me. And I think that's what's so persistent.
Brett: I would hypothesize. That. A lot of it, especially in the origin. was tied to the desire to demonstrate. the impact and power of a developing agricultural scientific.
Brett: enterprise so like
Plant People: Are you saying one -upsmanship with your neighbor? Saying, hey, Bill, my pumpkin's bigger than yours.
Brett: yeah Yes.
Alexis : I'm better at farming than you.
Brett: yeah
Plant People: Brad is being elegant over here.
Brett: Yes, but also, I mean, you're talking about it started around the time just before Extension was created.
Plant People: and i'm destroying it
Brett: And we started with this kind of agricultural project in the United States of of adding science to the farming. and like You know, you don't. People aren't as impressed by like the yield of pumpkins off of an acre like they are with like the number of bushels of corn that you get.
Alexis : Mm hmm.
Brett: And so there was this thing of like, how can we build it bigger, stronger, faster?
Plant People: I think you hit on it right there. That's something key. Brett is that. You know, to to conceptualize success in ag production. I mean, you know, it's many different things and it's not always a straight line, but.
Plant People: We can all conceptualize who has the biggest ear of corn or who has the biggest beat. I think you hit on something really important there is that it's such an easy concept to grasp.
Alexis : mm -hmm
Plant People: It's an easy metric.
Brett: Yeah.
Plant People: That's cool, Brett.
Alexis : mm -hmm
Brett: And the there's an absolute outcome to like you put it on the scale and you see what happens.
Plant People: Yeah. Yeah.
Brett: It's not the best.
Plant People: You can quantify that yeah
Brett: It's not the judges are saying this is the best. It's Biggest dog.
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis : By weight.
Plant People: And we always talk to new judges.
Alexis : There are numbers.
Brett: What up?
Plant People: ah We tell new judges when we're working with them at the state fair, and we do, Alexis mentioned it earlier. as we were you know getting ready is the like biggest tomato that's something that you know obviously the biggest tomato category uh that we judge is not like the biggest pumpkin but you know it's still the biggest of A tomato.
Plant People: And we tell people, well, typically we judge the other fruits and vegetable categories that we're working with at the state fair. We base those on, you know, like consistency, blemish free, what is representative of that.
Plant People: type of tomato or that type of pepper or that type of onion whatever you know what is representative but
Brett: Yeah.
Plant People: The biggest category throws out ah all that out the window and just goes for sheer stinking size.
Alexis : Mm -hmm.
Brett: Yeah.
Alexis : She can be ugly
Plant People: uh you know
Brett: and And it's usually by. It's usually by weight, right?
Plant People: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, yes, typically by weight.
Alexis : Yeah.
Plant People: So even the biggest tomato is not not the girth of the tomato.
Brett: So I'm curious.
Brett: Oh, God.
Plant People: It's by weight, of course. It's like we want this thing chunky by weight.
Brett: I'm growing mountain dense, baby.
Plant People: That's it.
Alexis : ah
Plant People: Not Mountain Spring or Fresh or Supreme. We're going Mountain Dense to make a new North Carolina variety, Brett.
Brett: o This thing snapped the stem 10 times.
Plant People: You just patented it. Man, we had
Brett: I had to tape it back on.
Plant People: Yeah, I love it.
Brett: a bowling ball
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: So as you all were looking, we are going to jump into some actual numbers here in a minute. But as as you all were looking. I'm curious, were there any... So I think pumpkin is like the it's the main.
Brett: you know, it's the Dallas Cowboys of this, you know, everybody knows it.
Alexis : mm -hmm
Plant People: It's the OG.
Alexis : It's a dog. Everybody knows.
Brett: Some people hate it. Some people hate love it. Were there like other crops that you all came across that you were like? Hmm. I wasn't expecting to see a competition for that one.
Alexis : Cabbage.
Brett: Oh really?
Plant People: Cabbage.
Alexis : I don't know I had no idea.
Plant People: Cabbage has been on the news lately, yeah.
Brett: Yeah. the The thing that's crazy about the cabbage is is the like the surrounding leaves.
Alexis : Yeah.
Brett: It ends up being like. i don't even know what it's like yeah like the almost the size of a car or something
Alexis : Huge!
Alexis : Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: Because you just get it's just the head that you're mostly
Alexis : Oops.
Alexis : Yeah, like you look it's insane when you see like a person next to these enormous cabbages you're like wait
Plant People: It doesn't look real. For cabbages, cabbages is more shocking to me than pumpkins.
Alexis : Wait, what? Is it cake? Like what are we doing here?
Plant People: yeah Yeah. Is it a couch -sized cake? What is this?
Alexis : What? It threw me, man.
Plant People: yeah Did you find any info on the largest? I've seen the largest cabbage for the first time ever this year on the news. And that's on all my social feeds because the algorithms are algorithming.
Brett: h I seen it on social, yeah.
Plant People: That's all I'm seeing now is this. photos of this humongous cabbage and was that uh alaska alexis
Alexis : It was Alaska, but what's funny is that wasn't their record.
Plant People: oh so it wasn't oh wow so there's bigger the thing did look like a car
Alexis : ah unless they've not up Unless the Alaska State Fair has not updated their website, which is possible. you know we We all got stuff to do.
Plant People: That's possible.
Alexis : um They're preparing for winter. Maybe it's already winter. I don't actually know. but
Plant People: Mm hmm.
Brett: i don't think quite yet but Getting there.
Alexis : ah According to their website, that was their.
Brett: Okay.
Alexis : record was in 2012.
Plant People: And that's what was the size in 2012.
Alexis : um 138 pounds is what it says.
Brett: wo Ooh, wee.
Alexis : 130.
Plant People: That's a big cabbage.
Alexis : eight pounds of cabbage imagine how many people you could feed like we always make the joke that cabbage like I i like to say cabbage is really what Jesus gave out. It wasn't bread and fish that he shared with the masses.
Alexis : It was actually just a single cabbage that was still alive.
Brett: That's actually a 150 pound cabbage.
Alexis : Yeah. But apparently it could have been.
Plant People: Giant cabbages.
Alexis : Imagine how many people you could feed, assuming it was, you know, tasty. which
Plant People: You know, that's especially impressive considering cabbage is by no means the densest.
Brett: edible. Yeah.
Plant People: It's not like watermelon, which is a lot of you know moisture in there.
Brett: Yeah.
Plant People: It's not even the densest. So it's the size of that. if If you're listening to this right now, go and find you a picture of the largest cabbage category and you will be impressed. I guarantee you, especially if you like these oddities.
Brett: That 2012... That 2012 Cabbage is like. Probably in. cabbage looper like lore and scripture as
Plant People: How big is that? How big is that cabbage looper?
Alexis : ah
Brett: There was. Heh heh. There was a... ah a future foretold and it came to pass in 2012 150 pound cabbage enough
Plant People: And it was glowing faintly with its own inner light.
Alexis : about the world's largest cabbage.
Brett: Enough to sustain generations.
Plant People: Yeah, so I guess was a ah there's all There's the tallest sunflower. ah There's heaviest cabbage, not just biggest.
Alexis : Mm -hmm.
Plant People: So I guess somebody. decided an angle on that uh longest carrot which alexis you found some information on like i never would have thought there was a been a longest or largest carrot category
Brett: And the heaviest.
Plant People: and And a heaviest.
Alexis : Yeah, I don't know if these are...
Plant People: Okay.
Alexis : um you know The world's biggest although ah it says world record for the year shown. um of on again we're back to alaska because if you if what you'll gather from this
Plant People: Alaska is a superstar man.
Brett: Well, hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on We don't want to do the grand finale, which is the Alaska reveal.
Alexis : Peace.
Plant People: Jumping ahead.
Alexis : Okay. Listen.
Brett: first
Alexis : Ray. did this.
Brett: I know he did because he's excited because he wants to eat his dessert first.
Alexis : It's his fault.
Plant People: yeah I just jump ahead. Yeah. I just skip straight.
Brett: And normally I'd be okay with that, but.
Plant People: End game. in game.
Brett: Uh, uh,
Alexis : Okay. Okay. Okay. okay
Brett: But did do we want to reveal some of the numbers from... Kentucky's.
Plant People: Oh yeah.
Brett: 2026.
Plant People: Current numbers.
Brett: Kentucky State Fair. It was a good year.
Alexis : Watermelon.
Brett: It was it was wet. for like normal times of the year when it's usually pretty dry.
Plant People: Mm -hmm. Yep.
Brett: And it was also hot when it was wet, so the fungal stuff wasn't as much as...
Alexis : mm -hmm
Brett: It is in other times. um
Alexis : Yeah.
Brett: So it was a good year. a good
Alexis : We got a new, we had a new Kentucky pumpkin record.
Brett: year. New Kentucky record for the pumpkin.
Plant People: It's exciting.
Alexis : Okay. Yeah. uh one thousand 882 point. 4.
Brett: Holy moly.
Alexis : pounds.
Plant People: Out of which which county was that, Alexis?
Alexis : That was...
Plant People: That was towards... like Grayson.
Alexis : Grayson County, yes.
Plant People: Okay.
Alexis : Yes, Josh. Josh, we thank you for your service to the giant pumpkin industry. um But yeah. Just. And then you think about like.
Brett: So that just just just for reference. 1800 pounds is about the size of a. Large Rodeo Bull.
Plant People: I would, that needs to be a question, Brett.
Alexis : See?
Plant People: Would you rather fight a rodeo bull or a giant 1800 pound pumpkin?
Brett: Or have a giant pumpkin drop.
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: on you.
Plant People: Yeah. You know, ah would you rather, this is a, would you rather situation? Uh, I tried out run a a giant pumpkin of that size coming down the hill or a bull running at you. I mean, these are things I want to know.
Brett: other Other comparable items... Um, the like a really really big grand piano
Plant People: Hmm.
Brett: Uh... A small ah small skid steer loader.
Plant People: Dr. One. Yeah, or even a medium has kids their luck.
Alexis : it It takes a large skin loader to move that dang thing.
Brett: Definitely. He'd be tipping.
Plant People: Yeah. I mean, that that's impressive. And that you said that was a state record, I guess, this year.
Alexis : That's a that's a.
Plant People: So the biggest ever for Kentucky.
Alexis : A new Kentucky State record, yes.
Brett: That's way more than I remember the last few years.
Plant People: Fantastic. Yeah, it seems like I don't know what the last few years are, but it it's been increasing every year.
Alexis : 182 pounds.
Plant People: Yeah. i mean We're going to crack the tongue club here.
Brett: Crazy.
Plant People: and now I'm calling it. Within the next three years, Kentucky's going to crack that 2 ,000 -pound barrier. I mean, that's kind of
Brett: It's partially about conditions.
Plant People: Rarified air.
Alexis : Yeah.
Plant People: Rarified air.
Alexis : Yeah, it looks like
Plant People: The Tongue Club.
Alexis : Um. for 2026. There was a really big one that came out of the k connecta Connecticut. county fair that was just over 2 ,000 pounds.
Brett: Oh my goodness.
Alexis : and they had another one there that was like 1900 pounds so it's two different pumpkins which in theory should be from two different people if it's the same rules as we have here like What?
Alexis : It's wild.
Brett: That's crazy. what any Was there what were there other results from Kentucky?
Alexis : Okay. but
Alexis : Uh, did you know we have a largest watermelon contest? Because...
Brett: Yes.
Plant People: I did not realize. I had never thought about the watermelon.
Brett: Oh yeah.
Plant People: For whatever reason, yeah.
Alexis : I never thought about the watermelon contest either, but we have...
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis : um A enormous watermelon weighing in at 245 .7 pounds. That was Nick over in Hancock County. with his
Brett: Shout out, Nick.
Alexis : 245 .7 pound watermelon. 245 pound. God, I wonder if it tastes any good. You know, like those are the things I always wonder, like the inside of a giant pumpkin.
Alexis : is different than um
Plant People: not not really edible for it's not really good for its eating quality generally
Alexis : Well, it's not that it's not edible. It's just like there's
Plant People: It's edible, but...
Alexis : They... they showed actually the commissioner had a video where they cracked open the giant pumpkin because they usually take some seeds from it and they like Give them.
Plant People: Hmm.
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis : Just... people win them or I'm not sure what it is but
Brett: you see swallow it and see if it makes you if you explode.
Alexis : If you grow into a real boy.
Plant People: Beans log.
Alexis : um but
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: I'm a real boy.
Plant People: Real ball. There you go, Brent. Very nice.
Alexis : But yeah, the inside is just, there's just not. a lot to it.
Plant People: It's a lot of hollow feel, yeah.
Alexis : like Yeah, it's a lot of holo.
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: Damn.
Alexis : Crazy.
Brett: Relatable.
Alexis : So, yeah, I don't know if a 245 pound watermelon tastes any good, but.
Plant People: And... ah
Brett: again
Alexis : That'd be pretty cool.
Plant People: And I think the giant pumpkin growers family, I think his son, did I see grew the largest. Sunflower this year. He took the record.
Brett: Aye.
Alexis : Oh, I don't know
Plant People: and go to in Kentucky at 95 inches. So that's...
Brett: Putting the sun in sunflower.
Plant People: The sun and sunflower. He did. were You locked in on that, Brad. He absolutely did.
Brett: Did his dad enter the father flower contest?
Plant People: I don't know if he did or not or the mother flower for that matter.
Brett: Shoot.
Plant People: So I'm not for sure, but apparently they're keeping.
Brett: That's pretty cool.
Plant People: They're keeping it in the family, apparently.
Brett: Yeah, whatever that where was that?
Plant People: so ah That was... um Yes, that was Josh Monin's son, Bennett.
Alexis : Grayson County?
Plant People: ah But yeah, that's Caneyville in Grayson County.
Brett: Okay.
Plant People: Yeah. So that 95.
Alexis : I'm like, do we need a so I want a soil test from Grayson County is what I want to look at.
Brett: Yeah, for for real.
Plant People: ah Yeah, because sunflowers, I mean, and I'm sure genetics.
Brett: Kind of magical glacier went through there a long time ago or something
Plant People: deposited some good stuff. So, yeah.
Brett: Yeah, the genetics, de I mean, I think that's... And yeah, i would i I don't know how they're breeding or collecting. I mean, who knows? i Well, someone knows. Um, But like.
Brett: with ah Even just the very, like when you're growing by seed, the variation.
Alexis : Mm hmm.
Brett: even across the different, for for that type of extreme outlier.
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: So there's a little bit of like a... dice roll i think on the um i wonder I wonder the really competitive people, how many plants they're growing for for the ones that are like. A pumpkin, you know.
Plant People: You would think with like pumpkins take up such an incredible amount of space, it would be fewer than like a sunflower.
Alexis : Oh yeah.
Plant People: A sunflower, you could probably have some others to pick from, maybe.
Brett: Right.
Brett: Right.
Plant People: Because, yeah.
Alexis : joe told us i think he wanted i thought he said like three to five and then you like like wean them down to i think he i think you maybe end up with three or something like three plants but then like only one fruit per plant um so
Plant People: You... Yeah, to a single.
Brett: Okay. That's right.
Plant People: Yes. I think that's...
Brett: But I wonder if like that, you know, because. the things we can One of the things we can do in America is take anything to excess.
Plant People: Yes.
Alexis : No what?
Brett: And so I'm wondering if the the competitive people, they like have, you know.
Plant People: Hmm.
Brett: 12 or 15 or more.
Alexis : a
Brett: And they're just... go you're just doing it and like they have multiple that would have won third or fourth place but they can only enter one And so.
Alexis : Mhm.
Plant People: I mean, you got to cap that because I mean, it's like entering all the race cars in the NASCAR race.
Brett: Right.
Plant People: You can, you're bound to place first, second, third.
Brett: right
Plant People: So no, no, we can't game the system that badly bred. But apparently the sunflower people also have, I don't know if Kentucky has, I'm not for sure, but also the biggest like sunflower, the head itself.
Brett: h
Plant People: However, that's measured by circumference or diameter or whatever.
Brett: yeah
Plant People: But yeah, we've got tallest and biggest head. That's so that that's got. Sunflowers are representing. I never would have thought about that for. biggest category of kind of thing.
Brett: I thought one of the more bizarre ones that someone said. was uh ear of corn
Plant People: Yeah. Then would not have
Brett: I never really thought about.
Plant People: In those terms, no.
Brett: That there was that even that there was like. Enough.
Alexis : That. category.
Brett: variability in the size of a head of corn that it would start to creep upward, but it was something. This was. I think we can move to dessert now, Ray.
Plant People: just go Just go straight on to the good stuff.
Brett: So, so you were telling Ray, you were you were regaling us with the story of some information you received. and it It just so happens that...
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: generally Alaska seems to be like the champions of growing the most giant things.
Plant People: Which I did, I guess years ago, I did not expect that. That came as a surprise to me. Alaska was last on my mind. I knew that, you know, they have some great growing conditions, but I was speaking, it was at a national extension conference and was speaking to another specialist or associate.
Plant People: ah from Alaska and they were saying how it kind of makes sense when you really think about it in Alaska because they have very long growing days and they have cool nights. And for certain types of crops.
Plant People: Um,
Alexis : Mm hmm.
Plant People: That's great because that slows down the respiration and that which equals less sugar conversion, which goes into just sizing up whatever you're growing. So it's like a perfect. combination for crops that are adapted to those cooler temperatures.
Plant People: Now, watermelons, not so much. They're not going to take the claim to fame there, but for other crops.
Alexis : Right. Yeah. It's the cooler ones.
Brett: But the long and the long day length allows for a lot more photosynthesis to happen.
Plant People: Yeah. the A lot of photosynthesis. And not only that, but you don't have the conversion. of the sugars overnight. So it's a double whammy. It's a perfect. you know, combination.
Brett: Perfect storm.
Plant People: Yeah. Perfect. Positive storm for growing things. So Alaska has lots of these largest of category records in the U S they hold lots of records.
Alexis : Mm hmm.
Brett: Hit me with them.
Plant People: Yo, what you got?
Alexis : um Okay, wait, I feel like this one is... is important a red red radish,
Brett: Okay.
Plant People: red Red radish, okay.
Alexis : red radish right we not we're not talking white which are usually bigger we're on this uh red radish okay
Plant People: Oh.
Alexis : Uh, The. Wait. of a red red red radish
Brett: Wade Waddish?
Plant People: Yeah. we weish That is...
Alexis : but
Brett: Wascally wedwetish.
Plant People: That is hard to say.
Alexis : We have a wed wattage.
Brett: yeah
Plant People: That is hard to say. that is hard to say
Alexis : the The winning weight from 1985.
Brett: o
Alexis : and Nine. and a half pounds 9 .56 pounds nine pounds red radish that's great
Brett: nine I bet the thing was like pepper spray.
Alexis : Woody. As all get out.
Brett: Yeah.
Plant People: Oh yeah, lots of lignans.
Alexis : Like, I just, I can't. I love... um
Brett: Do you have any more root crops? I heard about.
Plant People: Did you say carrots?
Brett: Is there a carrot or beet?
Alexis : carrot yeah yeah yeah um i could look at this like All day carrot. Okay. Wow. Carrot weight? 18 .99 pounds.
Plant People: Whoa.
Alexis : Carrot length.
Plant People: That is a big old carrot.
Alexis : Carrot length, I don't... These are not the same carrot, by the way. These are from from different years, almost 20 years apart. Carrot length win. Five foot 11 and three eighths inches.
Alexis : So almost six foot long.
Brett: Hold on. Does that... I'm guessing that counts along... Taproot. Like a long tip of the taproot.
Alexis : Maybe. Maybe the thread at the end.
Brett: I gotta believe that.
Alexis : Yeah.
Plant People: Either way, it's super impressive.
Alexis : Yeah, yeah
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis : But right. Yeah. Five.
Brett: I...
Alexis : And and did you had to dig that out of somewhere.
Brett: Because we...
Alexis : Where where's that growing?
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: Yeah.
Plant People: Super deep soil.
Brett: I somehow one time in our but in our yard managed to pull out a carrot that we had grown. And it was normal. The tuber part was normal size.
Alexis : uh -huh
Brett: But for some reason, that long taproot stayed in place, like stayed attached.
Alexis : Hmm.
Brett: And it was like three feet long. And I was like, this is really cool.
Alexis : but
Brett: But now I know that ah closer to six feet is the standard. So I will go back to.
Alexis : Get it together.
Brett: wallowing.
Plant People: Your benchmark has been benchmarked.
Brett: Yeah.
Alexis : Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis : Well, and we were talking about cabbage earlier. Did I say it was 138 pounds?
Plant People: It's a big cabbage.
Alexis : 138 pounds.
Plant People: It's a big cabbage.
Alexis : um
Brett: That's a big old cabbage.
Alexis : Let's see broccoli. Oh, this is a good one. It's a good one. um There's A Romanesco and a regular broccoli category.
Brett: mm -hmm Boom, fractals.
Alexis : um Yes, yes, the just the regular good old -fashioned broccoli, 39 and a half pounds. 39 pound head of broccoli.
Brett: Whoa.
Plant People: 39.
Alexis : I...
Plant People: Wow.
Alexis : I just can't wrap my brain around that. And the Romanesco was.
Plant People: See, i would go to I would go to look at that. I would i would go to i go to see that.
Alexis : i I know that bread is not into you.
Brett: I think and like you go bowling like the biggest bowling ball that they have that you can just pick up From there, is like usually 16 pounds. That's pretty heavy 39 pounds.
Alexis : I...
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis : Um...
Plant People: So that's like...
Brett: that was that was less That was less than the carrot weight.
Alexis : Table beat.
Brett: The carrot. that they had weighed more than the the heaviest bowling ball at the bowling alley.
Plant People: Is it like eating a bowling ball? No, absolutely not. It's like eating like two and a half or something. Yeah. And multiple bowling balls. My goodness.
Alexis : i i'm just like i can just i could just look at this all day
Brett: are they Are they pumpkin kings or no?
Alexis : um Let me pull up Pumpkin. Let's see. Their giant pumpkin, because they have field pumpkin and giant pumpkin as two separate categories. So their giant pumpkin.
Brett: would
Plant People: Mm hmm.
Alexis : a record is 2 ,147 pounds.
Brett: That's almost as much as a Mazda Miata.
Alexis : Brooke.
Plant People: I want to say, like, California really does some huge pumpkins, like 2 ,400 plus pounds.
Alexis : Broke the 2000.
Plant People: like any And oddly enough, Ohio.
Alexis : I feel like we should, we they we don't get. We're not counting them, okay? Like, it's like...
Plant People: we're Okay, fine.
Brett: Yeah, salad bowl, get out of here.
Plant People: Fine.
Alexis : ah
Plant People: It's almost like cheating.
Alexis : yeah right west coast they're always like oh willamette valley grows the most variety and beautiful flowers i'm like well yeah i would too if i lived there but we're so we're Tucky.
Brett: Yeah, we have rain.
Plant People: And Virginia's, they're they're in the John Pumpkin game.
Alexis : Right.
Brett: We have fungal diseases.
Alexis : and heat.
Plant People: Virginia, but they they turn in some.
Alexis : Yeah, Virginia and Connecticut has a big pumpkin game, apparently.
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: Small state, big pumpkin.
Alexis : so
Plant People: That's it.
Alexis : I'll say big pumpkin.
Plant People: but It kind of makes sense because some of these things are sort of regional for temperature.
Alexis : One.
Plant People: Like you get into pumpkins in Alaska, it's hard for them to take that because it takes so many degree days.
Alexis : Yeah.
Plant People: Like literally the temperature, yeah.
Brett: Right.
Alexis : Mm hmm. Mhm.
Brett: So it sounds like somewhere somewhere in like southern Canada could.
Plant People: So you can't have it.
Alexis : Um.
Plant People: you
Brett: just destroy them.
Plant People: Just like. One -up them big time.
Brett: Just like get just warm enough. Maybe not.
Alexis : Yeah.
Brett: Maybe I'm wrong.
Plant People: Just right. Maybe not.
Alexis : Their sunflower head with is 24 inches, two foot wide.
Brett: Is that circumference?
Alexis : with.
Brett: I mean, sorry, not with diameter.
Alexis : It says with.
Brett: That is a huge... So it's so it's a diameter?
Alexis : suits.
Plant People: So it's what now?
Alexis : It's with. um It's two foot across.
Brett: That's huge
Plant People: There you go, that makes sense
Alexis : Their, uh...
Brett: That's like it's like a bigger than a manhole cover
Alexis : their tomato weight Yeah.
Brett: I don't know why I keep needing to relate this to everyday objects.
Alexis : They're tomato weight. No, because it's it's good.
Plant People: It makes sense.
Alexis : It's like... but They've got one ah tomato that weighed 7 .15 pounds. Seven pound tomato.
Brett: Without splitting.
Alexis : Right. Like it had to be.
Brett: that's That's the thing.
Plant People: We've had some.
Brett: they you do There are very strict rules about soundness of the vegetables.
Alexis : functional
Alexis : a
Brett: That it cannot be.
Alexis : Yes.
Brett: Because there there might be one that split, but it would win.
Plant People: It can't be weeping.
Brett: But it can't be weeping. no There's no crying in horticultural competitions.
Plant People: No, I... No, only when you lose. But yeah. It's got to be at least structurally sound.
Alexis : Yeah, I don't want to accidentally pick it up and it disintegrate in my hands, um which which used to happen at Cloverville.
Plant People: Ugh, yeah.
Brett: Yeah, or it just smells terrible after day two of the fair.
Plant People: Oh, yeah. It's officially started defermenting.
Alexis : Oh yeah, it smells it smells real weird in there.
Brett: Whoop!
Brett: It is not sound, my lord.
Plant People: Hmm. It is not. But what amazes me is like we were talking about at the beginning is the largest pumpkin 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Was super impressed people at 365 pounds.
Plant People: And now we're talking about pumpkins, 24, 27.
Brett: I'm still impressed by that personally.
Plant People: I am too.
Alexis : Well, yeah
Plant People: I am too. Can you imagine the guy, if you kind of.
Alexis : I've never grown a 300 pound pumpkin.
Plant People: No.
Alexis : I don't even know where to start.
Plant People: Flash forward that guy in time that was so proud and then stuck his pumpkin inside of a 2 ,700 or 2 ,400 whatever pound pumpkin. I mean, that's, it's incredible. And I guess a lot of that.
Alexis : Science, baby.
Plant People: It's science. Yes. Now we you have people micro dosing and they're using the latest lab results and genetic genetics.
Alexis : They're microdosing before they go out to take care of their pumpkin.
Plant People: Oh, yeah. gin Yeah, yeah.
Brett: that's right That's right.
Plant People: that little
Brett: They're microdosing, the pumpkin is microdosing.
Plant People: Everyone is.
Alexis : Everybody's microdosing.
Plant People: But the application.
Brett: Yeah.
Plant People: all of this science and breeding over all of these years and just, I mean, where we went with these things. And a lot of it is science -based, you know, soil science and just what people have learned over time on what works, Alexis.
Brett: And genetics. I think the genetic piece is...
Plant People: Genetics, is it the deal, what is it, deals Atlantic?
Brett: huge.
Alexis : Genetics is huge.
Brett: Pun intended.
Alexis : Literally.
Plant People: I mean, that whole line is still going. Genetics, it's ah it's important.
Brett: Yeah.
Alexis : this
Brett: Well, so here's here's here's my final question. It's a little shorter episode today. Do you all think that you will ever... Try to grow. Uh... Maybe not top -tier competitive, but a...
Brett: largest item And if so, or even if not, if you had to choose, what do you think you would try to grow the biggest of?
Plant People: Yeah, there you go. Ugh. I'm thinking peaches. I mean, I'd want to grow a giant
Brett: I don't know why I was not expecting that.
Alexis : Nope.
Plant People: i I would want, because look, you just take one peach and make your pie and then eat that bad boy. Because I'm going to pick the hardest thing, Brad. to grow in Kentucky.
Brett: Yeah. Ray is going to endeavor on ah on ah on a decades -long search.
Plant People: Abs.
Plant People: It's going to have to be on the inside, 100 % protected in its own glass house that is bug -proof, insect -proof, and disease -proof.
Brett: comparing genetics.
Plant People: but Yes.
Brett: i guess the I guess the pit would be the same size. it wouldn't be different size it would be just the flesh that would be bigger
Plant People: There. Not my genetics, son.
Brett: Okay.
Plant People: Mine would be some kind of mutant where probably the pit would take up about 80%. You know, it's not going to be edible.
Brett: And the pits like the boat, it's a density issue.
Plant People: yeah Yeah, you know.
Brett: Just like we said earlier.
Plant People: Yeah, you got that hollow feel or something. I don't know if it'd be a normal peach or not, but mine would have be a peach, I think.
Brett: Mm -hmm
Plant People: I don't know why it just popped right up there.
Brett: Okay.
Plant People: What about you, Brett?
Brett: So, falling back to my... absurdity.
Plant People: Okay.
Brett: uh, I think I would like to try to grow the heaviest green bean.
Plant People: I love a good oddity.
Plant People: Wow.
Alexis : and
Plant People: Just something that's like the underdog just comes roaring up front.
Alexis : Well, you gotta be...
Brett: Yeah.
Alexis : 0 .38 pounds or you can grow the longest bean which is three foot.
Plant People: Yeah.
Plant People: Would you go for long or big is like biggest like ma 'am?
Alexis : Nine inches.
Brett: heaviest, heaviest bean.
Plant People: I'm just sheer stinking mass and call him call him Jack
Brett: you Did you say 0 .38 pounds?
Plant People: Whoa
Alexis : No. uh That's the weight, yeah.
Brett: Oh my gosh!
Plant People: That's, Branch, you've got some, compet you've got to you gotta get started, man.
Brett: I was doing it kind of as a joke.
Plant People: You've got to get started.
Brett: but
Plant People: now you're kind of taken aback a little bit. Like somebody already beat me to it.
Alexis : Like, wait a second, it's a bean that's only almost a half a pound?
Brett: Oh my... gosh
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: That's such a heavy bean!
Plant People: That is, that doesn't compute like a third of a pound a amount for a bean. Wow.
Brett: that's like That's like some stuff I would trade the family cow for.
Plant People: Peace.
Plant People: I mean, I was proud of my peach for a minute, but now, never mind. Never mind.
Brett: Yeah.
Plant People: because that
Brett: Those was magic beans.
Plant People: Yeah, a third of a pound. Yeah, over a third of a pound. Yeah.
Alexis : That's just like you have your soup beans, but the soup is in the bean itself. The the bean is the bowl.
Brett: yeah it's like a instead of a bread bowl it's a bean bowl
Plant People: Yeah, you you make them. It's about a gallon. It holds about a gallon. Yeah. Yeah, just a bean bowl, a bowl.
Brett: What about you, Alexis?
Alexis : No, like I can see myself definitely. growing something enormous. um But it'll be like...
Plant People: Like a lemon lemon or something?
Alexis : It'll be something random like completely random.
Plant People: Something weird. The biggest pawpaw anybody's ever seen.
Alexis : And because that's... Yeah, it it's it'll just be like, I'm suddenly going to do this and it'll be like the biggest raspberry.
Brett: Hmm.
Alexis : in
Plant People: It's a raspberry.
Alexis : I don't know
Brett: Yeah, but there wasn't there some kind of Barry on the competition?
Plant People: A goji, was it?
Alexis : Um, Alaska has a strawberry.
Plant People: Hmm.
Alexis : um,
Brett: How big was that?
Alexis : Please hold. point one two seven Pounds.
Plant People: point So the Bane was...
Brett: It's like an eighth of a pound.
Plant People: Bean was bigger. Wow. Green bean bigger than the biggest strawberry. Weird.
Brett: Yeah, I wonder what the there's got to be some rules about like the type of being, you know, because it's like.
Plant People: Look, you can't tape two together.
Brett: so some That would be one of the rules.
Alexis : Is it the whole bean pod?
Plant People: ah
Alexis : Is it the is it just the actual bean seed? Like, what is...
Brett: No, it's got to be the whole pod for sure at 0 .38 pounds that gotta be but
Alexis : Gotta be the whole pot.
Plant People: That's got to be the plant and the roots. And now I don't know.
Brett: Yeah. Well, like, um I just don't think you're getting a Blue Lakes green bean style green bean to like that big.
Plant People: It's that's.
Plant People: These are the secret beans that we've not heard of.
Brett: Well, then that's like what you were saying with the difference between the field pumpkin and the giant pumpkin that like a giant pumpkin is like a variety unto itself.
Alexis : i go Mm hmm.
Plant People: Yeah. Mmm.
Alexis : One thing I want to know, so they have spinach weight, but like...
Plant People: It's okay.
Alexis : What? Is it like... ah An entire plant do you like cut it off. It's like one single plant It's root system and everything.
Brett: What was the weight?
Alexis : that The weight, this is why I'm asking. 13 .7 pounds.
Brett: I am...
Alexis : That's why I'm like...
Brett: I am confused.
Alexis : They also have spinach length.
Brett: One spinach please.
Alexis : I... four foot
Plant People: Give me a leaf.
Alexis : No. 4 .178. Foot.
Brett: oof
Alexis : um So.
Brett: that's Yeah, that's tall.
Plant People: we're now shocking ourselves at this point we're just like whoa where did you what
Alexis : So yeah.
Brett: Yeah.
Alexis : I know, I'm telling you, I could just look through that and go...
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: how big was How big was the ear of corn, by the way?
Alexis : Wow.
Brett: We've mentioned the ear of corn.
Alexis : Oh, um, let's see.
Plant People: Yeah. Not just the...
Alexis : Corn. corn. corn
Plant People: Colonel.
Alexis : Corn weight, 4 .2 pounds.
Brett: for an ear.
Alexis : yeah
Plant People: I mean, I feel like that's ah that's going to be super impressive in person. I mean...
Brett: That's crazy.
Alexis : um
Brett: That's insane.
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: Cause the court, cause the cob isn't.
Plant People: that That is.
Brett: really that heavy.
Plant People: No Fairly lightweight.
Alexis : no the longest corn cob. is 23. 23 inches. twenty three
Brett: What?
Alexis : 23. 0 .35. Ages. It's almost two foot long corn coming out.
Brett: Can you a imagine?
Plant People: That's not the silver king. That's like fairy king corn or something.
Alexis : Yeah.
Plant People: King, king corn.
Brett: i i think so like in that case I would do if I got if I had not maybe whichever one the the wider Cobb is. I would make it my mission to make a corncob pipe and then build a proportional snowman.
Alexis : ah
Brett: in Alaska.
Alexis : ah
Plant People: Just bring it around, bring it full circle.
Alexis : That seems fair.
Brett: And we would need more than a button nose. We would need like a steering wheel nose or something.
Plant People: Yeah, it's like a chunk of coal that's fairly significant.
Brett: but
Brett: Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah, like a chunk, of like an 18 pound chunk.
Alexis : You would need the their biggest pumpkin as like the base and cover it with snow.
Brett: Mm hmm.
Alexis : for the
Brett: And then they could just borrow one of my hats to wear because it would be fit.
Alexis : There oh Yeah, perfect.
Brett: perfectly.
Plant People: Perfect.
Alexis : it's Perfect fit.
Plant People: Perfect.
Brett: Dang it.
Plant People: So i I guess this is interesting, you you guys.
Alexis : Alright.
Plant People: I guess this, that maybe we've just answered our own. question that i had at the beginning why does it persist as a spectacle because it's exciting.
Alexis : Because it's a spectacle because people, people like a spectacle.
Plant People: It's a spectacle. It persists because it persists.
Alexis : Okay.
Plant People: Yeah. Okay.
Alexis : Okay.
Plant People: Okay. Good enough.
Alexis : Fans of Spectacle, band name.
Plant People: Good enough. Good enough.
Alexis : All right, folks, we hope you enjoyed this fun episode and that maybe you are enticed to grow your own largest, biggest, whatever weirdest ah category that you want of.
Alexis : plant part. And if you do, send us a picture. We want to see um all your all your hard work and all the cool stuff that went along with it. But send something for a reference because otherwise it's hard to tell. Anyways, you can follow us on Instagram at Hort Culture Podcast. You can shoot us an email. hort culture
Alexis : podcast at gmail .com uh we'd love if you would leave us a review if you like fun episodes where you just learn random facts about vegetables or plants in general uh tell us you loved it and leave us five stars it also helps people find us so we do appreciate that All of you that have done it so far. And we hope you will join us next time for more planty stuff with planty people. Have a great one.
