Guernsey gardener's 9kg onion confirmed as world record

Kate Prout meets Gareth Griffin and his giant onion...

A Guernsey grower has proved he knows his onions after producing a giant vegetable that has broken the world record.

Gareth Griffin's oversized onion weighed 8.97kg when it went on display at the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show.

The previous record for the world's heaviest onion was 8.5kg, set by Tony Glover in 2014.

"I had absolutely no thought of this one being the world record," says Gareth.

"I pulled several for the North Show and the biggest was around 13 pounds - and I knew this one was a bit bigger so I told my onion friends in the UK.

"We like to talk about who's got the biggest onion before the competition. I said I've got one that's maybe 16 pounds. But I had the shock of my life when I pulled it and it was 19 pounds, 14 ounces."

Gareth first planted the seed last October. He gave it good soil and 24-hour artificial light for the first six weeks, then transferred it to a polytunnel for ten months.

When it comes to giant veg growing, Gareth is following in his father's footsteps.

" I started growing onions about 35 years ago, the big onions," Gareth said.

"My Dad said he could beat me and he did - consistently at the North Show and I let him. When he died I thought I'm going to take up the gauntlet and see if I can beat him."

"His biggest was seven twelve, which, at the time was close to the world record. What would he think of this one? If he's looking down now he'd be proud."

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