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Our Lives: Series 1: Land of the Giants

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Land of the Giants

Series 1

BBC One - Our Lives, Series 1, Land of the Giants

From 20-stone pumpkins to massive marrows, enter the world of giant vegetable growers.

From 20-stone pumpkins to man-sized marrows, this documentary digs into the colourful world of Welsh giant vegetable growers as they fight it out in the first show of the season.

Wales, land of legends, landscape and giant veg! This documentary, which is showing as part of the Our Lives strand, goes behind the scenes of the colourful world of Welsh competitive giant veg growing. From March to August we follow group of dedicated, record-breaking, green-fingered magicians as they attempt to defy nature to nurture 20-stone pumpkins and man-sized marrows in a bid to win in the first big competition of the season at The Vale Show in Glamorgan. Day and night they tend to and even talk to their giant veg, but who will be victorious and whose marrow will burst?

In the village of Llanharry is the allotment of local legend Philip Vowles, who broke the world record for heaviest cucumber and is current marrow champion at The Vale Show. Philip and long-suffering wife Brenda are moving house to three doors down the road, so he can be even closer to his beloved vegetable plot. But with the move creating added stress will Philip be able to defend his crown?

Not if his number one rival Ian Neale has anything to do with it. At 74 Ian is still single-handedly tending to his two-acre plot night and day. When Ian shut up shop on his family run garden centre he was left with two enormous polytunnels in which to grow his giant veg, and the growing genius from Newport has broken multiple world record for his swedes and beetroot. News of his growing prowess spread far and wide and when the rapper Snoop Dog saw a picture of Ian with his world record swede he sent a shout out for Ian to meet him at his concert so Snoop could get some growing tips for his own crop. 

Each year The Vale show is held in the grounds of The Fonmon Estate, home to Sir Brooke Boothby. This historic estate and castle has been in Sir Brooke’s family for 11 generations and every year Sir Brooke enters the giant pumpkin class. Every grower likes to have their own feed for their plants and Sir Brooke uses the leftover beer slops from the weddings held at his castle to feed his thirsty pumpkins. Last year he even managed to beat Philip Vowles, but will his pumpkins give him the win this year?

When it comes to giant veg the giant marrow is the premier league, the one that everyone wants to win. Giant marrows grow at an alarming rate, up to six inches in length in one day, and in the seaside town of Barry, Vince Sjodin has a pair of whoppers that could steal the show. Vince has his own particular techniques when it comes to giving his veg some TLC, including giving his cucumbers some added support with an old bra belonging to the mum of one of his friends. 

Finally there are Philip Vowles’ brothers, Bernard and Ray. Fuelled by Bernard’s wife Brenda and her never ending supplies of cake, tea and pies the pair are gunning to beat their younger brother. So much so that they have had a 20-ton delivery of high grade compost dumped in their garden to create the ultimate vegetable patch. 

From April to the show day on 9 August the growers spend up to 70 hours a week tending to their giant veg to get them up to competition weight. But with a hot and wet summer the pressure is on to stop their marrows and pumpkins from rotting or splitting. 

Finally after six months of dedication and TLC all the best giant vegetable growers from across Wales and the UK converge at Fonmon castle for the battle at the first show of the season. But who will be victorious?

Our Lives: Series 1

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Powerful topical and human stories from around the United Kingdom.

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