A giant pumpkin that weighs the same as four baby elephants has been donated to charity to feed almost 1,000 homeless and vulnerable people.
Ray and Sarah Armstrong are donating their humble veg to the homeless after the veg tipped the scales at a whopping 372kg (820lbs).
Indeed, it’s so big it had to be transported in a horsebox from their home in South Clifton, Nottingham, before being loaded into the city’s Lenton Centre with a forklift.
After taking second prize at a national giant pumpkin competition the couple decided to give their esteemed grow away to feed the homeless in soups.
Ray, 50, a textile’s business owner, who lives with GP wife Sarah, 35, said: “We heard other giant pumpkin growers donate theirs to the local zoo, where elephants smash them up and eat them.
“We just thought if it could feed an elephant how many people could it feed? We’re quite big veg growers and we reckon it should feed over 700. We’ve spent the last six months desperately trying to keep it alive so I think it’s going to be a bit of a sad moment when we cut into it.
“But it’s better than it just rotting away. One problem is we’re not too sure how on earth we’re going to cut the thing. I’m just going to take a knife to it and get the lid off and then we’ll try and scoop it out somehow.”
The flesh, which is over 40cm thick (15in), will be made into soup while the seeds will be sold off for £5 each, all of which will go to charity.
Ray said: “When we cut the lid off the seed crevice will look like something out of Narnia.
“We’re hoping after we scoop it out it will hold until Halloween, but these things really are very hard to keep alive. They make butternut squashes seem like concrete in comparison, they’re a nightmare to keep in tact.
“Our seed cost £35 but that’s because it’s from America where they really take these things seriously. They have a genealogy and certain lineages that are more sought after.”
The couple buy the special seeds especially from the US and grow them in a polytunnel in their garden. The pumpkin took second place at the giant pumpkin competition at the Royal Horticultural Society in Westminster last week. It lost out to a stunning 570kg (1,256lb) squash.
