Prince Albert's Ben Smith shows off one of the giant cucumbers he grew this summer on his porch. (Rob Mahon/paNOW Staff)

By Teena Monteleone

Colossal Cukes

New gardener grows giant cucumber on his back porch

Aug 24, 2021 | 4:00 PM

When Ben Smith started planting vegetable seeds in pots on his back deck, he never imagined they would become so fruitful. Now, the Prince Albert senior is tending to a 12-foot tall cucumber vine producing some pretty colossal cukes.

“We let a couple grow and we got one now that is over 12 inches in length and about 9.5 inches around,” Smith told paNOW.

The average size of a garden cucumber is usually about 7 inches in length.

He purchased the plant from the local Canadian Tire back in the spring and transplanted it a few days later. While the plant has yielded quite a few cucumbers so far, Smith said he didn’t really do anything special to grow the mammoth vegetable.

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“I sit out there on my deck every day and I watch it grow and water it and I gave it a little bone meal to see if it would help it grow and I guess it did.”

He also watered it twice a day, once ‘before the sun got too hot’ and again in the evening. During a growing season when so many producers have struggled, Smith, who only started gardening on his back deck last year, figures his impressive results were more luck than work.

“I’ve never seen one grow this big before.”

While his giant cucumber has become a major talking point for his family and neighbours, it’s likely not breaking any world records. Still, its worth a mention in the local news — even if just to brighten the day.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertNOW