Jeremy Steptoe pictured in his impressive garden with his giant tomato and pumpkin.
Jeremy Steptoe of Koala St Parkes was proud as punch to show off his oversized tomato and pumpkin that he grew in his backyard.
Jeremy has always been an avid gardener and recalls receiving his first pack of seeds from his mother at the age of 8. Since then over the years as an adult Jeremy has grown lots in his garden to exhibit at the local Parkes Show. Winning many ribbons and trophies for his efforts. Jeremy had taken a break from entering for the past 10 years but is keen to make a comeback this year for the 2024 Parkes Show Exhibition,
We visited Jeremys Garden where he recently harvested a giant tomato that weighed in at 1.72kg and a giant butternut pumpkin which weighed in at 7kg. Both vegetables were planted from seeds given to Jeremy. He said he will now harvest the seeds from this first generation and plant those and each year he expects the produce to increase in quality. He is hoping for a 3kg tomato in the next year or two. Without giving too many tricks away, Jeremy explained the best way to grow a large pumpkin is to plant in Sept-Oct, let it grow, thin it down to one or two on the vine and just keep watering and feeding it.