Herefordshire eight-year-old applying finishing touches to giant pumpkins ahead of championships
Poppy is taking part in the CANNA UK National Giant Vegetables Championship in Malvern later this month after competing for the first time last year
A young giant vegetable grower from Herefordshire - who could be a future champion in it - has said she can't wait to compete again in this year's competition.
Eight-year-old girl Poppy, who's from Bosbury, took part in the annual CANNA UK National Giant Vegetables Championship for the first time last September, and has been working hard to get her pumpkins ready to compete once more in the 2026 running.
The event, which is held in Malvern at the Three Counties Showground as part of the autumn show, is expected to see over 100 competitors involved, with entries ranging from the longest radishes to the heaviest marrows.
Poppy has entered in the 'giant vegetables' and 'grow to show' categories, she said this year's pumpkins were "probably as big as both of her arms wrapped around them" and she's really looking forward to it.
"Last year when I entered it I thought it was really fun and I wanted to give it another go to see if I could get a higher score," she said.
"I'm very excited because when I got 17th last year I was very happy, and because this year’s is bigger than the last one I think I might get a little bit higher."
On one of her top bits of advice for growing giant pumpkins, she added: “Sometimes I give them a hug to see if they grow any bigger overnight and then I go check on them and they're bigger.”
A number of Guinness World Records were broken at the show in 2025, including the world’s longest radish (7.848m), along with the world’s heaviest celeriac (8.01kg).
Poppy's grandad Clive, who has helped keep the pumpkins in shape, said she loves it, and got plenty of support following her first entries.
"You’ve got people there that have been doing this for a very long time," he said.
"They're great at sharing their knowledge and at the end they shared their seeds with Poppy.
"So it's great for the youngsters to get involved in this at an early stage, but it's great to see the older ones really helping them learn."
The show runs from the 25-27 September.