Noble Park resident Stefano Velardi and his 163cm zucchini, weighing a whopping nine kilograms.
THERE IS something in the soil at Noble Park.
Last week, Star 16 March, pensioner John Morris proudly displayed his giant tomatoes weighing up to one kilogram each.
This week, his effort has been challenged by fellow Noble Park pensioner Stefano Velardi’s zucchini that measures a whopping 163 centimetres, or more than 1.5 metres, and weighs nine kilograms.
So tall is the zucchini that when stood upright it is taller than Mr Velardi’s wife, Angela, who is 155 centimetres.
The giant zucchini has been left to grow in the Velardis’ vegetable patch so that Mr Velardi can reap and then sow the seeds for a new season of delicious vegetables.
His daughter, Fran Junkeer, said the giant zucchini was testament to her father’s dedication to the vegetable patch.
“They grow all their vegetables, they grow tomatoes, eggplant, capsicum and pumpkins,” she said.
“They always have, and they’ve been in Australia for 50 years.”
Stefano, 80, and wife Angela, 77, lived in Sicily before coming to Australia.
Ms Junkeer said gardening was her father’s passion and something he pursued as a career when he first arrived in Australia.
“Dad was a market gardener and used to work for CW Corrigan during the early years in Keysborough,” she said.
“Dad loves the garden, he’s 80 years old but is still out in it.”
Other than chicken manure and blood and bone, the garden has no special or secret compost – instead, the secret ingredient, according to Ms Junkeer, is her father’s love and toil as a greenthumb.
