Are you proud of your height of 1.8 meters? Even shorter than a Shandong green onion

When talking about Shandong, many people's first reaction is Mount Tai, the first of the Five Great Mountains, and the tall and strong Shandong people. In fact, Shandong is not only tall in mountains and people, but also in vegetables. Especially in Zhangqiu, Shandong, onions shorter than 1.8 meters can't even lift their heads...

In Zhangqiu, Shandong, an annual green onion competition is held to select the tallest green onion of the year. This year's "green onion champion" is a 2.44-meter-tall green onion planted by Zhangqiu farmer Miao Fayong, which is taller than Yao Ming.

Shandong farmer Miao Fayong grows giant onion 2.44 meters tall

In 2020, Miao Fayong grew 2.532-meter green onions, breaking the Guinness World Record.

2.532 meters of green onions and Miao Fayong (right)

In fact, Shandong not only has giant green onions, but also cabbages half a person's height and cherries as big as fists... Seeing this, many people will definitely be amazed: How are such tall green onions grown? Today we will take you to learn about it.

01

Variety is key

Traditionally, most vegetable varieties in Shandong have one common characteristic, that is, they are big!

For example, the height of the Zhangqiu scallion variety "Da Wutong" can exceed 1.35 meters, which is two to three times the height of conventional scallion varieties; the cabbage variety "Yiheqiu" with the largest planting area can reach 50 centimeters in height, and the weight of a single leaf head exceeds 5 kilograms, which is a true giant cabbage.

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Dietary needs and geographical characteristics have jointly created Shandong people's almost obsessive pursuit of large vegetables.

Shandong has always been a populous province in China. The total population of Shandong Province was 45 million in 1949, and increased to 102 million in 2021. How to ensure the diet of over 100 million people is not an easy task. Therefore, when cultivating agricultural products, the primary goal is high yield , so it is not surprising that various giant vegetables appear.

You may ask, Guangdong is also a populous province in my country, not inferior to Shandong at all, why are the vegetables sold at Guangdong vegetable stalls almost all pocket-sized ones?

Because the climatic conditions in Guangdong and Shandong are completely different .

Guangdong, located in the subtropical region, has conditions suitable for growing vegetables all year round. In addition, the hot summer climate is not suitable for vegetable storage, so small vegetables that can be produced all year round are more popular. Shandong has a typical temperate monsoon climate. In the era without greenhouse cultivation, the production and storage of winter storage vegetables is crucial to normal life. In this case, vegetables with high yield and large size naturally become a better choice.

Of course, in addition to the above-mentioned variety factors, the key to creating the "body" of Shandong vegetables lies in intensive cultivation .

02

A tradition of meticulous farming

Shandong has a long history of vegetable cultivation. Jia Sixie, the author of "Qimin Yaoshu", the most important agricultural book in ancient China, was from Yidu, Qingzhou, Shandong. This place is within the jurisdiction of today's Shouguang City.

Jia Sixie recorded a large number of vegetable planting methods in "Qimin Yaoshu", which has always been a reference for vegetable cultivation technology in ancient China. To this day, Shandong's vegetable planting still continues the tradition of intensive farming, which is also a necessary condition for large-sized vegetables.

First of all, provide adequate water and nutrition .

For leafy vegetables like green onions and Chinese cabbage, it is relatively simple. Just improve the soil fertility and provide appropriate water. For melons and fruits, the operation is more complicated. If necessary, you need to change the roots and use pumpkin roots as watermelon roots. In the seedling stage, graft the watermelon buds onto the pumpkin roots. Because pumpkin roots are usually stronger and more disease-resistant than watermelons, they can better provide water and mineral nutrients continuously.

If you want the vegetables to grow big, you must provide them with enough growing space .

We often eat a vegetable called "small cabbage" in late spring and early summer. It is actually a by-product of growing Chinese cabbage. In order to ensure the normal growth of cabbage, the excess seedlings must be removed to ensure the yield of Chinese cabbage.

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Flower and fruit thinning is a necessary operation to ensure the yield of melons and fruits. Those record-breaking huge melons and fruits are the result of flower and fruit thinning. Under the condition of constant total nutrition, the fewer fruits left on a plant, the more nutrition each fruit will naturally have . In fact, this is also a key step to improve fruit quality.

Sometimes, simply thinning flowers and fruits is not enough to provide the nutrients necessary for the growth of a giant fruit. In this case, you need to graft multiple pumpkin or watermelon vines together. As the saying goes, "there is strength in numbers", the more leaves that provide photosynthesis products, the more nutrients the fruit will get, so you can get bigger fruits.

03

Giant Vegetable Records

When it comes to giant vegetables and fruits, the most representative one is the giant pumpkin.

In fact, at the beginning of the 20th century, the world record for the largest pumpkin was only 181 kilograms. In the following 70 years, there was almost no change. But after entering the 1970s, the record began to be updated. In 1996, it broke 453 kilograms. In 2012, the world's first pumpkin weighing more than 1 ton appeared. Since then, the record for the largest pumpkin has been broken repeatedly.

Image source: Guinness World Records

In recent years, the world record for giant pumpkins has continued to rise. On September 26, 2021, Stefano Cutrupi of Italy harvested a giant pumpkin he cultivated, weighing 1,226 kilograms, which can really be used as a pumpkin carriage.

In addition to pumpkins, some people are also cultivating giant carrots, giant broccoli and other vegetables.

Giant carrot. On September 9, 2017, Christopher Qualley in Minnesota, USA, grew the heaviest carrot, weighing 10.17 kg each.

Image source: Guinness World Records

The largest broccoli, in 1993, John and Mary Evans of Palmer, Alaska, USA, grew broccoli weighing 15.87 kg. This record remains to this day, probably because modern people don't like to eat giant broccoli.

Image source: Record Holders

In 2013, a giant watermelon grown by grower Chris Kent in Tennessee, USA, weighed a whopping 159 kilograms.

Image source: Guinness World Records

Today, the purpose of growing giant vegetables has long been out of practical needs. Growing large vegetables is just to satisfy people's curiosity to explore unknown areas. Most vegetable varieties on the market are gradually becoming smaller and pocket-sized. This is not only because miniaturized vegetables have a better taste and are easier to cook, but more importantly, our dietary structure and family structure have changed dramatically. People are more willing to choose varieties with appropriate size, rich flavor and good taste.

Author: Shi Jun

Reviewer: Yang Laisheng, Researcher, Lanzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences

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