Thompson & Morgan Gardening Blog

Grow with Thompson & Morgan this season for a chance to win up to £10,000!

The UK’s largest seed and plant retailer has announced a host of gardening competitions for the 2016 season, rewarding customers for their growing skills.

The highest value prizes are linked to the giant veg growing world.

Giant Pumpkin – Win up to £10,000

As sponsor of the UK’s official giant pumpkin weigh in, it is stumping up a £10,000 cash reward for a world record breaking entry, £1,000 for a new UK weight record or £500 for the largest pumpkin entered on the day if no records are broken. To take part, gardeners simply need to bring their entries to The Autumn Pumpkin Festival, Royal Victoria Park, Netley, Southampton on 8th October.

Gardeners growing Tomato ‘Gigantomo’® this season can take the fruits of their harvest to the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show (16-18 September) and take part in the National Gigantomo® Championships. Thompson & Morgan is offering £1,000 for the heaviest fruit entered. If that entry beats the current world record (7lb 12oz) the cash jackpot rises to a whopping £5,000.

Tomato ‘Gigantomo’ and Sunflower ‘Tall Timbers’

Having awarded a record £1,000 for the UK’s tallest sunflower in 2015, Thompson & Morgan is upping the ante for the season ahead. The £1,000 prize still stands, but if the grower has raised their plant with the company’s own incredibloom® fertiliser, the prize jumps to £2,000. If that entry also breaks the current world record (9.17m – 30ft 1in) the lucky entrant will receive a cheque for £4,000 (£2,000 for a world record breaker not grown in incredibloom®).

Gardeners don’t need to be growing giant specimens to take advantage of the prizes on offer. A host of smaller prizes are also up for grabs through a wide range of online competition categories. These test photographic flare as well as growing skills.

How does a £50 Thompson & Morgan voucher sound, simply for growing one of the easiest hardy annuals? If you are supporting the charity Thrive by growing the exclusive Sweet Pea ‘Eleanore Udall’ make sure to take photos of your plants in bloom, or perhaps a vase of fresh cut flowers. The five best photos entered will each receive a £50 Thompson & Morgan voucher to spend on the garden for the 2017 season.

Wildlife gardeners can win £100 of flowers to attract even more wildlife to the garden, simply by submitting their best garden wildlife shot – from butterflies and beetles to birds and badgers, Thompson & Morgan wants to see what creatures are visiting your garden this season.

Other online competitions include:

• £50 voucher for the best basket or container photography
• £100 voucher for the best cosmos photography
• £250 for the best border photography

Closing date for all online competitions is 30 September 2016. For full details of these competitions, plus many more, click here. Giant Pumpkin entries must be brought to The Autumn Pumpkin Festival, Netley, Southampton on 8th October for judging.

Kris Collins

Kris Collins works as Thompson & Morgan’s quality control manager, making sure customers new and old are kept up to date on the latest plant developments and company news via a wide range of media sources. He trained in London’s Royal Parks and has spent more than a decade writing for UK gardening publications before joining the team at Thompson & Morgan.