Just over a year after he grew a monster pumpkin in his home garden, Princes Town retiree Shaheed Ali has now harvested a 94-pound watermelon.
Beaming with pride during an interview with Guardian Media at his home, Ali said the Carolina Cross Watermelon seeds were sent to him by a friend who lives in Florida. It took 94 days to grow to that size.
“I was hoping to get a bigger one. I was hoping to get at least a 125 pound,” he said with a chuckle.
Although edible, he said, this variety of watermelon is usually grown for recreation and the largest on record is 350 pounds.
“It is juicy, it is fibrous. It’s not red inside it is pink, but not as sweet.”
Last year, he grew a 500-pound foreign pumpkin believed to be the largest grown in the country.
“I like to grow strange things, big things, different colours, different shapes, different sizes. Last year I grew the 500-pound pumpkin. This year I was trying to grow a bigger one but weather conditions did not permit.”
During a vacation last year, he went to a U-Pick farm in Louisville, Kentucky, where he got white sweet pepper seeds which he planted, and recently harvested. “I’ve never seen that grown in Trinidad,” he added.
Ali has also grown a 24-inch ochro and a 43-inch bodi.
“I’ve grown purple ochro, the purple seim, purple bodi, purple sweet pepper. I’ve grown black tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, white tomatoes, green tomatoes and things like that.”
The 66-year-old Petrotrin retiree has been gardening as a hobby for the past 16 years from knowledge he gained from YouTube videos and the Internet.
“I would say you need to have a passion to do this thing and then you need to have knowledge. I like to read.
“Go on the Internet, the Internet is the library. Long time we used to have to go to the library to get a hard copy now you can stay home and go on the Internet and you have all the information there.”
Ali said he also uses a mixture of fertilisers for the best results. “Fertiliser for rooting, which is important at the early stage and then during the growing stage apply more fertilisers.”
However, he believes his crops thrive because he gives them love and attention.
