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possible new Amaranth world record
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Posted by brian_ny_nj_pa zone 5/6 NY/NJ/ (My Page) on Tue, Oct 16, 07 at 13:33
| I still need to submit all the information to Guinness World Records. Monday, Mercer County Weights and Measures certified that my plant was 23 feet 2 inches, breaking the current world record of 15 feet 1 inch.
TV news video
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4645655&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1
Newspaper article
http://www.trentonian.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=/TRN/News&r21.content=/TRN/News/TopStoryList_Story_762248
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: possible new Amaranth world record
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| Congratulations! That is quite the accomplishment. Kudos. |
RE: possible new Amaranth world record
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| Congratulation! how did you do it? and can I get seeds |
RE: possible new Amaranth world record
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| Thanks, Sure Norm, if I can save some seeds then I'll send them to you. If I can't get seeds, then I might take some stem cuttings before frost. In fact, my record plant is actually a clone of clone. Stem cuttings root very easily with this amaranth.
I was dumping ungodly amounts of Espoma Bio-Starter (liquid type) on the plant. send me an email to sunflower_info@yahoo.com |
RE: possible new Amaranth world record
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| If this Amaranth is anything like the Pig Weed we grow in Ontario, its a nasty Plant(weed). Its hard to keep under control. The seed pod at the top had to be huge. |
RE: possible new Amaranth world record
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| Amaranthus australis is considered a invasive species in several states (South-East USA). Amaranthus australis is a marsh plant; so it won't go buck wild unless you live near a swampy area. Mine are still in the process of seeding; so they are relatively long seasoned. One year with an early frost will put an end to them before they can flower. In the wild, the furthest north they are found is Virginia. I think they could survive in the wild in NJ though. northern NY and above is questionable if they could survive in the wild. |
RE: possible new Amaranth world record
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RE: possible new Amaranth world record
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RE: possible new Amaranth world record
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New York state gardener/farmer Jesse Eldrid specializes in growing heavy, tall, and large vegetables and annual plants. On October 25th, 2007, after a long summer of working, watching, and waiting, he finally contacted county officials in order to obtain a legitimate measurement of the Amaranthus Australis plant he had been growing since the beginning of the year. When Jesse contacted the local bureau of weights and measures, he knew that he had a record-breaking plant -- but he didn't know that his plant would be almost twelve feet (11.98) taller than the the goal he had set for himself in the existing record: the official measurement of the plant, he would learn that afternoon, was 27'10".
In the early Spring months of 2007, Jesse received several amaranth seeds from the USDA NCRPIS (United States Department of Agriculture, North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station). Although one wouldn't think it from the size of the mature plant, Amaranthus seeds themselves are actually quite small (smaller than the head of a pin.) Germinating them was fairly difficult, however. Once he managed to get a handful of young plants growing well, he knew one of them was destined to be huge. On May 15th, when Jesse transplanted the young seedlings outside, they started growing rapidly. The plant that grew the fastest also happened to have the largest trunk (measuring almost five feet around) which may have helped the plant grow significantly taller than normal. (An average "trunk" would have a five to eight inch circumference.)
As the temperatures rose, the plant grew faster and faster. Competition, too, was on the rise. In Spring, Jesse shared a small number of cuttings among friends, and their plants had begun to take on considerable height at around this time, as well. As it turned out, many of these cuttings exceeded the 15' benchmark, some even stretched to 20+ feet.
In the early autumn, near the end of the amaranth's life cycle, Jesse's record-breaking plant was still growing several feet per day. Just before the official measurement, the plant also began producing flowers which also contributed to the overall height of the amaranth. Another factor contributing to the overwhelming size of the plant was the amount of water it received per day -- approximately 30 gallons per plant, per day.
In order to give the plant extra support (and to determine the benchmark for the old record) Jesse built a fifteen foot tall trellis for the amaranth. It didn't take long for the plant to outgrow it, though. By the middle of August, it was no longer possible to measure the plant with a ladder alone. (For the official measurement in October, professional arborists were called in, and a bucket-truck was necessary to get a measurement from the very top of the plant.)
Jesse Eldrid has been growing unusual plants for many years, and gardening is a life-long obsession for him. In the future, he plans on challenging the millet, sorghum, and historic corn records (for height.) He also intends, one day, to beat his own amaranth record. By growing crops such as these, Jesse hopes to raise awareness about the natural world and the potential for alternative energy. |
RE: possible new Amaranth world record
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It comes down to who grew the bigger plant, not who brought in the bigger media or the better cameras. It's about gardening.
I had twelve plants over 23' tall. Most of Brian's plants were *clones* of my certified 27'10" plant. He has left that information out of all of his articles, and posted up elsewhere that my plant is a "bigfoot" type of claim. Not only does he know better -- but he should have *acted* better, too. It's a much longer story than this, and it would probably make a good book. Maybe Brian would be interested in helping me write it?? |
RE: possible new Amaranth world record
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this is old news but Jesse's Certified plant was 5 feet taller then the NJ "gwr" plant look out for GardenMonsters.org coming soon |
RE: possible new Amaranth world record
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