Penshurst gardener's colossal pumpkin breaks his own 18-year record

Penshurst green thumb Loukas Dedes is proving that some things truly do get better with age.

The 91-year-old grandfather has become a neighbourhood sensation after harvesting an enormous pumpkin weighing a staggering 33kg from his home garden.

While a squash of that magnitude would be a lifetime achievement for most, for Mr Dedes, it is a record-breaking sequel. He first graced the pages of this masthead 18 years ago at age 73, when he proudly displayed a then-impressive 26kg pumpkin.

A retired wedding photographer and former reporter for the Greek press, Mr Dedes has traded his camera lens for gardening shears, though his eye for a great story clearly remains sharp. His horticultural resume also includes a massive one-kilogram tomato, proving his green thumb extends across the entire veggie patch.

According to his granddaughter, Hayley Dedes, the 2008 news clipping has been a prized family keepsake for nearly two decades. "My grandfather is known for always being in his garden, growing various fruits and vegetables all year round," Hayley said.

Despite the modern era of specialised fertilisers, Mr Dedes keeps his methods refreshingly traditional, relying simply on cow manure and water to fuel his prize-winning produce.

His son John said the secret is simply the amount of time he spends in the garden. He noted that his father has also taken a keen hand at beekeeping, at one point extracting two tonnes of honey a year, with neighbours constantly knocking on his door to buy it. "He thinks he's 21," John said. "The garden keeps him fit."

This latest pumpkin took a couple of months to grow and is sitting on the verandah. It will soon be put to good use, as Mr Dedes' wife plans to make soup for their friends and neighbours using her collection of large pots. As well as, his record-breaking gourds, Mr Dedes continues to cultivate a diverse patch of broccoli, cabbage, silverbeet, and citrus trees.