A woman who forgot about a courgette she had been growing in her garden during lockdown was left in fits of laughter – when it ballooned to the size of a BABY.
YouTube star Sophie, 23, says she was “shocked” and “confused” when she first spotted the cumbersome courgette which had suddenly grown to over 6lbs in weight.
The makeup artist, who boasts over a million subscribers on YouTube, said her mum gave her three courgette plants to grow as a moving present when she left home in the summer.
But she added that she “can’t even keep a pot of flowers alive” and had completely forgotten about the formidable vegetable growing in her garden.
While most of the other courgettes had died and shrivelled, this one majestic marrow sprung to life.
She said the 20inch long courgette is big enough to feed a “whole neighborhood” and she plans to go veggie for a week to delve into courgette recipes.
Sophie, who goes by Soph Does Life on YouTube, said: “I’ve had the plant all summer, producing normal sized courgettes, but I last checked it about a month ago, and all the other courgettes were dead, so I kind of just left it to die.
“Who would have thought I was so unaware of this hidden gem growing in my garden for so long.
“I don’t know how it got so big. The rest of the courgettes on the plant had died and shrivelled, so I guess they sacrificed their life to put all their energy into growing this monster.
“No special plant growing chemicals, just some soil and the sweet sweet British rain.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was definitely very shocked. I was crying with laughter and my boyfriend was very confused about what I was laughing at, he had a look and started laughing too.
“Life really must have been boring recently to get so much amusement from a giant courgette. I had no idea it was there, I was expecting to find them all shrivelled and dead.
“But I guess this monster had other plans.”
Sophie said her mum, an avid gardener, has been left feeling jealous that she managed to grow such a “magnificent beast”.
But said most of her family told her the giant courgette had made their day.
She said: “This is all down to my mum – when I moved out, she gave me three of her courgette plants to grow in my new garden as a moving in present.
“She’s always grown vegetables, so I thought I would give it a go. I’ve never really been into gardening, but it is quite nice to have free courgettes that I pick myself every so often.
“I had a lot of messages with people saying that my giant courgette had made their day, which I think goes to show times really are hard.
“To be honest it made my day too. It was pretty funny.
“I think my mum is quite jealous that I have managed to grow such a magnificent beast.”
She now plans to chop it up and cook up various courgette recipes in the coming week – a vegetable she labelled “top tier”.
She added: “I think a courgette is a top tier vegetable.
“You can roast them, grill them, steam them, stuff them, turn them into spaghetti – the list goes on.”
“When I posted it on my Instagram stories, I had quite a few requests for me to cut it open and see what it looks like inside.
“A few people even told me to dress it up and put makeup on it. I think I will cut it open, try cooking some of it, and see if it actually tastes nice.
“I think it’s more marrow territory now, but I’ll see how it goes.”
Sophie said she may find herself in a new career as suggested by the government – and could look into giant vegetable farming with her newfound skills.
She said: “I manage to kill every other plant that I come into contact with, I can’t even keep a pot of flowers alive, so I guess it was beginner’s luck?
“Maybe I have inherited my mum’s green fingers without even knowing, but this is definitely my first foray into gigantic vegetable farming.
“Who knows what the future could hold. With the government encouraging people in the creative industry to retrain and find new fields of work, maybe this could be my new career.
“National Giant Vegetable Competition UK – I’m coming for your crown.”