Giant veggies - Getting one over the neighbours

[Juddy in the Charente]

I am plagued by one of my friendly neighbours (French) who insists that her veggies are:

a, earlier than mine
b, bigger than mine
c, yield more than mine etc etc etc

She has been exceptionally helpful with advice, tips, seedlings etc and has had her garden for at least 25 years whereas ours is only one year old (previously a horse field). But she does like crowing about her blasted veg!
In the true spirit of oneupmanship I intend to grow stuff next year that will just blow her away, so giant veggies it has to be.
Does anyone have a reliable and reputable source for seeds out there please?

[Thomzo]

Hmmm, trying to beat her at her own game may just end up backfiring. If yours aren't bigger you'll just be depressed and if they are bigger, she'll be depressed. So why not do something different? How about being boringly organic with yours and gain the moral high ground. Or how about just growing things that you have been given, or seeds that have been saved from this year. That way you can crow about how little you've spent on your plot.

Cheers
Zoe

[ina]

Also - bigger often ( not always) means less flavour... So you might not be doing yourself a favour with that strategy!

I tend to just think - so what. I don't do competition.

[Millymollymandy]

I suggest you grow all those herbs and veg the French have never heard of, like I do. Then you'll have oneupmanship when they are wondering what on earth curly kale, purple sprouting brocolli, runner beans, sweetcorn, coriander and parsnips are!

[ina]

I really, really hate this competitive strain in some people. It's one reason why I would never, ever go to the rural women's institute meetings - they are supposed to be oh so modern and whatever these days, but if you look at their invites: competition this week - Victoria sponge. Novelty - some cr*p or other. Why??? Why the constant need to show off "I'm better than you all"? Makes me mad. And it excludes a lot of people like myself who learnt at an early age that they simply can't compete, and don't want to.

And neighbours like that do the same from my point of view - they try to be exclusive. "I don't want anything to do with you because you are not up to MY standard". Well, fine with me.

Sorry. Rant over.

[contadina]

I think the "mine is bigger, better and earlier" trait is something that effects many gardeners. While some may be overly competitive, for many it's just a way of showing off something they are proud of having achieved and there's nothing wrong with that in my book. Showing off your gardening prowess provides our neighbourhood with much mirth as everyone joins in.

If your neighbour is generous enough to share her knowledge Judy I'd allow her to crow a little. Having someone on hand with a lifetime's experience of tilling the local land is a real bonus when you are trying to get to grips with it.

That said, we are just getting bold enough to deviate from local wisdom in how things are grown (never having experienced drought conditions before) and are beginning to earn people's respect as they see the benefits of an organic approach to improving land fertility, which in turn retains more water. And are we crowing about increased yields - you betcha

[Peggy Sue]

Got to say I have one allotment neighbour who suffers with this syndrome- just about the only one that doesn't share advice or produce noteably. I tend to like trying different stuff and that does get him curious (and off his high horse ) This year I did Purple Orach- very attractive, and vegetable spaghetti. So I'd go for MMM's idea of stuff they've never heard of in france, at least you will be in a comfort zone with some british traditionals like parsnips! (Mind you the Orach is great in drought conditions and the veg spag just needs lots of freash muck.)

The other problem you will have is a newly cultivated patch is really unlikly to give you massive veg for years, I've been working a spot in my garden for 5 years now and still there are only limited veg that really do OK there- whereas the allotment things really flourish having been tended to for years.