A Dalgety Bay gardener is enjoying the sweet taste of success yet again.
Jim Thomson has proven that he is top of the crops after winning the Beautiful Fife Gardens West Fife vegetable section for the 26th year.
The veteran gardener, who turned 90 earlier this year, is well known for growing giant vegetables at his garden in The Beeches, including cabbages that are over 4 ft across, and onions that weigh 4 lbs.
Asked what the secret of his success was, Mr Thomson said that he received his green fingers from his family.
“I’ve always enjoyed gardening and that’s why I keep going,” he said.
“My father was a good gardener and my uncle was the first superintendent of Gunnersbury Park in London.
“I’ve turned 90 but I’m still going to continue as it gives me a lot of pleasure. It’s hard work though.”
Mr Thomson has established a reputation as a formidable competitor on the Fife vegetable growing scene, with one local show having changed its rules, he claims, to prevent him from displaying there.
Much of his work is dependent on the weather, with Mr Thomson preferring to work with traditional vegetables in his quest to prove that big really is better.
Following his most recent local success, Mr Thomson now progresses to the Fife-wide competition, with winners to be announced at a ceremony in Glenrothes next month.
Despite his own determination to carry on, he acknowledges that there are fewer gardeners taking part, adding that he believes that many are too old to continue with their pastime.
However, keen to welcome new challengers to his position as a Goliath of the Fife gardening scene, he said: “Across Fife there are a lot of good gardeners and a lot of competition.
“But many of them are getting older now, and young people don’t seem keen to take up gardening.”
