Colin and Donna Craig-Brown were gardening when Colin’s hoe struck something large in the soil. The couple knelt and began excavating the object believing it to be a giant puffball — a kind of rare fungal growth.
However, it was potato. But not any potato, possibly the largest potato on record, weighing in at a remarkable 7.8 kilograms (17lb), roughly the weight of a few sacks of regular potatoes or a small dog.
“We couldn’t believe it,” Donna said. “It was just huge.”
The couple’s discovery has caused something of a sensation in small-town New Zealand. Despite Donna describing the potato as having an ugly mutant look, it has become a local celebrity around their small farm near Hamilton in the weeks since it was found on August 30.
Colin has built a small cart to tow around the potato, which the couple have affectionately named Doug, of course.
Advertisement
“We put a hat on him. We put him on Facebook, taking him for a walk, giving him some sunshine,” the couple told Associated Press. “It’s all a bit of fun. It’s amazing what entertains people.”
The present Guinness World Records entry for the heaviest potato was found in Britain in 2011 and weighed in at just under 5kg.
The couple say they have applied to Guinness to have Doug recognised and are waiting for a reply.
Colin said he had not planted any potatoes and that Doug must have been self-sown and was quite possibly growing there unnoticed for a couple of years or more. “It’s a mystery to me,” he said. “It’s one of nature’s little pleasant surprises.”
Doug’s pleasantness is starting to wear off as it began drying out and getting mouldy.
Advertisement
“He was getting a bit pongy,” said Colin. Beyond being destined for the Guinness world record books Colin, a keen amateur brewer, plans to turn Doug into vodka.