King farmer named grand champion at The Royal

November 12, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
A King Township farmer has been recognized for her skill at growing vegetables.
In fact, Joanne Borcsok collected literally dozens of top awards during competitions this weekend at The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. She and her husband Karoly dominated the competition.
Borcsok was named grand champion vegetable exhibitor for her prowess in cultivating many massive veggies. Talk about goodness in the Holland Marsh soil!
She earned the world record for heaviest beet root, weighing in at 62.2 pounds! Husband Karoly earned second place in that class, with a 50-pound beet. The next closest competitor had an entry that weighed 48 pounds, and the others were way behind at 19 and 18 pounds respectively.
Joanne also took top honours in the tallest corn stalk, measuring a towering 20 feet, 3 inches. The next closest entry was just under 16 feet.
The honours for the longest carrot root also went to Joanne, with an entry that spanned 5 feet, 10 inches.
Joanne and Karoly took 3rd and 4th respectively in the heaviest marrow category, with entries that weighed 59.6 and 54.4 pounds.
Joanne also claimed the title of longest parsnip root, with a specimen measuring 7 feet, 1 inch.
Joanne and Karoly also earned 2nd and 3rd in the heaviest parsnip, at 7.6 and 5.8 pounds respectively.
The husband and wife duo also tied for first with the heaviest potato, a 3.2-pound whopper.
They also teamed up to dominate the largest sunflower diameter, taking 1st and 2nd with flowers measuring 16 and 15.5 inches.
Joanne was 2nd in the tallest kale category, with a plant that soared 6 feet, 8 inches.
She took 2nd for largest diameter for an ornamental flowering cabbage, at 1 foot, 4 inches.
She won top honours for heaviest kolhirabi, coming in at 31.8 pounds.
With a 12-foot, 5-inch amaranth, Joanne took 1st in that category.
Karoly was 2nd in assorted giant vegetable class, with a massive corn cob. Joanne took 6th with a giant gourd.
Joanne won the heaviest turnip, with a 6.6-pounder.
Joanne and Karoly took 4th and 5th respectively with giant pumpkin/squash entries, at 597 and 459 pounds.
Joanne wrapped things up with a 3rd in the rutabaga carved like a jack-o-lantern.
Joanne is a longstanding member of the Giant Vegetable Growers of Ontario, and has been exhibiting both giant and regular vegetables at the Royal for 10 years. With a commitment to growing excellence, Joanne also mentors other local growers looking to enter the The Royal vegetable competitions. Her artistic displays of vegetables at the fair are a delight to attendees, teaching the public about different varieties of what you may think are common vegetables.
For other results, visit the The Royal winter Fair website at www.royalfair.org.