Exaggerating size!

[veggiechicken]

Are you attracted by size - especially when its larger than normal?
I seem to be - as I have seeds for Yard Long beans and Yard Long cucumbers (Armenian). Then there's Big Daddy tomatoes ......................

My question is, are these names pure boasting, has anyone grown a Yard Long anything or is this all misleading advertising? Can I sue?

Have you bought seeds because of their purported size - and not been satisfied?
Should the naming of varieties be governed by advertising laws - no misrepresentation of size and so on.

You've guessed, its cold and I've been playing with seeds today, pretending its spring!

[DannyK]

Yard long beans can go to a couple of feet at least. Have grown them here. They need to be inside.

You'll see them in Filipino and Chinese shops.

[Cadalot]

And what would you call a mile a minute plant ?

100s & 1000s Tomatoes?

[Snoop Puss]

Big Daddies are not the whopperest of tomatoes, but they taste pretty good.

And what about Sweet Million tomatoes?

[Small pumpkin]

I'm with you VC . I've grown the yard long bean that wasn't and the massive tomato ( & pumpkin) that wasn't. Yes I do have a tendency to be drawn toward varieties with big names and big claims only to be disappointed

[Mr Bones]

We grew Giraffe sunflowers, two years on the trot they struggled to reach three feet tall while nearby various nondescript breeds reached for the skies. Maybe it meant baby giraffes.

[chris_m]

We grew Giraffe sunflowers, two years on the trot they struggled to reach three feet tall while nearby various nondescript breeds reached for the skies. Maybe it meant baby giraffes.

I sowed some supposedly dwarf sunflowers last year. The packet said 18"-24" high with compact heads but one of them obviously didn't read the packet - topping out at about 4' high in the end with an enormous head.
Must have been an errant seed - like the curly kale I sowed to overwinter, one of those definitely isn't curly at all.

[burnie]

I'm a fisherman, I never exaggerate and I've told that at least a hundred million times before...................(I have grown "Mammoth Onions, they were massive but they weren't hairy nor did they have any tusks).

[veggiechicken]

That's like my Mammoth leeks - they struggled to reach pencil thickness.

[WalterWhite]

Probably find that the average gardener is not growing the plant to its peak potential. Growing media/substrate, environment temperature, light wavelength and duration, pest management to mitigate plant stress, wind exposure, correct application of nutrients, water ph are just some variables to consider.

Not expecting allotmenteers to apply such stringent controls however in some seed trials/development such controls are applied.

[lottie dolly]

I tried yard long a few year ago,outside,i got the odd bean about 18/20 in long,have some more seeds,and try again inside this year,big daddy toms,they grew in many sizes on 1 plant,maybe they should have some removed,so the energy goes into less fruits,this year am going to try giganto??????,so will experiment,

[Chippy Minton]

We usually go the other way and buy stuff described as "dwarf". That's what we usually end up with anyway so might as well be expecting it

Mind you the dwarf kale is about 2' tall now

[Snoop Puss]

Just to put you at ease, you can buy yard-long beans in some shops and markets in Barcelona. I've never seen them much longer than 18 inches or so.

[Snadger]

I grew yard long beans one year and the longest was about 3 inches!

My Hundredweight pumpkin weighed..............erm............not a lot!

[veggiechicken]

Probably find that the average gardener is not growing the plant to its peak potential. Growing media/substrate, environment temperature, light wavelength and duration, pest management to mitigate plant stress, wind exposure, correct application of nutrients, water ph are just some variables to consider.

Not expecting allotmenteers to apply such stringent controls however in some seed trials/development such controls are applied.

To me the problem lies with the names - there is an expectation that the veg will be bigger or heavier than normal - and I'm sure this is a deliberate ploy.
If they were called WalterWhite beans or Veggiechicken tomatoes they could end up any size at all as we don't have an expectation of what a WalterWhite looks like.

Its like supermarkets who bring out their "Finest" or "Best" range of products. Then they need to go one better so it will be "The Very Best" as, all the time, they're striving to be one better than their competitors.

I grow Bijou mangetout - they're huge.