Vegie king grows another whopper

By Callan Date
JOE Navarra is as cool as a cucumber when it comes to the monster in his garden.
The Endeavour Hills man may have claims to having the largest cucumber in Casey as his pride and joy approaches the 1.5-metre mark.
Technically known as a fruit – the cucumber has been growing in Joe’s backyard for several months and is now taking on epic proportions of its own.
The largest recorded cucumber was grown in Australia and tipped the scales at 26.5 kilograms.
Although Joe is yet to weigh his cucumber, he thinks it would come well above 10 kilograms.
“It is one metre 30 (cm) at the moment,” Joe said.
That’s plenty of slices to dish out to the local beauticians who have long used the fruit to cleanse the face and eyes.
The 65-year-old has a knack for growing larger crops with Joe featuring in the Berwick News about six years ago when he grew another whopper cucumber.
Joe’s daughter, Tina Bonanno, said he has a passion for his garden that extends to a variety of items.
“He grows tomatoes, watermelon, peppers, lettuce. He also grows his own grapes and makes wine during the season,” Tina said.
Joe brought his love of gardening over from Italy when he arrived from Italy in 1968.
He settled in Endeavour Hills a few years later and has called the suburb his home for the last 30 years.
“He grows cucumbers every year but this year this one has grown the biggest so far,” she said.
As for the cucumber in question – well Joe will continue letting it grow until it reaches its full potential.