Te Awamutu College horticultural students unearth giant red kumara

Horticultural students at Te Awamutu College arrived back to school last week to find that an enormous kumara had grown in the school garden.

The unearthed kumara weighed in at 3.3kg, measuring over half a metre long.

Student gardeners Ron Nand, Turanga Enoka, John Pittman and Liam McCullogh planted the kumara last year and they and all the other horticulture students have been tending to the crop.

The group of Year 10 students have some theories about how they managed to grow a kumara so big.

"We dug in a lot of compost and shaped tall mounds in the garden for the plants," says Ron.

They are also certain the growth was encouraged by them singing the 'kumara song' as they planted and tended to their crops.

Horticulture teacher James Saunders says their technique and care has paid off.

The giant kumara is set to be roasted and enjoyed by students during the Matariki lunch held by the horticultural science classes.