It was a taste of the good life for Tregare’s Tom and Barbara Anstey, when they were named winners of the Adult Class in the North Gwent Cardiac Rehabilitation & Aftercare Charity’s 2024 Potato Growing Challenge.

For the veteran growers, who have been married for 61 years and share an impressive home veg plot, it was a case of third time lucky, as in previous years they’ve been pipped to the post by Govilon’s Bryan Jones.

“It was a lovely surprise,” said Barbara following their win. “We grow a lot of our own veg, including Desirée potatoes, but I must say I didn’t have high hopes for our challenge potato as the weather this year has not been kind.”

Octogenarians Tom and Barbara were joined in victory by Children’s Class winner Poppy Harper, 6, from Raglan, who was a runner-up in last year’s contest.

And proving that growing is in the genes, Poppy’s grandparents Jenny and Lewis Morgan, of Abergavenny Architects Morgan & Horowskyj, scooped 2nd place in the Adult Class. In the Children’s Class, 2nd place went to first-time competitor Megan Baldwin, 10, of Little Mill, near Pontypool.

The local heart charity’s fundraising Potato Challenge has become a hotly contested fixture on the local gardening calendar. Sponsored by the Abergavenny Garden Centre, the Challenge sees keen growers of all ages vying to produce the heaviest harvest from a single seed potato over a 4-month growing period.

This year’s variety was “Swift”, chosen by garden centre manager Gavin Trinder. “It’s a fast-maturing ‘first early’ potato ideal for container growing – especially if you want a really early crop of salad potatoes,” he explained. “Given we had a really slow start to spring, with very little sunshine and warm weather, I’m impressed by the results!”

And Barbara was impressed by the flavour of her potatoes: “We ate them with butter and a salad, and they were lovely!”

There was disappointment for some however, including previous champ Bryan Jones, 95, who admitted that this year he’d made a rookie error: “I left the pot outside one night and got caught out by a late frost.”

That didn’t stop some good-natured family rivalry, however, with daughter Helen Miller and great-grandson James Straughan, 11, both competing for one of the four garden centre voucher prizes. In the end though, all three generations went home empty handed, although determined to try again next year.

Also planning to compete again was novice grower James Watson, who claimed the unofficial award for the ‘tiniest tater’. “I saw the Challenge on Facebook and thought I’d give it a go,” he said. “I’m actually quite pleased with my result, considering I’ve never grown potatoes before. It’s definitely made me want to try again!”

“That’s the great thing about the Potato Challenge; it brings people together in a friendly way for a good cause,” said charity Chairperson Jacky Miles, MBE, who managed an 323g harvest from her pot. “We’re very grateful to Gavin and his team at the Abergavenny Garden Centre for sponsoring the event again this year, and for hosting our team of hard-working volunteers, both at the weigh-in on Saturday and when we were selling the potato-growing kits back in February.

“Thanks to them, and to the 83 people who took part, the Challenge has raised just shy of £800 for us – a brilliant result! This will help us carry on our work of providing specialist community-based Cardiac Rehab Exercise Classes across the North Gwent region.”

Adult Class

• 1st prize: Tom and Barbara Anstey, Tregare – 1,072g (£20 Garden Centre Voucher)

• 2nd prize: Jenny & Lewis Morgan, for Morgan & Horowskyj Architects, Abergavenny –1,054g (£15 Garden Centre Voucher)

Children’s Class

• 1st prize: Poppy Harper, Raglan – 840g (£10 Garden Centre Voucher)

• 2nd prize: Megan Baldwin, Little Mill – 733g (£5 Garden Centre Voucher)

• Tom and Barbara: “Put a bit of farmyard manure in the bottom of the pot, before you add the compost. Then, once your potato starts growing, give it a regular liquid feed with Tomorite.”

• Lewis and Jenny: “Add a specialist potato fertiliser to the compost when you plant your potato, then add more as it grows: they’re hungry plants!”

• To find out more about the North Gwent Cardiac Rehabilitation and Aftercare Charity (Reg No.1056887) and their programme of Cardiac Rehab Exercise Classes, visit cardiac-rehab.org.uk or call Tony Lowery on 07856 692148.