Giant zucchinis shared with relatives

Antonio Maitino with his huge zucchinis. 167391 Picture: GARY SISSONS

By Casey Neill

An Endeavour Hills green thumb has grown gasp-worthy gourds.
Antonio Maitino planted the near two metre-long zucchinis back in October after buying seeds from the Caribbean Gardens market for what he thought were standard zucchinis.
His daughter, Linda Angelakis, said it was the first time he’d tried his hand at growing them, and he’d cultivated six of the giant vegies.
“We didn’t think they were going to be that big,” she said.
“They ate some today and they said they tasted really good, so they’ll just give some out to family.”
Ms Angelakis said her dad had always grown his own produce.
“All our vegetables are all fresh; we hardly buy anything from the stores,” she said.
Mr Maitino grows another member of the zucchini family, dries them out and transforms them into ducks using paint.
“They’re a zucchini as well, but they grow big down the bottom and little at the top,” Ms Angelakis said.