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Believe it or not, there is still a safe place on the Internet. A place where people aren't at each other's throats all the time, trying to prove they're the reason the world is going to hell. I know it sounds unreal, bear with me. I got proof.

His name is Gerald Stratford and he's from Oxfordshire, England. The 71-year-old gardener is tweeting photos of his produce under lockdown and was even dubbed the Vegetable King. Stratford first gained praise online after showing his potatoes and has accumulated over 150,000 since. It's mostly pictures of him smiling while holding the vegetables he's grown but that's what's great about his account. No sensitive content, no toxic comments. Just positivity.

More info: Twitter

"Basically I'm a fanatical vegetable grower, I love growing veg," Stratford told the PA news agency.

The Vegetable King lives in the tiny village of Milton-under-Wychwood and started a Twitter account back in February 2019 in order to discuss gardening with some friends.

But he went viral for his early rocket potatoes and is now getting used to life as an online celebrity.

When it happened, Gerald's phone was going berserk and he wasn't even sure what was going on, so he phoned up his son-in-law and got the explanation. It's gradually got bigger and bigger and bigger, people seem to like what I’m doing!"

Stratford told said he now spends around an hour per day answering people's gardening questions on Twitter.

However, he continues to share photos of his vegetables, which range from potatoes and cauliflowers to carrots and courgettes.

"I think a lot of it is the younger people, especially the American younger people, seem to like the old English man who's happy and growing veg," Stratford said, adding that he's aware of his nickname.

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"I'm happy, I don’t do sadness. We live in a sad world at the moment, and if I can make people happy by this Twitter thing then I will."

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PhantomBuni
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always read the cheers as him saying something like: Gerald: Grew another cute plant! Crowd: *cheers*

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Kirsten Kerkhof
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love the smell of carrots fresh from the ground. And the taste, too (especially with a slight trace of the soil still clinging on). Too bad I can't eat more than one or two raw carrots (I'm slightly intolerant)

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Out of chocolate
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I lost my grandfathers a few years ago. Can I be adopted? I will help make the jam and can the tomatoes!

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Valerie G.
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nothing beats fresh potatoes right from the soil. God only knows how long the ones in the store have been around before you bring them home.

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PangolinPal
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh my, those green and purple beans! They are just beautiful, and nothing tastes better than fresh pole beans, steamed lightly with a little butter, salt and maybe mint. . .

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Raine Soo
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A few years ago, my yucca plant flowered for the first time. The scent is heavenly.

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Maggie Smith
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That press is so small. It would take 3 times as long to juice vegies which look soooo good.

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Note: this post originally had 46 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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