Showing flowers and vegetables at a village show can be very rewarding in many ways – you may win a card or a cup, but even if you don’t, you will see good exhibits, learn a little, and meet the people who grow them.
For flowers always read the schedule to make sure you have the right number of flowers, and whether they should be all the same variety or different. Make sure the foliage is clean and damage-free and try to make sure blooms are perfect and all the same size. Don’t cut the blooms in a hurry on the morning of the show – but do it the day before and stand them in water in a col place. Always cut extra so you can match them up. Any surplus can go in a vase for the living room or to enter in a class of mixed blooms.
Vegetable classes ask for the exhibits to be clean and washed carefully. Make sure that things like potatoes, carrots and beetroot are all the same size and check if the foliage has to be cut off to a certain length - usually this is 75 mm (3 inches), and then tie with raffia Shallots and onions are more specialist and they need to have a nice skin finish i.e. no broken skins, but don’t skin them too much. Tying the tops can be a bit of a fiddle but it makes a good exhibit. Shallots are usually exhibited in a saucer full of sand. Onions can be exhibited on rings so that they stand upright on the show bench. I tend to use wooden curtain rings but 12 mm lengths cut off toilet roll inners will do the job nicely or if you have he ones, use kitchen roll inners. Runner beans need to be the same length with a stalk (cut with scissors or secateurs). Don’t show beans that have the seeds bulging out of the sides - they need to be young and fresh.
Tomatoes need to have the calyx left on and it wants to look fresh and green. Judges seem to favour red tomatoes so I never enter any other colour. If there is a class for trugs, different coloured tomatoes make an eye-catchng display, along with peppers, potatoes and maybe squashes if they are not too big.
Our annual Summer Show is on Saturday 13 August at the Villages Hall, Broad Lane, so do come along to enjoy and/or take part. You can download or read a copy of the schedule on our website at www.bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk/events
There is lots going on in summer and you may not be aware that apart from the National Garden Scheme, the Red Cross also run an open garden scheme and you can find out more here: http://www.redcross.org.uk/Get-involved/Events/Open-Gardens
Apart from that did you realise that Worcestershire has no less than 17 country parks, picnic places and countryside parks?! We’re all hoping for an Indian summer, given the mixed climate we’ve been experiencing so we’ve all got a lot of catching up to do!
Happy Gardening!
Pete Chamberlain
www.bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk
email: [email protected]
Tel: 01386 861438
For flowers always read the schedule to make sure you have the right number of flowers, and whether they should be all the same variety or different. Make sure the foliage is clean and damage-free and try to make sure blooms are perfect and all the same size. Don’t cut the blooms in a hurry on the morning of the show – but do it the day before and stand them in water in a col place. Always cut extra so you can match them up. Any surplus can go in a vase for the living room or to enter in a class of mixed blooms.
Vegetable classes ask for the exhibits to be clean and washed carefully. Make sure that things like potatoes, carrots and beetroot are all the same size and check if the foliage has to be cut off to a certain length - usually this is 75 mm (3 inches), and then tie with raffia Shallots and onions are more specialist and they need to have a nice skin finish i.e. no broken skins, but don’t skin them too much. Tying the tops can be a bit of a fiddle but it makes a good exhibit. Shallots are usually exhibited in a saucer full of sand. Onions can be exhibited on rings so that they stand upright on the show bench. I tend to use wooden curtain rings but 12 mm lengths cut off toilet roll inners will do the job nicely or if you have he ones, use kitchen roll inners. Runner beans need to be the same length with a stalk (cut with scissors or secateurs). Don’t show beans that have the seeds bulging out of the sides - they need to be young and fresh.
Tomatoes need to have the calyx left on and it wants to look fresh and green. Judges seem to favour red tomatoes so I never enter any other colour. If there is a class for trugs, different coloured tomatoes make an eye-catchng display, along with peppers, potatoes and maybe squashes if they are not too big.
Our annual Summer Show is on Saturday 13 August at the Villages Hall, Broad Lane, so do come along to enjoy and/or take part. You can download or read a copy of the schedule on our website at www.bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk/events
There is lots going on in summer and you may not be aware that apart from the National Garden Scheme, the Red Cross also run an open garden scheme and you can find out more here: http://www.redcross.org.uk/Get-involved/Events/Open-Gardens
Apart from that did you realise that Worcestershire has no less than 17 country parks, picnic places and countryside parks?! We’re all hoping for an Indian summer, given the mixed climate we’ve been experiencing so we’ve all got a lot of catching up to do!
Happy Gardening!
Pete Chamberlain
www.bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk
email: [email protected]
Tel: 01386 861438