"Eur Ing John Rye" wrote in message
...
Hello Heather
In article ,
Heather wrote:
The garden club which my Dad is involved with has its Autumn show
first w/e of Sept. It's a typical village fruit, veg, flower and
produce show - not a massive amount of entries but those who do enter
take it quite seriously. Most entries are from people who grow
vegetables to eat and then pick the best for the show rather than
those who grow specifically for the show.
In previous years I've not entered the fruit and veg classes but have
stuck to the photography section. Last year I entered some stems of
shrubs, perennials and "any six garden flower stems" and throoughly
enjoyed myself (third prize for the shrubs!) This year I'm intending
to be a bit more adventurous (see my potato in pot thread)
I have a "new" (to me) garden wihout the space for a proper vegetable
patch so veggies will have to be grown in the borders - mostly
sloping, well drained soil facing west and prone to being shady for
about half the garden - or in grow bags on part of my sunny,
west-facing deck or in bags/pots round the front on my east-facing
(sun till about 1pm) gravel bit.
Any suggestions as to what I might try that won't take TOO much time
and effort and might result in a few more classes being entered?
Thoughts so far:
Herbs (there's a class for five types of culinary or floral herbs)
Cherry tomatoes
Chilli peppers
What else can I get away with in pots/growbags that will be ready in
September?
Any other village show growers out there with any hints and tips? For
those who haven't been along to their village show I would thoroughly
recommend it - ours is fun without being TOO serious or competitive -
a great experience.
Go for it ! Most village shows badly need new competitors, but make sure
you
check up on the rules. It is very frustrating to enter something that is
obviously the best, but be disqualified for not being according to class.
Common mistakes are :-
Inability to count (Exhibiting 5 or 7 when 6 are called for.)
Wrong size eg Onions up to 250 gm and yours weigh 255 gm
Carrots trimmed when the schedule says with foliage
Mixed sizes ie if the class is for say 6 tomatoes they must all be as near
as
possible the same size, even if this means leaving out your two bigger
best
ones.
Best of luck
John
--
EurIng J Rye CEng FIEE Electrical Engineering Consultant
18 Wentworth Close Hadleigh IPSWICH IP7 5SA England
Tel No 01473 827126 http://web.ukonline.co.uk/jrye/index.html
--- On Line using an Acorn StrongArm RiscPC ---
He he, my own "classic" was placing my lovely onions for the kitchen in the
onions under 3" diameter section, and finding them dis-qualified, wouldn't
have been so bad but there was only one entry in the onions for the kitchen,
so that was a guaranteed 2nd place gone. Live and learn.
I do so want to enter my 12 foot banana plant in a pot in the, "anything in
a pot", section, just to see what would happen.
As for suggestions, i'd say grow unusual stuff, Aubergines, odd squashes;
butternut etc, that sort of thing rarely has anyone else growing it. Sneaky
way to win a few prizes.
Duncan