Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => The Show Bench => Topic started by: rowlandwells on March 06, 2019, 09:34
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we have a yearly veg show and its not only a bit of fun but monies raised at this show all goes to local charities
so i bought a book for a biginner guide to growing and showing vegetables an optamist or what we have managed to win first prise marrow for two years and i whant to try my hand at something ells not quite sure what to go for?
so once again ask the question does anyone out there grow for showing and any tips would be helpfull we had a chap that used to win every year with his giant onions and they where giants sadly he passed away last year so there is an opertunity for someone to grow and show onions given the rite variety and knowledge of how to grow giant onions :D
we always get the jibe about growing marrows so any othere veg we could grow would be a bonus especially if we won something with another veg :D
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Yes I have done so for a few years now, but only in our local Show, albeit quite a large one.
Onions … it is a bit late now for growing giant onions from seed but if that is what you hanker after, then several seed suppliers sell young plants of suitable varieties and there should still be some available. They arrive end of April or thereabouts ready for potting up individually and then planting out once conditions are suitable. Other onions classes can be managed with set grown onions if you treat them nicely.
Just remember not to plant them into freshly manured soil, but if your bed for them isn't ready yet, a good dollop of home made compost now, and some seaweed meal bedore your plant them out wouldn't hurt
Potatoes are always a fair bet too, especially second earlies
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I take your point sunshineband about growing show onions I have some onions plants I grew to overwinter Kosma and Toughball I also have some onion sets Turbo although I was intending to grow Globo but I couldn't find the seed at the time
I also bought some exhibition seed from DT Brown and some [Robinson's] mammoth red and mammoth if I sow the seed now would they produce a large enough onion in time for the show because the veg show is not till end of August ?
also I had thought about potatoes I'm growing Cara foremost Picasso and Winston down the allotments and we usually get good solid potatoes of that ground so that could be a possible?
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The "overwintering" onions are Japanese varieties and make very good onions. I like the shape of Toughball in particular. I am not sure that they grow really huge though... you'll have to let us know.
It is always worth giving things a go, and althought it might be a bit late for growing enormous onions from seed sown now, with encouragement you might get some nice ones.
Are you only planning on showing onions?
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thanks for that SB Il keep you posted PS. I did cut back a little those overwintering onions as they where getting damaged when I moved them fingers crossed
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I am a member of our local Gardening society and rent an allotment. I do enter into the village show but I don't grow for the show.
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I am a member of our local Gardening society and rent an allotment. I do enter into the village show but I don't grow for the show.
That is me really too, except for last year when I got hooked on trying to grow large onions. I blame New Shoot for introducing me to Globo (Which is our house are called Globb-oh)
I do like seeing the best of what I've grown displayed at its best on the bench though.. kind of a celebration of the season. I also enter preserves too, for the same reason
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I take your point sunshineband about growing show onions I have some onions plants I grew to overwinter Kosma and Toughball I also have some onion sets Turbo although I was intending to grow Globo but I couldn't find the seed at the time
I also bought some exhibition seed from DT Brown and some [Robinson's] mammoth red and mammoth if I sow the seed now would they produce a large enough onion in time for the show because the veg show is not till end of August ?
also I had thought about potatoes I'm growing Cara foremost Picasso and Winston down the allotments and we usually get good solid potatoes of that ground so that could be a possible?
I grew a few Exhibition last year with the intention of entering them into my local show. Other events prevented me from actually doing that but they were large, good looking onions and good for eating ('quick' pickled with cheese on crusty bread being a favourite way). I've got some on the go again this year (more than last) for eating only as I'm pretty sure the show will be on a day I can't make.
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I am always surprised some people think all exhibition vegetables will not be tasty... our large onions were excellent eating too!
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I don’t growto show but I do show some of what I grow at our garden clubs show,if that makes sense. I tend to have a look at the schedule & see if I’ve got anything growing that fits the bill. The real show growers check dates of the shows they want to enter & sow & plant accordingly it seems. We had a chap give a talk at our social meetings & they are very earnest & dediated. I honestly don’t think I’d have a family if I became that obsessed with it all. I have won a few firsts ,sometimes on things that I’ve entered thinking I’ve no chance, for instance last year 4 white potatoes, you could have knocked me down with a feather. I just happened to have harvested some & thought hmm they look the same size,good shape,no blemishes.
Not sure about this year as I’m now chair of our garden club & I’ll be busy all day with the show I think, so might struggle to exhibit, apart from preserves that just need plonking in the right area.
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I don’t grow to show but I do show some of what I grow at our garden clubs show,if that makes sense. I tend to have a look at the schedule & see if I’ve got anything growing that fits the bill. The real show growers check dates of the shows they want to enter & sow & plant accordingly it seems. We had a chap give a talk at our social meetings & they are very earnest & dediated. I honestly don’t think I’d have a family if I became that obsessed with it all. I have won a few firsts ,sometimes on things that I’ve entered thinking I’ve no chance, for instance last year 4 white potatoes, you could have knocked me down with a feather. I just happened to have harvested some & thought hmm they look the same size,good shape,no blemishes.
Not sure about this year as I’m now chair of our garden club & I’ll be busy all day with the show I think, so might struggle to exhibit, apart from preserves that just need plonking in the right area.
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I'm like you, if it looks good I will enter it. I have a blackberry bush and entered 6 years in a row and won first prize 4 out of 6 years. I have entered the veg section and flower sections with some success.
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that really sounds good Mr Dog crusty bread home baked of cause with real butter nice piece of blue cheese a not to strong onion a sweet Spanish will do very nice all washed down with a pint of best bitter :D :D