Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => The Show Bench => Topic started by: Charl89 on April 18, 2012, 18:39
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Hi I have had my allotment for the second year and where i live they are doing a veg, flower and craft show at the end of July.
I was thinking of maybe entering:
Carrots- i am currently growing Amsterdam, Autumn King and nantes
Potatoes- I am currenty growing Pentland Javelin, Maris Piper, Romano
French Bean
Onion- growing white, red and shallots
Tomatoes- currently growing tumblers, Money maker and Gardeners delight.
If you were showing them which would you choose and what else can i do to get it right? I am totally clueless to showing so excited to learn now.
Thanks in advance,
Charl
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I'm not a show grower, but if they assess tomatoes for taste as well - bin the Moneymakers!
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oh really. ok thanks for the advice
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Our show is just a small local show, its a lovely day and i really look forward to it. :)
I've never really grown any variety specially for the show, just put in the best i've got in each class i've entered.
Some entries will be worse than mine, sometimes :wub:, sometimes mine are terrible. No one minds if the veg, fruit, flowers and cakes are not perfect at our show but i know its taken a lot more seriously at the big shows, but then i wouldn't be entering them with my stuff.
Is there anyone you can ask who knows the ropes for your show. Failing that just go for it and make notes on how things are done for next year.
I take lots of photos of ways to display things like onions, rhubarb, or whatever so i've got a standard to work to.If you can visit a few shows before hand look how the entries are presented to help you with your own. I think the judges usually judge just on appearance. :)
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oh really. ok thanks for the advice
Yes seriously, once you've tried other varieties, you'll find that whilst they have a better flavour than supermarket ones, they are vastly inferior to others you can get.
If it's looks only, you'll probably get away with it.
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aw thats great thanks. yeh ours is a tiny show too just for the local island residents. like you said might see what looks nice but havent got a clue how to present them. lol
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oh really. ok thanks for the advice
Yes seriously, once you've tried other varieties, you'll find that whilst they have a better flavour than supermarket ones, they are vastly inferior to others you can get.
If it's looks only, you'll probably get away with it.
yeh taste test will tell me lol :tongue2:
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The most important choice to make when attempting to grow for a show is variety. But i assume you grow mainly for food therefore you could do with choosing the varietys that look and taste good.
If you have a greenhouse i would suggest tomato "Shirley" as a decent inbetweener, very prolific with very good quality fruit that taste good.
I did get a first last year using gardeners delight in the cherry tom class though.
Really you just need to pay a bit more attention to looking after all crops and hope that come show day you have some nice veg.
Totty
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I'll second "Shirley".
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Shirley for me also :)
Altho i do have a few moneymaker as well this year as the packet of seeds came free with something, cant remember what, and thought they would do for chutney. :)
OH's 96 year old mother insists on growing moneymaker and wont listen to my arguments that Shirley are better. ::)
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It's difficult but if you grow mainly to eat then your variety should mainly be a good tasting one or you miss the main aim
However, if you have plenty of room to try other varieties then there are specific varieties better for showing due to their characteristics.
Many of the varieties best suited to show, are still good tasters but some are not so much
If you want to compete, getting the right variety is halfway there with the right quality seed. It's worth spending the extra cost to get a better quality seed. Then of course it is down to the growing method
Here are some good show varieties you may wish to try
Short Carrots - Sweet Candle, will beat hands down many other varieties
Runner Beans - Stenner
Tomatoes - Gold Star (great taster) Cedrico (Not so great taster)
French dwarf - Prince
Onions - Toughball, Vento
Beetroot - Pablo
Peas -Show pefection
Cucumber - Carmen
White Potato - Winston (The worst tasting spud you'll ever eat)
Coloured Potato - Kestrel, Amour
Cauliflower - Cornell
Now these will beat most of their competitors, most of the time
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Think I'll stick with varieties I know and love rather than give precious room to something that doesn't taste as good. I doubt anyone at my local show could care less as it's a nice afternoon out and not a matter of pride or prestige.
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Interesting list of varieties there Carrot Man. I've never heard of most of them - just goes to demonstrate that taste and show image often don't coincide!
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Interesting list of varieties there Carrot Man. I've never heard of most of them - just goes to demonstrate that taste and show image often don't coincide!
No you are correct, they often don't
On my allotment, I have space for eating stuff and space for show stuff
Many of the varieties are ok for both but some aren't
It's not for everyone and each to their own
Their is no right way just different way
Ace Ice has said, most people at local show level aren't that interested and show for the participation which there is nothing wrong with that.
Stenner is derived from Enorma and so is an excellent tasting runner bean
Goldstar is one of the best tasting tomatoes
Sweet Candle is ok to taste but as it's name, is very sweet so I believe and acquired taste
At local show level, if you used a quality seed and the right varieties, you will do reasonably well against standard varieties
Some people at local level are extremely competitive and it can get more spiteful than at National level
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thanks for the advice everyone, i live on a small island were i dont think many people enter as there is a minimal amout of allotments about 20,i will go this year with what ever looks and hopefully tastes good and see how i go. thought i woud just try as a laugh really and something to do. :D
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For a village show then variety isn't that important.....what is important is that they look good, are clean and uniform (i.e. matching) with good shape and colour for the variety. There really isn't anything better than a marquee on grass for a late summer show....it is quintessentially British. Above all it's meant to be fun but if you're a competitive soul like me then there are a few things worth knowing.
First of all check the schedule carefully before entering, and if you have any doubts ask the organisers for clarification if you are unsure about anything. For a beginner I'd recommend having a go at the following, which most veg gardeners should be able to grow quite happily without any need for elaborate growing conditions.
Carrots - need to be free of dirt which means immersing in water after pulling, then washing around the root with a soft sponge so as not to scratch the skin. If you suffer from carrot fly cover the row or bed with enviromesh to deter them. A root with carrot fly damage won't get considered. Try and get as much of the thin tap root up as you can. As with all veg don't be tempted to put your biggest root in with two smaller ones (if a set of 3 is called for). Far better to exhibit 3 well-matched roots. We exhibitors grow in drums and beds of sand with cored holes filled with compost for the longest most uniform roots, but you can obtain good results with deep pots and tubs filled with a sandy compost mixture. Very often the schedule calls for the foliage to be trimmed to 3" so make sure you do this.
Globe beetroot - Allow 12-15 weeks from seed sowing to showing. You need roots just under tennis ball size, nice and round with a long thin central tap root and no corkiness around the shoulders. Lift a couple of days before the show, carefully easing them out of the ground with as long a tap root as you can get up. Raised beds are ideal for beetroot. Wash under a tap and if the shoulders are a little corky try rubbing with a scouring pad very gently under a tap. You'll be surprised how much the corkiness disappears. Practice on a reject first. Store them in a bucket filled with water that you have added a dash of salt and a glug of vinegar stirred round. It helps bring out the colour of the roots, but wash under a tap before the show to eliminate the vinegar smell! Some schedules may ask you to trim foliage to 3"...do this with a sharp knife to reduce 'bleeding'. Stage side by side on a paper plate, tap roots pointing towards the judge.
Onions - if the class calls for 'dressed' onions this means the tops need to be neatly tied with raffia, and the skin of the onion nicely ripened. Therefore you need to have them up about a month before your show so they have time to colour. A few days before you lift them remove any split skins down to ground level and let the onion swell a bit. When you lift you can either leave the outer skin or strip it back one skin. Wash in luke warm soapy water, dry, apply talc, cut the top back to 3 or 4 inches, trim the roots, then store on beds of sawdust until the day before the show when you can tie the top with raffia and trim to just above the tie to give a nice neat finish. Some shows call for 8oz onions so you would need to make sure you weigh every bulb to ensure it is below 8oz or you could be disqualified. Display on paper plates with a shallow layer of sand or specially made boards if show schedule allows. Again choose bulbs that are matching and as alike in diameter, depth and skin finish as you can find.
Onions - if the class says 'as grown' then they are simply exbibited with foliage and roots intact. However, wash off any surplus soil from the roots and discard any rotten bits of foliage that have started to decay. The judge won't be happy getting his nice jacket and trousers dirty, so just titivate them up a little, but don't go over the top. Make sure all onions for the showbench are firm and there is no softness anywhere on the bulb indicating rots from within.
Tomatoes - stage fruits on a paper plate that are nice and round, well ripened and firm, not too soft. Ideally about 65mm diameter with a nice green calyx that has been cut just past the knuckle. Discard any that have skin blemishes or 'ghost spots' (water marks) as these won't get a look-in. When in growth try thinning out the trusses so that each fruit has more room to grow and doesn't then get a flat spot where it presses against neighbouring fruits. Grow in a hot dry atmosphere to deter botrytis. Water the roots very carefully so as not to splash water everywhere. Don't be tempted to try and polish the skins.
Cabbages - generally a pair is required so choose heads that are the same size, that are firm hearted and have good 'bloom' to the colour. Don't handle the heart too much as fingerprints will show up. Discard any outer leaves that are yellowing or pest-damaged. Cut the stalk to about 3". The best cabbages show no sign of caterpillar or slug damage, so if you don't want to use insecticides erect a physical barrier over them so butterflies cannot gain access, but give the mesh plenty of headroom over the leaves as the butterflies will still try to stick their bums through any holes to lay eggs if they can reach. Stage side by side, facing the judge and spray lightly with icy water to give that crisp, just cut look.
Potatoes - the main thing to remember here is that if you grow them in the ground the skins are going to be marked in some way, whether it be scab or slug damage etc. Try growing a single tuber in 12" pots filled with peat or compost, with a good handful of potato feed in the bottom as spuds are excessive feeders. Before planting cut out all the shoots except two, one at either end of the seed, really gouging into the potato so that they cannot grow back. By doing this you reduce the likelihood of getting lots of small tubers. Bed the pots in a trench and draw soil around them so they don't fall over. Make sure the compost is watered very regularly for the first 8-10 weeks. You can reduce watering after 10-12 weeks to allow the skins to harden. Cut the tops off when they start to go yellow and leave a further week before you empty out or else the skins will just rub off. You will find that after 12 weeks or so you will harvest very clean tubers that require very little cleaning, which you should do under a tap with a soft cloth. Dry and wrap in kitchen tissue toweling, and store in the dark until show day so they don't start going green. Choose varieties that have shallow eyes as deep eyes are considered a fault. Ideal size is 7oz each, but as long as they are well matched then bigger or smaller is ok.
French and runner beans - they should be straight as a die with no sign of any bean bulge, so pick fresh pods leaving at least half an inch of stalk. You can start picking them up to a week before the show by settling on a size (say 14" for runners and 7" for french) then cutting other pods as they reach that length. Store in damp towels against a wooden batten to keep them straight, and leave in a cool place like a refrigerator...not a freezer! The night before the show lay them all out and pick your best set. A judge will snap one of your beans to make sure they're not stringy, so practice on a reject to make sure this is going to be the case. It should snap clean in half. Stage side by side, on a specially made board painted black, with the stalks furthest away from you.
Cucumbers - train your plants along canes up into the greenhouse ridge so that fruits hang down away from the foliage. The leaves are quite spiky so will scratch the skins if you're not careful. Don't let the plants set fruit for the first 3 feet of main stem. Cucumber fruits grow very quickly, up to an inch a day so you can cut one that reaches the length you need up to 4 days before the show and store in clingfilm in the refrigerator. Try and retain the flower on the end if you can. Keep measuring the others and cut them once they reach size. Cut at least an inch of stalk. The best cucumbers have a very short 'handle' the bit attached to the stalk before it starts swelling into the main body of the fruit. They should be straight, nice and green and blemish free. Stage side by side, flowers at the front (if you've managed to retain them). Spray with icy water as for cabbages.
Cauliflours - these are deemed hard to grow, but if your land has always grown good caulis you're onto a winner. However, timing is the key and they go over very quickly once they've reached perfection. The foliage should be cut back to expose the dome of the curd, so that it is just slighly overlapping it. Choose heads that haven't 'blown' (no gaps in the florets), that are round in profile and are white with no blemishes or marks. If you have a curd that is in perfect condition up to two weeks before your show then cut it, leaving 3" of stalk and wrap the whole thing in clingfilm and put it in the refrigerator. It should keep perfectly well until showday, by which time you've hopefully cut other heads to match it.
There are other things you could grow once you get the bug (and you will!), but things like long carrots and parsnips (grown in pipes or drums), trench celery, blanch leeks, pot leeks, exhibition onions and long beet need a major investment in equipment, time and know-how and you need to be serious about trying before you have a go. You can then also grow the varieties that will win at a higher level, varieties that have been specifically bred to be uniform or a good shape and colour. The thing about quality veg for the show bench is that they must be in tip-top condition and I refute any suggestion that they are not good to taste. No discerning show-grower would exhibit a vegetable that isn't good to eat.
If you need any further advice on the specifics of your show let me know.