[Fen]

I want to put some onions in our local show next weekend. Not to win, they are not mature, but to support the show by entering as many classes as I can.
I have lifted 8 this morning but the tops are still green and not dying off. I've put them out in the wind and sun to dry. Should I wring the tops off, shorten them to say 6 inches or will they wither enough in the next 5 days. Thanks for any help.

[Salmo]

Read your show schedule carefully. It should tell you if they want tops on, tops shortened or dressed.

If there are no proper instructions dress them by folding over the tops and binding them down neatly.

One ploy to show them off is to place each one on a ring so that it sits up nicely.

[SG6]

Odd question: But if onions aren't ready yet, mine aren't, yours aren't, then why are they having a show?

[DD.]

Winter grown ones are ready. Want to borrow some?

[Zippy]

Read your show schedule carefully. It should tell you if they want tops on, tops shortened or dressed.

Read your recipe carefully. It should tell you whether they want them lightly sweated, caramelised or just dressed with relish with a nice burger in a bap.

[SG6]

Winter grown ones are ready. Want to borrow some?

Have my own, been using for a short while, just some people don't grow them and I find they are smaller then the "normal" ones. Even the winter ones are just about ready, mine haven't fallen over yet and the majority are still in the ground.

Basically mid July seems an odd time, early, for a veg show. Sat looking at a bean wigwam that is in flower, teeny weeny tomato's that have just set, peppers about to flower. Seems to be about 2-3 months early for a show.

[Jonajo]

have some of my own ready - some overwintered and some spring sown (from set). Smallish of course and most definitely not for show at all; not only as they are not the most attractive of onions - though they are to me, bless - I actually can't be bothered with the whole show thing. Well not yet anyhow; maybe after a few years more under my belt of allotmenteering (at the moment the "priority" is the love of growing for eating and sharing with friends).

Or maybe when my faux-annoyance over some daft rules subsides - I am sure they are not daft really but as a novice/outsider, reading some of the rules for local shows as a dear friend made her entries, made me almost hoot with laughter....and I had this momentarily naughty urge to enter things that are deliberately not what is wanted..purely for a laugh and to see how seriously things get taken...but my shame at that lapse has now passed and I really do admire folk who love entering shows. And some veg that are shown do often look impressive

 Right, next stop is to enter my preserves for the local WI show: if I can find my gran's twinset, I might pass for an old lady. I need to double-check there is the right degree of wobbliness and sheen to my fayre, so they don't drop off the scone inelegantly....and I must re-label the pots so the labels are uniformly pretty.