Growing for showing

[digger]

I thought perhaps we could have a thread about growing for the show bench, I know lots of people don't grow for this reason but the local shows are well within most peoples reach and certainly most of the users of this forum have the required knowledge to grow flowers/fruit and vegetables that are worthy of entering into a local show. Local shows are easy enough to locate via the library and local press and well worth entering, so I shall presume that some of us are brave enough to have a go at growing for showing for next season 2009.
Anyone who is brave enough can use this thread and I shall endeavour to help as much as possible throughout the season, with the growing and showing aspect, things like how to display the produce what the judges are looking for etc and how we can stage exhibits to draw the judges attention to them rather than others. It would be good fun to carry this thread right through the season up until the first shows of next Summer and then compare our results.

[Miranda]

I'm not planning on growing for showing, digger, but I'd still be interested to know what you get up to with it.

[digger]

The first thing is to get hold of some schedules of recent shows and get an idea of what you need to be growing, On the 27th of this month the telephones of certain seed merchants and suppliers will go into meltdown as lots of people place their orders mainly veg growers at this time, Lights and soil beds are essential if growing at branch level or dare I say it national level, but if you're only going to show at local level lights are an advantage but not a neccessity. The next things to be getting on with are the leeks which should be ready by early November, they will need lots of light.

[Neil Bromhall]

Hi Digger,
I will see if there are any vegetable growing competitions around Oxford and if so I might have a go at growing a a prize veg.
I'm sure that knowing how to grow specimen veg will also give us good insight how to growing veg for the dinner table.
Do you have any hints on growing prize carrots?
I love carrots, but mine this year were a real failure and I wonder if it was due to my heavy clay?
I can imagine they like lighter sandy soil

[digger]

It's a good day out at a local show Neil, carrots for the showbench are easy enough, but need to be grown in containers for a good straight clean carrot. The cultivar is important, a local show schedule might just call for "3 carrots" at higher levels it will call for "6 carrots long" and "6 carrots other than long". Basically there are two sorts of carrot long root and stump root. The best carrot cultivars are New red intermediate, Sweet candle (a new stump rooted variety that is a cracker for the kitchen as well) and St. Valery. They are all best grown in containers.
For stump rooted carrots get a container that is a good two feet deep, fill it almost to the top with horticultural grit or sand ,make sure it is a fine grade and not too coarse. then get a piece of pipe at least two feet long and insert it into the grit like a drill to remove a core of grit,the pipe wants to be about three inched in diameter, pull out the plug of grit and discard, then fill the hole with soft friable compost, I use peat that has been sieved, with a tablespoon of chempak potting base, a spoonfull of nutri mate powder and a handfull of crushed calcified seaweed. Put two seed per planting hole and remove the weakest as soon as they make true leaves. Sow the seed according to when they are required for the show bench, the beginning of April for Autumn shows.

[digger]

Now is the time to get the seeds ordered, most of the seeds will need to come from specialist suppliers for regional shows but for local shows the cultivar is not always needed, but if you get the right cultivars you will be off to a good start.
The seeds are as follows, Long carrot "New red intermediate", stump rooted carrots "sweet candle" parsnips "gladiator" and "princess" cucumber "Carmen". Cabbage "brigadier" cauliflower "beauty" "virgin" and "dok elgon" Beetroot "pablo" and "red ace" Runner beans "stenner" and "liberty" as a banker. peas "show perfection" these seeds will be dropping on the doormat anytime soon, that gives November as the time to begin preparing the composts.

[Neil Bromhall]

Do you have any website details of specialist seed suppliers or will Suttons Seeds or Thompson & Morgan have suitable seeds for growing 'show' plants.

Also can we grow regular varieties of carrots i.e Carrot F1 Hybrid Sugarsnax abd grow them in your show growing conditions? OR do they have to be specialist seeds for show plants only?
I'm more keen on growing plants that I'm going to eat - yum yum.

[digger]

Hi Neil You can "get away" with growing regular varieties in a local show if they are grown well and no one elses enters the show with a superior cultivar, some shows have a novice class for people who have never shown before, that's how I started showing but after two shows in the same year with 8 wins (red cards) in each show, I then had to enter the more competitive classes and that brought me down to earth with a large bump, I was thrashed at every other show that year. To buy show cultivars look at www.exhibition-seeds.co.uk (http://www.exhibition-seeds.co.uk) and www.medwynsofanglesey.co.uk (http://www.medwynsofanglesey.co.uk) also try shelley seeds 01344 317165.and try www.mammothonion.co.uk (http://www.mammothonion.co.uk) All the above will send you a catalogue, you will pay more for certain cultivars but they are superior, as for carrots the new sweet candle is as good in the kitchen as it is on the showbench. A word of warning you will see in some seed suppliers catalogues (usually the big companies) wording that states exhibition variety etc.. don't be fooled into buying anything that promises showbench quality, a good example of this is onion "buntons showstopper" it's a right load of old piffle, go to the NVS website www.nvsuk.org.uk (http://www.nvsuk.org.uk) on the main page there are links to show reports, on that link you will be given the name of the show and exhibitor the position they came and the cultivar that they used, I guarantee you will never see the above named onion in any serious or even local show, but you will get the names of the cultivars that are winning the red cards.

[Susiq]

Digger - can you actually eat the specimens grown for the show bench? Neil's comment kinda implies you can't - BUT, as you know up here in the North-east Leeks are a really big thing, contest wise. Some friends of ours bought some of the 'exhibition' leeks after a local show - yes they were HUGE, but are they truly as edible as 'ordinary' ones?

[digger]

Hi susiq in shoert yes they are generally edible, up where you are is pot leek country, however when someone has grown a winning specimen of leeks or onions, for example the 5 blanch leeks that won the national finals this year, they are far more valuable to put back to get clones or seeds from, the clones/seeds can and do exchange for lots of money a tall blanch leek of the cultivar "Pendle Improved" which has just signed the "death warrant" of the welsh seedling, is worth a few hundred quid as it is, so it's far too valuable to eat and the same happens with onions and some carrots.

[digger]

I have a wonderful opportunity this weekend to attend a series of lectures by well known exhibition growers, the event is hosted by Medwyn Williams himself, I shall be travelling down to Wales on Friday this week and I return on Sunday I think there are eight or nine lectures and slide shows. It will be a good chance to hear about other growers and their methods, I shall take notes and report back early next week.

[digger]

At the seminar we were given lots of information from some of the top growers in the country, and we were introduced to new cultivars that are going to be available this coming year. For the show bench judges look for exhibits that are uniform clean and visually pleasing, a lot of the development for new cultivars is done by the commercial vegetable industry (super markets) who have similar requirements to those needed on the showbench, a new cultivar of stump rooted carrot called sweet candle is now becoming available to more suppliers, it was available last year for just a few people.

[digger]

I've got my order for seed potatoes sorted, I'm using "Winston" for white and "Kestrel" for coloured. There is a supplier just up the road in Annan that has begun to sell retail and they will sell you just one potato if you wanted to try a new cultivar. You can have a look here www.jbaseedpotatoes.co.uk (http://www.jbaseedpotatoes.co.uk) . One of the best exhibition grower is a lady called Sherie Plumb, and she has an instructional dvd in which she discloses her recipe for the growing media. Some people make up their "mixture" now and leave it to stand for a good few weeks before using it, I don't know if it works that way? anyway I had bad luck for the last two years with potatoes, this year all of them will be grown in potato "sacks" they are specially made bags that hold 20 litres of growing media, the main ingredient is peat. Also I will be growing most of them under cover, I will use a similar type of cover as I use for dahlias, it's just a temporary building of fine mesh similar to insect screening with a corrugated plastic roof, this lets the air come through whilst not letting in too much water. I shall post the mixture for growing nearer the time of sowing.

[Miranda]

That's pretty good, being able to buy just one potato, digger.

When will you start your onions from seed? I'm interested in hearing about that.

[digger]

The onions from seed are traditionally started toward the end of December, the others from pips a little later.
the seed potato chaps on the link have been commercial producers for ages they've just decided to sell retail but it's very handy if you just wanted to try a new cultivar or wanted to see a seed potato to check if they are good quality (which they are). This year at the national potato championships someone (an exhibitor) stole some potatoes from the showbench it was a cultivar no longer readily available, it's terrible for anyone to steal things, but a fellow exhibitor stealing someones exhibit is a truly dastardly thing to do.

[Miranda]

It's really good that you're sharing all this digger, it's a whole new world to most of us, I'm sure.

Stealing an exhibit - now there's bad karma for you! I wonder if they'll be found out? Surely, if they grow it on and exhibit that potato themselves, someone will put two and two together?

[digger]

I am quite happy to share the info Miranda and it perhaps give people who don't exhibit an insight into what goes into preparing for a show, and hopefully it will encourage someone to begin showing.. The potatoes that were stolen were "amour" and they aren't readily available anymore, and i think the irony is that if a fellow exhibitor and NVS member asked around for some seed potatoes, most people would try and help them out, very sad.

[digger]

Today i took delivery of my exhibition blanch leeks, they are the new Pendle Improved that won at every major competition this year, i have 24 small leeks and a lot of exhibitors are growing this cultivar this year, I have been asked to sell some plants for considerably more than what i paid, because the supplier has no more available people want as many as possible to make up sets for the show. I have the leeks under a large light that will supply the near red, far red and blue light waves from the spectrum, additionally I have a smaller light that supplies the full spectrum of lightwaves, coupled with under soil heating cables the mean temperature is 20 celsius. The light regime is most important at this stage because it increases the plants activity in photosynthesis, this encourages the leaves to grow (called flags in leek speak) also to encourage the green growth a soluble high nitrogen feed is given, along with fulvic acid and humic acid available to buy, as nutri mate or singly humate, this apparently closes the stomata on the underside of the flags, but keeps them open enough for exchange of co2 but closed enough to retain water molecules (thats the theory) anyway the more green growth that we can put onto the plants now in it's juvenile stage,the larger the body (called the barrel in leek speak) of the leek will be later, this is a similar treatment to growing exhibition onions, except we don't want leeks to show any sign of bulbing at all, and onions require the biggest bulbs possible.

[digger]

I've potted the leeks into one litre pots,using a compost from humax it's their number 2 tub and basket compost, I've added in the osmocote micro granules for controlled release fertiliser and some nutri mate, it important to keep the environment for the leeks at a constant, because a change could put them into winter mode, which will induce them to produce a flower and then they're useless for anything, they are growing steadily away and are almost the thickness of a pencil, it's sometimes difficult to guage how much they've grown,because i see them on a daily basis the growth will be almost invisible. That said I have high hopes for next season, these leeks are without doubt the best that money can buy, they come from the same stock as the worlds heaviest blanch leek which is a pendle strain, although I'm not trying to grow the heaviest monster leek they will need to be a decent size.

[digger]

Today a fellow NVS grower posted a picture of his balnch leeks for people to see, why this would be done? I'm not sure, the site where they are posted is secure and only available to NVS members, so in effect he/she is showing off their "hardware" to fellow exhibitors (competitors) they are 12 inches high and potted into plastic coffee pots ,the ones found in vending machines, firstly, the container is inadequate far too small and the leeks look a little thin? we have to question why this is done? perhaps it is to lull the competition into a false sense of security, most people will see the leeks and say "okay nice leeks, but not good enough for the nationals"? my leeks are superior to the pictured leeks, but I wouldn't dream of posting a picture of their current status just to show my competitors what they are up against? no I can detect some early skullduggery afoot. It's unusual for exhibitors to permit this type ofintrusion by fellow chaps, unless you are in the top 5 in the country (if so you need fear no one) but showing your leeks in public shpould be reserved for the show, too much information can be the undoing of many weeks of hard work. It has been reported in the past that some exhibitors sadly suffer damage to their crops by jealous rivals and slashing polytunnels is a favourite attack, very sad but it does sometimes happen.

[utrinque]

I'll try the idea of growing carrots in containers. I have several old wine-making bins over 2 ft deep which will do a reasonable job, and my son has some half barrels of about that depth, so I will pass the idea to him, too. Thanks.

[digger]

growing carrots in conatiners is in my opinion, is the best way to grow them. I shall post a recipe for the growing media and method shortly

[unique]

growing carrots in conatiners is in my opinion, is the best way to grow them. I shall post a recipe for the growing media and method shortly

That would be great digger, I'm strill trying to get some barrels to put them in as we were let down last time but I'll have another scoot around the Friday Ads this week :)

[sue1002]

You could try Ad Trader too unique, it comes out on a Wednesday and the online edition is usually updated around 2pm. You might be lucky and find some on Ebay.

[unique]

You could try Ad Trader too unique, it comes out on a Wednesday and the online edition is usually updated around 2pm. You might be lucky and find some on Ebay.

I've not heard of Ad Trader, thanks for the tip Sue :)

[sue1002]

If you haven't found it yet unique, this is the link http://www.adtrader.co.uk/postcode_splash.php if you enter your postcode, it will bring up any items you are looking for in your area.

[unique]

If you haven't found it yet unique, this is the link http://www.adtrader.co.uk/postcode_splash.php if you enter your postcode, it will bring up any items you are looking for in your area.

Hi Sue,

I did a search and didn't find any containers near enough for me to travel. It found various things but they were all over 50 miles away, bit too far to travel, that's the trouble when you live so far south :(

[Miranda]

You could also try Freecycle (http://uk.freecycle.org/), unique. When I needed a large number of containers a while back, I asked there and a surprising number of people had containers of all sizes that they wanted to get rid of.

[unique]

You could also try Freecycle (http://uk.freecycle.org/), unique. When I needed a large number of containers a while back, I asked there and a surprising number of people had containers of all sizes that they wanted to get rid of.

Thanks Miranda, will do. I've put a bid on one on e-bay, it's in Kent and the buyer collects, just the waiting game now :)

[unique]

Well my ebay bid won so I'm now the proud owner of a very strange coloured barrell for my carrots :) Just have to collect it from Seveonoaks next weekend :)

[sue1002]

Well done unique, are you going to strip the colour off to bring it back to the natural wood?

[unique]

Well done unique, are you going to strip the colour off to bring it back to the natural wood?

Yes definately, don't like the blue colour at all, apparently its an antique barrel so the original wood might be quite nice. Either way the colour blue is not staying LOL :D

[sue1002]

That's good unique:)