I decided to enter a few classes in my local Allotment Association Show. It’s open to anyone and has the full range of classes you’d expect at a good local show.
I entered Long Carrots (3), Shallots – culinary (6), Runner Beans (5), French Beans (5), Coloured Potatoes (4), Cabbage, Cucumbers (2), any non-root veg (3), any root veg (3), heaviest cabbage and 3 Dahlias, one variety.
By the time I left the hall after staging there looked to be a good standard of exhibits building up.
And the results were Long Carrots 2nd (behind Darren), Shallots 1st, Runner Beans 1st (winning a £5 seeds voucher), French Beans unplaced, Coloured Potatoes 3rd, Cabbage, 1st, Cucumbers unplaced, any non-root veg 2nd with celery, any root veg 3rd with parsnips, behind Darren (again) in the heaviest cabbage and 1st for the Dahlias. Not enough entries to challenge for a cup but I did win one for the Dahlias which was a nice surprise at the presentations as I didn’t realise there was even a cup for that class until it was announced. I was impressed by the standard of the exhibits, certainly a step up from most of the Village Shows I’ve seen.
A couple of the judging decisions were interesting. Not sure I should have won the cabbage as it had taken a bit of a beating from the slugs and didn’t look as good as the second place entry. And I had 3 decent celery (a 20 point veg) which was beaten by 3 garlic (a 15 point veg) – anyway the judges decision is final and it evened itself out in the end.
I was quite surprised with the Runner Beans as I picked them on Tuesday night so they were 4 days old by show time. Just goes to show if you store them right (wrapped in a damp cloth in the bottom of the fridge) they will be OK.
A good day all in all and I’m looking forward to our Village Show next Saturday and then that’s it for another year!!
Here’s some photos (on the long carrots mine are at the top and Darren’s winning set are on the right, on the parnsips mine are on the left and Martin’s winning set are on the right).
We are now awash with veg which is OK as the girls love eating it.
Although not sure we can eat this much cabbage, this pair weigh in at 11 pounds each!!
10 comments
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August 11, 2012 at 5:46 pm
Southbourne Gardens
Very impressive. Well done.
August 11, 2012 at 5:56 pm
Darren
Well done mate, you did very well
Was a good day
August 12, 2012 at 9:05 am
Sue
Well done indeed – you could make lots of coleslaw or even sauerkraut. I also know some people freeze cabbage.
August 12, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Janet/Plantaliscious
Congratulations Damo! Nice awards, though I agree that working out how to eat those cabbages could be a challenge… That’s a lot of coleslaw!
August 13, 2012 at 8:48 am
Jo
Congratulations, all in all some good results. Nice to see kids who enjoy their veg.
August 13, 2012 at 12:17 pm
wellywoman
Congratulations with your awards, especially since it has been such a difficult year. Those cabbages are enormous. Good to see your kids like their veg. Had friends’ kids to stay a while ago and couldn’t get them to eat anything like that. Even my coloured veg.
August 13, 2012 at 2:14 pm
hillwards
Wow, another show, another good haul, well done. All your veg (and Dahlias) look fab.
August 14, 2012 at 7:28 pm
isobel
well done big man, if there was a class for gorgeous wee girls you’d win that too
loving your dahlias, what variety are they?
August 14, 2012 at 8:26 pm
Mark Willis
Well done Damo! Sounds like a good result. I’m still trying to comprehend the idea of 2 x 11-pound cabbages…
August 15, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Damo
Thanks everyone. I’ll have to learn how to freeze cabbage as we have so much at the moment!
Isobel – the variety is White Star which is one of my favourites, a lovely cream colour.