TIPS FOR SHOWING
at Ashford Allotment Society SUMMER SHOW
Forget everything you've seen on television - the earnest judges peering critically at perfect carrots, the beetroot piled into elaborate pyramids; forget the cabbages as big as a car, the leeks like telegraph poles. This is a village style show and the standards are eminently acheivable, for you too!
HERE ARE OUR TIPS TO MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO ENTER.
HERE ARE OUR TIPS TO MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO ENTER.
First, there will be people there on the morning to help you make the most of your veg and boost your chances. No-one will be trying to trip you up; quite the reverse. There will be lots of first-timers so you needn't feel self-conscious.
You can show things which you've grown on your allotment, or in your back garden. The only rule is that you must have grown them yourself. With some classes, you'll see that you're asked to leave a bit of stalk on. This dates from the days when some scoundrels used to cheat!
If you've bought your plants - for example tomato plants, or cabbage plants, that's OK of course. As long as you've grown them to maturity yourself and produced your own crop.
A few days before the show, look round your allotment and your garden and think what might be good to show. It would be a shame if your two lovely courgettes had gone into last night's dinner!
Read the schedule carefully. Even old hands make mistakes; like the chap who didn't read the schedule and carefully laid out 5 beans when there should have been 6! If you make this kind of mistake you wouldn't stand a chance of winning, of course. But we will hope that our helpers will pick up any simple mistakes and help you put them right before it's too late.
Bring some spares! That chap hadn't; if he'd had a spare bean he could have put it on the plate and 'bean' OK. A spare will be handy if one of your veg gets damaged in transit, too.
Three perfectly matched, but smaller, examples, score more points than one whopper and two others that don't match. Size isn't everything. Smaller, perfect stuff scores better than big, blemished produce. Veg that are too old and woody, now matter how good-looking, will not score as high as smaller, tender and perfect ones.
When preparing your exhibits, you're allowed to help them look their best. You can wash them carefully, and trim off damaged leaves. You are encouraged to arrange them to look as attractive as possible. Your produce will lose points for lack of freshness, so always pick as close to the morning as possible. Sometimes, if bad weather is forecast, you may want to pick the day before - if you do so, store your produce with care to make sure it doesn't dry out.
Veg and fruit are usually displayed on paper plates, the simple cheap white ones. You can use anything but paper plates are easiest.
Turn up in plenty of time. We only set aside a restricted time for judging, so we can't hold on for latecomers! It may seem like organised chaos when you get there, but everyone will be working to make things a success, and will be happy to help.
You can show things which you've grown on your allotment, or in your back garden. The only rule is that you must have grown them yourself. With some classes, you'll see that you're asked to leave a bit of stalk on. This dates from the days when some scoundrels used to cheat!
If you've bought your plants - for example tomato plants, or cabbage plants, that's OK of course. As long as you've grown them to maturity yourself and produced your own crop.
A few days before the show, look round your allotment and your garden and think what might be good to show. It would be a shame if your two lovely courgettes had gone into last night's dinner!
Read the schedule carefully. Even old hands make mistakes; like the chap who didn't read the schedule and carefully laid out 5 beans when there should have been 6! If you make this kind of mistake you wouldn't stand a chance of winning, of course. But we will hope that our helpers will pick up any simple mistakes and help you put them right before it's too late.
Bring some spares! That chap hadn't; if he'd had a spare bean he could have put it on the plate and 'bean' OK. A spare will be handy if one of your veg gets damaged in transit, too.
Three perfectly matched, but smaller, examples, score more points than one whopper and two others that don't match. Size isn't everything. Smaller, perfect stuff scores better than big, blemished produce. Veg that are too old and woody, now matter how good-looking, will not score as high as smaller, tender and perfect ones.
When preparing your exhibits, you're allowed to help them look their best. You can wash them carefully, and trim off damaged leaves. You are encouraged to arrange them to look as attractive as possible. Your produce will lose points for lack of freshness, so always pick as close to the morning as possible. Sometimes, if bad weather is forecast, you may want to pick the day before - if you do so, store your produce with care to make sure it doesn't dry out.
Veg and fruit are usually displayed on paper plates, the simple cheap white ones. You can use anything but paper plates are easiest.
Turn up in plenty of time. We only set aside a restricted time for judging, so we can't hold on for latecomers! It may seem like organised chaos when you get there, but everyone will be working to make things a success, and will be happy to help.
