RHS Horticultural Advisor Anne Adam shares the fun of entering your produce into local shows, and how to get started if you’ve never done it before
My village shows are a fun part of growing fruit and vegetables, and the summer one is usually one of the most impressive. I love to see the vases of flowers and plates of beans or potatoes all carefully presented.
Although there are some serious growers who devote lots of time to perfecting their exhibits, there are also lots of ordinary gardeners who enter for fun. But what do you need to consider if you are thinking about entering yourself?
First, contact the show organiser or look online for a copy of the show schedule – this tells you how and what to enter. It’s a list of classes that have been set by the organisers of the show. There is often some predictability in this, but a few novelty classes are often thrown in for a challenge.
I asked the organiser of my local show for her top tip, and she said: “The most important thing is to read the schedule carefully and enter what is requested. If you’re not sure, ask the show secretary – they are always very helpful as they want to encourage entries.”
This good advice might sound obvious, but if the schedule asks for three courgettes, enter three and not four for luck.
To check what the judges will be looking for in your prize specimens, The RHS Horticultural Show Handbook gives a guide. This really helps to make sure you choose the best of your crops. The National Vegetable Society judges and exhibitors guide is also useful for vegetables. Judging can be a serious business; National Vegetable Society judges must pass an exam before they can judge at shows.
If you’ve never entered a show before, look for the novice section. Most shows have a few classes for new entrants, and you’ll be competing with other first-timers. Vegetables like beans and courgettes are a good place to start as they don’t need a lot of special preparation. Some of the flower classes are easy to enter too – ‘a vase of shrubs grown for foliage’, for instance, is quick and simple to prepare.
Talk to experienced exhibitors, who love to welcome and encourage new entrants. They will usually help with hints and tips, after all everyone started once.
I asked an experienced exhibitor for a tip, and they said “Give yourself plenty of time to stage your exhibits and present them as well as possible. It always takes longer than you expect and it’s no good rushing in at the last minute; something is bound to go wrong!”
It’s best to harvest vegetables as close to show day as possible. Carefully clean or wash them, and trim foliage and roots as required by the schedule. Cut flowers the evening before the show and condition them in water in a cool, dark place overnight.
It really is worth having a go – you’ll meet some lovely friendly people and above all have fun. Once you get that first ‘red ticket’ or first prize, you could be hooked and want to keep entering and winning!
Some other helpful books are RHS Great British Village Show: What Goes on Behind the Scenes and How to be a Prize-Winner, and National Vegetable Society Getting started on the show bench.
You may also be interested in
Look for the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) when buying vegetable seed or small plants. You can also download the RHS lists of recommended cultivars.
About the author – Anne Adam
I’m an RHS Horticultural Advisor, answering a huge range of members’ gardening questions. Outside work I can usually be found at my allotment, where I grow fruit, vegetables and flowers, and try to have home-grown produce all year round.
