Garden Planters: Exhibit Garden Bounty at the Fair

Those who have exhibited and competed for prizes in previous years have an edge over the new exhibitor, since they are familiar with local procedures. The new exhibitor should not be discouraged if his winnings are small but should keep trying and should determine what characteristics need to be improved. Nothing can be more disappointing than beautiful flowers or vegetables that did not win simply because they were improperly classified or displayed.

The first step to successful exhibiting at fairs is to get a copy of the fair book or premium list so that the classes available for competition can be studied. Read rules and know proper time for entering exhibits so that time for planning and preparing material has not been wasted. There are several things to keep in mind when you are preparing material for competition.

- Select fruit, flowers or vegetables that will be at their peak of maturity and quality at the time of judging. Learning how fast flowers open or how fast fruits and vegetables ripen comes with experience, but you can gain experience by setting up a few at home ahead of time. Keep a record of their development for later reference. If possible set up your entries as close to judging time as possible. However in large fairs this is not always possible. Therefore, allowance must be made for flower and fruit development between the time of entry and judging.

- Follow accepted procedures for displaying entries as listed in your fair book. Make sure varieties are properly named if required by class. Do not wash fruits or vegetables, but remove any dirt with a soft brush so that the natural surface is not injured.

- Select specimens free from disease, insects, insect damage or mechanical injury. Do not pull petals from flowers or peel onions excessively to remove imperfections. If obvious imperfections are present items should not be entered. Damage may occur while transporting material to the fair. Handle entries carefully, and always bring a few extra, if possible, so that damage material can be discarded.

- Uniformity is very important in the entry. Material in a single display should be the same size, shape, maturity, color and variety unless specified otherwise by the rules for that class. Have the proper number of units in each display, or it will be disqualified.

- Cultural perfection is very important. Edible crops should be at the best eating stage. For example, summer squash is considered best while fairly small with rinds easily penetrated by the thumbnail. Those that have become large or overmature cannot compete well against the smaller ones.

- Material should be of normal size for the item entered. Large size is not a key to winning. Only in classes such as "largest pumpkin by weight" or "largest watermelon" is size the most important characteristic. Even in such a class, the item can be disqualified if it does not meet other requirements for good quality and display.

Accessible Gardening: Tips & Techniques, by Joan Woy.