Showing veg

[sewer rat]

Congratulations Suky - though it does sound like you may have been bitten by the showing bug - beware, it can become a bit of an obsession!!

[Suky]

Well done you. I'm sure that my advice was peripheral to the undoubted quality of your exhibit. What you will find is that by trying to find matching sets of veg, it is totally ruinous to what should have been the kitchen crop. I grow for the kitchen nowadays and grow separately for the showbench. A lot of the show varieties are popular for that purpose because they tend to produce uniform specimens which does tend to make things easier. Keep us posted with your August show. p.s. the red ticket will probably hook you into showing. It's a lovely feeling seeing one on your entry.

I think you could be right about the varieties, I grew Casablanca potatoes as Medwyn recomended it but, while it produced nice even shaped pots, they are watery and crumbly when cooked.
As for your advice being 'peripheral' I think it may have just given me the edge

[sewer rat]

Some recommended varieties for the showbench;
Potatoes (coloured) - Kestrel, Blue Belle
Potatoes (white) - Winston
Peas - Show Perfection
Broad Beans - Imperial Green Longpod
Runner Beans - Stenner
French Beans - The Prince
Shallots - Hative De Niort
Stump Carrots - Sweet Candle
Parsnips - Pinnacle, Albion
Beetroot - Pablo
Turnips - Snowball
Cucumber - Carmen
Tomatoes - Cedrico
Leeks - Pendle Improved
Large Onions - Kelsae
Onions (250g) - Tasco
Onions from sets - Setton, Hercules, Red Baron
Obviously there are many many others but, with the exception of the Winston potatoes, most of the above are also good for eating (though the leeks require that much work that I wouldn't grow them for eating - I'd just stick to ordinary culinary leeks. Most varieties are good for normal growing but just require some (or a lot of) pampering for show standards.

[Suky]

Thanks for that, Rat. I probably wouldn't grow leeks to show anyway, don't really like them and we have several very competative men at our club for whom leeks are 'it' and it would take too much time and effort to really compete.
I will print out your list and add it to my folder so I can look for the right things early and not leave it so late next year.
Did have a very nice comment from another competitor about my strawberries. He said if I had had another judge they would have won as the winning redcurrants were not of even size. He even asked for some runners this autumn as the variety is unknown (to me).

ETA: you guys from north of the border are great, thankyou

[Aberdeenplotter]

ETA: you guys from north of the border are great, thankyou

Aww, more talk like that and we'll help you again. but we really aren't that nice, as soon as you start winning, you're on yer own kid

[endymion]

Raspberries 4th, strawberries 2nd and...........drumroll please...............my cabbage came first! Thanks to AP's sage advice I didn't over trim and although it wasn't the largest in the class it was the best. Woohoo!
Next show is the autumn one on August bank holiday. Ok, where is that schedule....................

Congratulations!