Whitchurch Gardens Association

Annual Show Hints for Exhibitors

1. Read the schedule carefully, especially the rules. Note the dates and timings. Allow time for travel to the venue. On arrival, speak to the Show Secretary or a Steward who will supply you with your entry slips. Entry slips should be placed with your name down with your exhibit. Please write the variety(ies) in your entry on the slip.

2. Check that you have staged your entry in the correct class area, that your entry slip is place down with the entry and that the correct number of specimens is in the entry. Paper plates will be provided for those classes requiring them. If you need any help please speak to a Steward, they will be wearing badges.

3. Fruit will be exhibited on plates. It should be shown with its natural bloom, not polished. Try not to handle fruit with bare hands. Soft fruit, apples and pears should be exhibited with the stalk intact.

4. All fruit and vegetables should be uniform in appearance and without blemish, signs of disease or pests.

5. Vegetables should be clean and all soil removed. Wash vegetables with a soft sponge and plenty of water, never use a stiff brush. Beetroot, carrots, parsnips and turnips should have the leaves removed, leaving no more than 7.5cm of stalk. Onions and shallots should be shown with the roots and tops removed and the necks tied; they should not be skinned; shallots should be separated. Marrows should be young and uniform and not exceeding 30cm in length.

6. Brassicas should have the roots removed but no less than 5cm of stem. Beans should be young, at least one will be snapped by the judge to check this. Tomatoes should have the stalks attached.

7. Circular or oval shaped vegetables will be exhibited on plates, all other vegetables, less the Garden News Tray, will be directly laid on the table.

8. Two or three weeks before the show, keep the soil moist with plenty of water, Protect flowers form heavy rain. Give pot plants plenty of room and turn them frequently. Cut flowers the evening before the show with stems as long as possible. Take a container with water with you to the plants and place the stem immediately into the water. Pots plants should be well watered. The whole exhibit is on show, remove any dead or dying leaves, flowers and insects and clean pots.

9. Please bring baked items and bread wrapped in a cloth or cling film, this will keep them in better condition and keep dirt and germs off.

10. Preserves should be in plain glass jars with either new screw tops or, for jam, jelly or lemon curd, a cellophane top held on by a rubber band. Please note the labelling requirements.

11. Finally be a good sport and take the judge�s decision as correct, but do not be afraid to ask why you didn�t win a prize or the top prize.