Hints & Tips

Hints to help exhibitors

Vegetables and fruit

  1. French beans, runner beans and broad beans, all straight, same length, good size and fresh e.g. when broken, crisp not soft. Peas should have stalk attached, so should all of the above.
  2. Potatoes – clean, no marks e.g. scab, shallow eyes etc. Well-matched not to exceed 3 inches in length.  Coloured is any potato, which has colour on it.
  3. Onions – Do not skin. Bend over, and tie with twine or raffia and leave roots on.
  4. Beetroot – Between golf ball and tennis ball size, cleaned, stems cut to 3 inches, tied with twine or raffia. Should be all the same size.
  5. Carrots – Same length and size, stems cut to 3 inches and tied with twine or raffia. 
  6. Tomatoes – Any colour, ripe. Calet attached. (See schedule for size)
  7. Cucumbers – Keep flower on, straight and clean, try not to touch.
  8. Courgettes – As cucumbers.
  9. All fruit should have stalks on. Similar sizes.

Roses

Rose blooms – Make sure it is only one bloom, no buds or subsidiary blooms.

Flowers

It is very important to make sure flowers stand up in a vase. You could use wet newspaper or oasis to achieve this. Always check you have the exact number of blooms required.

Flower Arranging

  1. Always cover oasis or wire.
  2. If a size is mentioned overall, this means the container and the arrangement.
  3. Better to use colours in groups, or shades of the same colour. e.g. white/cream or yellow/ bronze together.
  4. Start with white or palest at the top and bring it out to the sides, ending with the deepest colour for the focal point.
  5. Tall and small at top. Heavier blooms at bottom.
  6. Foliage is very important – pointed flowers, rounded foliage and vice versa.

Culinary Art

  1. Preserves: Use plain glass jars, state type of preserve and date of manufacture.     
  2. Jams, Marmalades or Jellies – twist top or pliable press-on cover (only) or disc covered with cellophane top (when cold).
  3. Vinegar preserves – twist top with plastic lining or pliable press-on top.
  4. Vinegar preserves must be at least 2 months old before exhibiting.
  5. No packet mixes should be used and no item to be displayed in the container in which it was cooked unless otherwise stated.
  6. All cooked entries must be covered in cling film.
  7. All entries to be cooked at least one day before the Show.