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MARCH- GETTING READY FOR THE SHOW
By now every household that receives the village news should have got the schedule for the 2024 Horticultural and Culinary Show. Which will be held at the village hall on July 20th between 3.00 and 4.30.
The show has been in existence since the early 1950s and is one of the longest running institutions in the village, along with things like the fete and the WI. We were down to 23 exhibitors last year and we’re really hoping to boost our numbers this year.
Therefore our aim is to demystify the event and show you that it really is open to all, young and old, the expert and the novice, and there is literally a category to suit everybody. With this in mind we have listed a few facts about the show that you may not know:
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All entries are anonymous. When submitting your entry you will be given a numbered label to stick on everything you enter and, unless you choose to share it, no one need know who you are! This is more for the judges sake than the entrant but it does work both ways.
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There are absolutely no entry fees for exhibitors. The only thing we charge you for is a cup of tea and slice of cake at the end of the afternoon, a time when you can chat to fellow exhibitors and compare notes. People that have not entered the show- visitors, friends and family are also welcome.
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The Horticultural Committee pay for two judges to attend, a culinary expert and an horticultural expert. Until this year they would have been members of SHAPA- Suffolk Horticultural and Produce Association. However, this organisation was disbanded at the end of last year. This year we will select and pay for the judges ourselves. They will have been members of this group in the past and will still be absolutely impartial.
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Over the years the judging has become much more relaxed. Yes, there are still rules but it wouldn’t work without there being a yardstick for both the judge and the entrant to be guided by. Back in the day the judge would leave comments by some of the entries- good and bad! Nowadays they don’t leave comments unless they are positive ones, for instance, if they are particularly impressed by an entry.
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The judging is done on a points basis. If you are placed first, second or third in an individual category you will be given points and a certificate accordingly. These points are added up at the end of the afternoon and the people with the most points in the specific categories will win the trophies. There are also trophies just for dahlias and a fruit, veg, and flower box. You will find the trophies listed in the schedule and we intend to give a history of the show and trophies in a separate article a bit further down the line.
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The more categories you enter the more chance you have of winning a trophy but we think you will find getting a certificate for coming 1st, 2nd, or 3rd will give you a great feeling of achievement. However we also hope that just by entering you will have enjoyed it enough to give it a go next year!
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In the Fruit and Vegetable Categories nothing has to be grown from seed. Seedlings can be bought in and grown on. The crucial thing to remember is that it must be all your own work from there on in and you have to be a Walberswick resident, but not full time!
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These rules also apply to the Flowers and Plants Categories. Entries like ‘Annuals’ can have been grown from seed or the seedlings bought in. As long as the actual exhibits on the day come from your own garden and are not shop bought you are free to enter them.
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In the Flower and Foliage Categories none of the exhibits need to have been home grown, they can be bought in or picked from a neighbours garden.....with their permission of course!
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In the Culinary Categories the same basic rules apply. It must be all your own work. However, shop bought pastry can be used for the sausage rolls and savoury puff pastry tart.
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In the Fruit and Vegetable Categories each entry will be exhibited on a white paper plate provided for the purpose.
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In the Flower and Plants and Flower and Foliage Arrangement Categories the container for your exhibit can be bought from home. However, do take note that in some of the categories the size of the container or of the arrangement has been specified.
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In the Culinary Categories a paper plate and a cellophane bag will be provided for most of the entries other than the chocolate cake and the show stopper cake. These can be placed on a cake stand, board or plate from home.
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On the day all exhibitors must get to the village hall to display their entries between 9.30 and 10.45. This always takes longer than you think so don’t leave it until the last minute as the doors will close at 10.45 prompt and entrants will have to leave the hall so the judges can get judging! This will literally take them hours and the committee then have to write out the certificates and mark up the results in all categories. The doors will reopen at 3 and everyone gets a chance to wander round, have a cup of tea and see the results. Remember though that all entries are anonymous so no one can be named and shamed for not being placed! However, the prize giving will take place at the end of the afternoon and, you never know, it may be you taking home a trophy or a stack of certificates!
As time goes on we will be going into more detail about the rules and regulations for some of the categories, such as how to tie your onions!
Some Show related jobs for March:
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Potatoes should be chitted now so that they can be planted out in time to exhibit in July. ‘Chitting’ is a word used to describe a method of preparing potatoes or other tubers such as dahlias for planting. The seed potatoes are placed in a tray (often in egg cartons) in a light and cool place but shielded from direct sunlight. All but three or four of the ‘eyes’(sprouting parts) are removed. The potato should be placed with these uppermost. If you have more than one variety don’t forget to label them. They are ready for planting out when the sprouts have reached about 2cm in length which takes approximately 4-6 weeks. Any variety of potato labelled ‘second early’ should be ready to lift in July and August so perfect for Show time!
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Broad Beans are easy to sow outdoors from now until early May for harvesting throughout the summer. You will be spoilt for choice when it comes to varieties so research it carefully and read the seed packet before you buy. Varieties vary in height and the taller ones will need staking. Always plant half a dozen seeds at the end of a row to fill in any gaps left by seeds that fail to germinate. Some dwarf varieties like ‘The Sutton’ can be grown in large containers but these must be at least 30cm/1ft deep.
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Onion Sets can be planted from mid March to mid April. Plant them with their pointed tips just showing above the ground. Plant 10-15cms apart. It is advisable to cover the row with some sort of protection such as a cloche made out of chicken wire as birds seem to love pulling the sets out of the ground! The onions will require about 80 days or just under three months to mature and are ready when the foliage has turned brown and started to wither.
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Sweetpeas can continue to be sown indoors as described in the February posting.
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By the end of the month many other annuals can be sown undercover but will need frost protection and some will need gentle heat. A few examples are:
CalendulaCleome Cosmos Nasturtium Tagetes Scabious Sunflowers
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Direct sowings of some other vegetables and flowers can be made now:
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Leeks; Chard; Spinach; Radish; Nigella (Love in a Mist); Cornflowers
March flowering shrubs
- Camellia
- Forsythia
- Viburnum titus
- Ribes odoratum- Golden Currant
- Hamamelis mollis- Witch Hazel
- Many types of Prunus- Flowering Cherry
- Magnolia
- Daphne odora
- Ribes saguineum-Flowering Currant