Growing beetroot for show

At most shows the beetroot class is well contested as everyone seems to grow it. But you need to know a few things to be able to win the class.

I sow several rows spaced a week apart from early May until the beginning of June. This allows me to cover the show period from late August to early October. If you choose a monogerm variety such as Red Ace then there is less need for fiddly thinning. Most beetroot varieties are actually seed clusters that can result in 3 or more seedlings coming through.

The rows need to be well watered during the summer and not allowed to dry out as this can cause corkiness around the shoulders. To prevent this the whole shoulder needs to be regularly covered over with moist soil, but this can be laborious and in any case there is a way of combatting this during the washing process (see below).

I read somewhere that the internal colouring of beetroot can be inproved by the addition of salt in the watering can. I don't know if this actually does help but it certainly hasn't caused any harm when I've tried it.

I like to lift my beet a day before the show so that I'm not rushing about too much. Each root should be about the size of a tennis ball, slightly smaller preferably but certainly no bigger. And there should be a nice long central tap root coming from the exact centre of each. Sometimes these tap roots can fork a few inches down but I snip off any excess roots to give the impression of one single long tap root. Discard any specimens showing signs of slug or pest damage and retire the kitchen sink.

Wash off any loose soil under running water and scrub gently with the soft side of a scouring pad to make the root's colouring shine out, taking care when washing the tap root so as not to break it. If the shoulders are 'corky' the rough side of the scourer can be used to rub off the corkiness (GENTLY!) . It might pay to practice on some 'rejects' first!

Discard any yellowing leaves and immerse your chosen roots overnight in a bucket of cold water mixed with a few teaspoons of salt and a dash or three of vinegar. This seems to bring out the colouring of the beet but you do need to make sure you give them a good rinse before you go to the show or else the judge can smell the vinegar on them when he picks them up for closer inspection.

Bear in mind also that the judge will cut a slice out of one of your roots to check the internal colouring and to make sure there are not any white rings that denote poor watering.

At the show stage them straight onto the show bench facing towards the front, with the foliage tied neatly with string or raffia. Some shows require the foliage to be cut to a certain length and this needs to be done or else the exhibit may be marked down as NAS (not as schedule).

If you have 3 roots all the same size, with nice, bright, red/purple colouring and a nice long, straight taproot then the red card should be yours!

Growing tomatoes for show

2006 was without doubt my best year for showing tomatoes, mainly because I gave them proper attention. I won 5 out of the 7 shows I attended from late August to early October, and the two I didn't I really felt I should have won also....but hey ho!

People are often in a hurry to sow their seed in late Jan or early Feb but mine tend not to go in until about the first week or two in March. I find this sowing date allows me to have strong plants that are ready for planting out during the first Bank Holiday weekend in May. After germinating they are pricked out into individual cells and then potted on accordingly as soon as the roots start to show through the pot they are in. This might mean they are potted on 2 or 3 times before being planted into the greenhouse border soil but it does allow you to bring them inside if frosty weather is forecast.

When planting into the greenhouse border soil, they actually get planted into a large bottomless pot filled with grow-bag compost, watered well then left for at least a couple of weeks so that the tap root goes down into the bed. This means they are less likely to suffer if you miss a watering now and again. The pots are useful for feeding as the feeder roots are nearer the surface of the compost.

A stout cane is secured next to each plant and tied to it as the plant grows. I don't feed until the first flower truss is showing small fruits, and only then every other day. I alternate with 3 feeds.....the usual proprietary tomato feeds from the garden centre such as Tomorite, and my own feeds made from nettles and comfrey. The leaves of each are chopped up and left in a bucket of water for several days and the resultant 'stews' strained off to give 2 concentrated liquid feeds. Pour them into bottles and label. A capful is put into a watering can in turn with the Tomorite.

I've heard it said that tomatoes are best watered in the early evening so that the water has time to get down into the roots and if you do cause some splashes onto the fruit then the sun is not at it's fiercest. If this happened in the morning the sun can be magnified through the water droplets and causes scorch marks on the fruit skins....leading to possible downpointing on the showbench.

One thing I shall be doing next year is the reduction of the fruit on the trusses to allow each fruit more room and to stop them having 'flat' sides. This is viewed as a fault on the showbench and again results in your exhibit being downpointed.

All being well, you should have plenty of fruits to choose from come show day, but make sure you choose 5 or 6 fruits (according to schedule) that are as alike and evenly matched as possible, and that are nicely coloured, well ripened but not overripe. Cut the stalk about 1/2" past the knuckle and pack securely in a box such as the seed trays designed to carry small plant pots. Each compartment should have some tissue paper lining to keep the fruit blemish free. Do NOT polish the fruit....but wipe off any minor marks carefully. At the show arrange the fruits around a paper plate, pop on your exhibitor sticker or card and go and have a cuppa whilst the judges do their work.

Hopefully, all your hard work will be rewarded with a 'Red Card' when the show opens. It's a great feeling.

Hurry up 2007!

Not much happening in the garden at the moment apart from tidying up still....as and when the weather allows. We've had loads of rain so everywhere is waterlogged.

I did manage to drench the beds in my two greenhouses last weekend with several buckets of rainwater. This needs to be done over winter to stop a build up of salts in the border soil which can prevent the roots of plants taking up nutrients. Some growers will remove the glass (or polythene if polytunnel) and allow the winter rains to get at the soil. However, I have some pots of show daffodils in mine and my growing cabinet will be assembled soon so that I can grow on my show leeks and onions (more of this in the New Year).

I also spread several bags of horse manure over the soil in one greenhouse and will do the other one when more is forthcoming from my daughter's friend who owns a horse. I'm intending to grow my large onions in the greenhouses next season in order to give them a more even growing cycle. They will be lifted before the tomatoes and cucumbers are too big and blocking out the sunlight (I hope).

Only other thing to tell is that all my seed orders are starting to drop through the letter box. I've ordered over £200 worth of seeds/sets/plants and spuds with quite a few new varieties to try. But I will have to do a proper 'cropping plan' so that I know exactly what is going to be planted where and when. Last season I was poking plants in where I could with no thought as to how they would grow and when they would be harvested. This caught up with me in the long-run as the season petered out disappointingly, with many crops running out of steam.

When 'growing for showing' things have to be timed to come good when you need them so you have to count back from the show date and sow/plant accordingly. Again, more of this in the next few months.

Bye for now.