Dave Thornton in Smithyveg Winning Top Tray Admiration Shock

Seagrave 2011

I never cease to be amazed by the residents of this small village as they bid silly money for each lot at the after show auction. I've been attending this show for over 15 years now and whilst the flower exhibits were understandably down this year it was still a quality show and a privilege to help Kay Bint organise it.

It's a few years since I managed to win most points in show but I finally cracked it this year thanks to 12 wins. I also won best exhibit in show for the very first time with my Top Tray entry. My Sweet Candle are getting better with each passing week.

In a moment of huge controversy I also picked up a bonus win in the fruit cake class beating many women, including my wife into third place. In a particularly squalid case of sour grapes she complained that my cake was burnt! I mean....honestly! If I was fairly beaten I pray I'd show a little more decorum and accept defeat with good grace!

Errrr...you still ok to do me a trug for Harrogate this weekend my darling?

Problem solving on a daily basis......

This interweb mullarkey is a wonderful thing. Once upon a time, pre-WWW, if you had a problem with one or more of your crops you 'lost' a season until showtime when you might be able to tell a fellow grower of your problem and hope that he came up with a solution for you to try the next season, then and only then. Nowadays however, a grower has access to all sorts of useful information and can often find a solution to the problem with a quick google. However, the best source of info I find by far is the NVS's own forum where several of the country's top growers have sod all better to do and are usually to be found lurking on there waiting to answer your questions. So if any of you aren't members I would urge you to part with your 17 quid and join up in 2012 as you need to be a member to access the forum. If you don't find it immediately worthwhile I will personally take it upon myself to refund you 17p.




It was on the forum that I came across this little gem of an idea offered up by NVS legend and pickled shallot maestro John Trim. A conversation 'thread' was started about the best way to store runner beans in the run up to a show. I've always wrapped mine up in damp towels, picking them three or four days before a show as they reach my selected length. However, I've always found this method quite unsatisfactory and never seemed to be able to get enough specimens to make more than a set of 6 when I may also want another set of 6 for a Top Tray, even though I grow a fairly substantial fence of 25 plants or so. JT mentioned his method of inclining the beans in a tray with the stalk end being submerged in water. Therefore I came up with this set-up, a pane of glass angled in a plastic tray so that the beans all have their toes in the small amount of water at the bottom.

And believe me this really does seem to work. At the weekend I won the runner bean class with a uniform set of 15 inchers, and managed to include an even better set of 16 inchers on my Top Tray that scored 15 out of 20 (although on that basis believe me Sherie Plumb's beans would score 53 out of 20!) The thing is all the 16 inchers were picked nearly 10 days before and were still as fresh as when they were first cut. I was very impressed and will certainly be adopting this method from now on.

Also on the forum JT posted his method of preparing pickled 'onions' which he said were the tastiest you'll ever put in your mouth. I said I didn't believe him and he'd have to prove it, and fair play he presented me with a jar at the National. These are without doubt the best pickled onions (actually shallots) I have ever tasted, not too sharp, pleasantly sweet with a mildly hot aftertaste. My youngest daughter and I have now polished off said jar having eaten them all like sweets for the past few days, so i'm going to have to make my own. JT's recipe is as follows:



One kilo of shallots-I use Hative de Niort (nothing but the best) but pickling onions will do.

900 mls of white vinegar-I use Sarsens

6 oz of white sugar

One red & one green sweet peppers-cut into strips

Sprigs of fresh Tarragon

Teaspoon of pickling spice to each jar.

THE METHOD

Put the vinegar into a saucepan with the sugar & heat until the sugar dissolves. Put to one side to cool. Peel the shallots (best done the day before bottling) put them into a bowl, sprinkle with plenty of salt & fill the bowl with cold water. Leave the shallots in the brine for 24 hours. Then drain off the brine & rinse with cold water. Tip the shallots out onto a tea towel to dry. When perfectly dry fill sterilised jars with shallots & add some of the peppers, a sprig of Tarragon & the teaspoon of pickling spice. Top up with the white vinegar. Give each jar a plastic cover & screw on the lid. They will be ready to eat 8 weeks from bottling.


This weekend I have another local show in the village of Seagrave which I always enjoy as it's a huge amount of fun. Then next week I shall be doing a daily countdown to the impending Bullshit Bloggers Challenge at Harrogate when I take on the might of the Yorkshire Homo contingent of Bastow and Unsworth (plus any others who want to take us on!) in the NVS Northern Branch's set of 6. A year's bragging rights are on the table as well as some ten quid side bets. Securicor will be on hand to follow me home.

Derby 2010

Got to be happy with that. A single red card ( more on that later), 3 seconds and 6 thirds against some of the best growers in the country never mind Derbyshire.



Most pleasing was 2nd in parsnips, second only to Dave Thornton who won at Malvern and was 3rd in the National. As you can see from the photo my set in the middle was bigger shouldered but did have a few patches of canker compared to Dave's clean set to the left. If I can get this disease beaten next season I know I can compete on size and uniformity.















3rd in 250g onions with Vento. My onions have looked better and better as the season has gone on. This is one class I really want to go for next season at Llangollen.
















3rd in leeks, the set on the right. The winning set of John Croots in the middle was actually best in show. Mine were a bigger set but thrip damage on the foliage and overstripping, a common problem with Pendle Improved, did for me here. At least I beat Thornton's pencil leeks which were unplaced. He called them culinary leeks! I called them crap.














I didn't get anything in the tap root class, my pathetic long carrot letting me down, but at least I proved to myself I can grow long beet with my Cheltenham Green Top being as long as my huge parsnip (also pocked by canker).

2nd in globe beet with a nice clean set of Pablo grown in raised beds filled with garden compost. Another crop I want to try and grow well next season for the Millennium Class at Llangollen.

Out of 6 entries I got a 3rd in Top Tray. The potates are Camelot which I was hoping to grow again next season but apparently the whole stock of most of the major suppliers has been bought up by a supermarket chain so I shall be saving some of my crop to use as seed potatoes.

Not a bad set of tomatoes for the end of October from an unheated greenhouse. These all came from the upper trusses and still have nice green calyces. I shall certainly be applying the soot water feed again next season as I think this has been the major contributory factor in the improved colour of my fruits this season. I also gave Dave Thornton a bag of soot which he used around his celery and he puts that down to his best ever season for that also.

My one red card? It was in the any other veg class for these two magnificent (and by day two of the show very shrivelled) radishes. I also got 2nd for the two french beans in the class with the most entries. There was kohl rabi, various peppers, marrows etc. Bit embarrassing but hey ho.

And so that's it for another season, a season that was beyond my wildest dreams when I won a class at the Midland Championships. Now starts the planning (and dreaming) for next season when I shall be having a crack at my first ever National.

I shall spend the winter months getting the plot back in shape and making a few structural alterations to allow me to compete with parsnips, carrots and long beet, but also glancing over at my trophy shelves. I won some lovely cups and plaques but it is the little glass tankard that means most as this is the one that means I am Midland tomato champion......for a few more months at least.

Seagrave 2010

My 'other' local show that I am quite heavily involved with was another huge success with 350 entries which was a record.

It's always well supported by the local community especially the homecraft and children's classes.

As for me, I got 9 red cards, most pleasing of all in the Top Tray class. My tray is nearest camera with 3 Vento onions, 3 Maxine spuds and 6 Cederico tommies. We had the usual yearly complaint from a miserable exhibitor who can never understand why his veg never wins. The answer is invariably that his stuff is crap. The stuff that he does occasionally win with is purchased from after show auctions. He's never actually grown it himself. Wanker. And if he talks to my missus again like he did on Saturday night I'll break his f***ing legs.

Another 1st for tomatoes. This is the only crop where I think I may be able to compete at Malvern in a couple of weeks time.

My winning cucumbers would have been excellent in a couple of days, being a bit on the small side, but they won nevertheless.

I managed to keep last week's winning leeks for a week by re-wrapping the barrels and keeping the roots moist in wet tissue paper. They came good for me and won again.

Last year we raised £1000 for the local Rainbows Children's Hospice and a representative came to collect the cheque and handover the trophies.

Despite winning 9 red cards, 5 more than anyone else, and a few other 2nds and 3rds I still couldn't get my hands on the trophy for most points. That accolade went to my 118 year old (approx.) apprentice Ian Taylor, who has learnt everything he knows from me. Bloody young upstarts! Next year the gloves are off and we have a wager arranged. Full details to be finalised but you'll need to be on top of your game next year Ian !!!

Ester weighed in at a disappointing 185 lbs or 87 kilos or 13 stone. Still big enough to win the heaviest pumpkin class as it was indeed the only entry. Here I am with a pal loading her back up in the van. She now resides in my back garden ready to be carved out on Hallowe'en.

This weekend I have an unexpected break as the organisers of another local show decided to change the usual date to a week ago and forgot to actually inform one of their regular supporters. i.e. MOI! I'm quite upset about that and won't be going to this show in future. I've since heard that the benches were way down on produce from previous years. Therefore, i'm taking the opportunity to go up Kinder.....and before Dan interjects that doesn't mean I'm performing an unnatural act on a chocolate egg but walking up and around the Peak District's tallest hill Kinder Scout. Should be a welcome break from scrubbing veg for a weekend.

Then it's off to Malvern for my now yearly humiliation amongst the big boys of the veg growing world.

Littleover 2010

Last year was meant to be the last show as the organisers retired after many years of sterling service, but happily Colin Nicklin and Graham Morley stepped up to keep the show going. I'm glad they did because it's always a high class show and every ticket you win is worth something. There are always quality dahlias on show and my pal Kev Broxholme was among the winners.

The one flower, one veg class always attracts plenty of entries. I've won this several times before but was let down this year by a poor dahlia, scoring 4 out of 10. My large Blue Belle spud scored 7 out of 10 however.

The main collection class calls for a vase of flowers and 3 lots of veg, 3 of each. Due to a lack of dahlias I couldn't enter this class this year, but I have plans to get back into the dahlia game next season with a better area in my garden to grow them in.

As for my veg entries I was delighted to win beetroot.......

......especially when you see how many entries there were. The variety is Pablo and the 3 roots came from my regular soil beds rather than the raised beds.

I also won the single marrow class with this Blyton Motley which was a superb shape. Sadly it's the only one I have. If I had another I reckon I'd have a chance of getting in the cards at Malvern.

My only trophy came in the cacti classes, where I won best exhibit with this Echinocactus Grussonnii. I won another first,a second and a third in other classes and a regular cactus exhibitor said he knew he had no chance when he saw mine. Crikey.....I only feed them once a month in the summer. Otherwise they are totally neglected.

In the single specimen any other veg class I came 3rd (yellow ticket) with this parsnip which I think should have won. It's a new variety called Polar which I'd sown in a few stations that had failed to germinate.There wasn't a mark on the skin whatsoever and the easiest to clean up that I have ever had. I shall be trying this variety again next season. The winning parsnip next to mine....although bigger was quite marked, and the 2nd placed leek was not only quite a small barrel the foliage was riddled with thrip damage. Judges eh?

Elsewhere I had disappointing seconds, in the cherry tomato class.......

.......the Top Tray where I showed 3 Blue Belle spuds.....

........and in the main tomato class which I was certain should have won. The calyces on the winning toms were almost yellow whereas mine were deep green. This year I acquired some soot from a friend's chimney which I have soaked in some water all summer. I have been putting a cupful in the watering can every third feed (Tomorite and Comfrey being the other two) as Charlie Maisey reckons soot water helps give a deep red colour to the skins and keeps the calyces green.

I won the 8oz onion class for the 2nd year running which is hard to do at Littleover. The best 5 will definitely be going to Malvern. They won't win, the skins aren't even enough, but they won't be out of place.

Preparation is key

So, the countdown to show season has begun. Many shows have already taken place but the main season is from late August through September. After all your hard work the crunch time will soon be upon you and there's very little you can do now to change the way your stuff is growing. But there are things you can do to change the way it looks on the benches. It's worth taking time tying and trimming your onions. A nice neat raffia tie can make ordinary onions and shallots look better than they are. Acquaint yourself with your show's rules so that you know exactly what is expected and don't make last minute mistakes. If in any doubt ask someone who knows. And remember size really isn't everything. Concentrate on uniformity and quality.

Think about how and when you're going to harvest your stuff. It's no use getting up on show day and doing it then. Potatoes can be washed up to a couple of nights before and stored dry in some kitchen towelling in the dark...say a biscuit tin. I pull my beetroot 2 days before and soak in buckets of water after cleaning. Runner beans can be picked up to 5 or 6 days before once they reach the length you need. Store against a wooden batten in damp cloths in a cool dark place. Carrots and parsnips should be pulled the day before, cleaned and wrapped in cloths (wet for carrots and dry for parsnips) and boxed up ready for loading. On the day of the show you just want to load everything up and go, using tick lists to make sure you have all your show paraphernalia such as Top Tray boards, scissors, dishes of sand for shallots, paper plates and so forth. Sit down with your schedule a week before the show and work out exactly what you will need and get it all together, preferably in a box.

Tonight I visited Burbage Show to see what my fellow local competitors are benching and to catch up with old friends. It was a very good show but I'm not being big headed when I say I would have walked off with a fair few red cards I reckon. However, my new best friend Ian Taylor won best in show with a cracking plate of Winston that put my scabby specimens to shame. One point of concern for me was that I noticed there were quite a few rough specimens of Sweet Candle. Skin finish has never been a problem for me so I hope my own roots don't look like that.

I also had a chat with Mark Roberts who won the collection of 6 at the NVS National in 2007 held at Malvern. It was a superb display that made me goggle-eyed, his celery in particular being truly exceptional. He's had a bad year or two but is hoping to return with a vengeance next season. Nice fella and I hope to be visiting his garden in the Spring to pick up some more top tips.

An attack of seconditis!

All these exhibits won me 2nd places over the weekend. I thought my dish of Vento 8oz onions deserved better as the ones that beat me were barely half the size.....hey ho!

A 2nd or 3rd place in better quality competition is nothing to be sniffed at.

Top Tray

At most shows you will see a class called 'Top Tray', which is often popular and well contested.
This is for 3 sets of vegetables chosen from a list as follows:

3 onions
3 potatoes
6 pods peas
6 runner beans
6 tomatoes
3 caulis
3 carrots (foliage cut back to 3")
3 parsnips (foliage cut back to 3")

The veg must be displayed within an area of 24"x18" which is usually a piece of board cut to the required dimension with a lip all round. Alternatively, a piece of cloth can be used. I favour a well made board with a good coat of matt black paint to set off the colour of the veg.No 'aids' such as onion rings are allowed (unless the show allows it) and the carrots and parsnips cannot be bent round to fit within the allotted space......so sometimes you have to cut the tails of the roots down to size.

It was originally sponsored by Garden News and a seed company, and seed vouchers and small medals were competed for. Lots of shows have kept the class and now have a specific trophy for it.

It can be a popular class for beginners but you should still bear in mind that good quality veg needs to be shown. Each set of veg will be marked out of 20 points according to RHS rules, and the tray with most points wins first prize.

Anally retentive!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…….I’m a sad bastard!

Since I started ‘showing’ in 1996 I’ve won 1,136 prize cards of various colours and denomination (I know this because I keep a spreadsheet….told you I was sad!). Of those I have been most successful with the following:

Carrots 94
Pot plants 90 (various guises)
Beetroot 62
Potatoes 61
Cacti 60
Onions 58 (In various guises/weights etc)
Shallots 58
Dahlias 57
Parsnips 49
Top tray 44
Tomatoes 43

If like me you find that information interesting then we both need to get out more. Where are you taking me?

Littleover trophy winners

Many thanks to Paul Harvey for emailing these pics after my camera failed on the day.

Top Tray successes

I’ve won 4 out of the 6 ‘Top Tray’s’ that I’ve entered this season and one of the reasons is that I’ve been able to exhibit some bigger onions because of a relaxation in one of the rules around here. It used to be that onion rings/supports/stands were not allowed to be used which meant that people were reluctant to show their onions in this class as they were prone to rolling about on the board and therefore getting damaged…..especially if the benches weren’t level. However, on both the show committees I’m involved with we have allowed small, discrete supports to be utilised which meant I could display these onions at Sutton Bonington without fear them coming to any harm.

I staged these same onions at Littleover last week with carrots and tomatoes and a woman came up to me and said she thought they were stunning. She really needs to get out more!

Another busy weekend

I've just got back from staging at Littleover in Derby where I put in 24 entries. It's a lovely little show with very high quality exhibits so any cards here are well earned, especially in the dahlias that are as good as you'll see anywhere. The problem with staging on a Friday night is that you cannot make last minute alterations once you've been able to assess the opposition......for instance moving carrots from the main class onto your Top Tray if you feel they'd have a better chance there, but it's a chance I have to take. My thanks to Brian Eagers for waiting for me to finish and for the coffee!

I'm now just waiting for my Victoria sandwich to cook in the oven for the 'men only' class at Sileby tomorrow (it's a long story!). I'll need to be up early to get some more parsnips and carrots up and washed, as well as a pair of leeks. I also have some corking Kenora Sunset picked and safely stored out of this bloody rain! It's going to be another busy day! And thanks to talking to you lot I've only just remembered my Vickie sandwich....tis a bit scorched around the edges but a bit of icing sugar should mask that!

Seagrave 2008

First the important news……we raised over £1200 for local charities which is another record. The generosity of the villagers never ceases to amaze me. This in spite of the fact that show entries were slightly down on previous years which was understandable given the atrocious weather conditions on the day. Having said that standards were still high and Mick Mills won Best in Show with his stunning yellow crysanths and also the Smith & Byatt Shield for most points in show. I had a mixed day but I was happy that I managed to beat Mick for the first ever time with my blanch leeks, as well as other wins for beetroot, cucumbers, parsnips, onions from sets, any other veg (lettuce) and the heaviest pumpkin. I thought I should have won with my tomatoes(3rd), carrots(2nd) and Top Tray(2nd) but hey, you can’t win ‘em all!