Saturday, 12 September 2009

12 September 2009 – Dig for Victory!

The 2009 St Stephen's Gardening Club Show drawn to a close, leaving us contemplating a strategy for next year.

We entered seven categories:
  • parsnips - our finest three from those we dug on the weekend
  • courgettes (zucchini) - three of our yellow variety
  • garlic – our five best, out of 180 or so bulbs harvested this year. Entered in the 'Any Other Vegetable' category; it seems to us that garlic deserves its own category, but we think the categories must be those hand down by the Royal Horticultural Society
  • jam – which K boiled down from several pounds of strawberries
  • tomatoes – five of our greenhouse variety – in the Novice category, Novice entry being an option for those who have not previously won a Novice category
  • raspberries – 12 on a plate, again Novice
  • hand-knitted garment – K's birthday jumper for her sister, borrowed back for the show.
No doubt you'll be anxious to hear the results. On tenterhooks, I imagine.

Parsnips: overshadowed by other entries. Not even the courtesy of a Post-It Note. Ours were thicker, the winners were longer. To each his own.









Courgettes: we knew our three weren't very precisely matched in size, but we thought they seemed fresher, more exciting than their fellow entries. Result: Third Prize. No shame there.









Garlic: the competition included a giant pumpkin, sweetcorn and several squashes - eight entries overall, so the most competition. Result: First Prize. "Yes, we can!"















Jam: No prize, but a Post-It Note saying: "tastes good but a little stiff". Again, it must be pointed out, to each his own.














Tomatoes: First Prize! K's twice-daily watering has paid off! Now that we have the greenhouse, ready for a full season next year, nothing can stop us from Tomato Supremacy.














Raspberries: A respectable Second Prize.
















Hand-knitted garment: Third Prize. We feel the judges have a weakness for frou-frou over Vision and Execution.


We feel that The Future Belongs to Us. We're ready to take on the Big Boys. Bring on next year's show.

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