Blue Ribbon Vegetable Gardening: The Secrets to Growing the Biggest and Best Prizewinning Produce
224
Blue Ribbon Vegetable Gardening: The Secrets to Growing the Biggest and Best Prizewinning Produce
224eBook
Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
Related collections and offers
Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781612123950 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Storey Publishing, LLC |
| Publication date: | 01/09/2016 |
| Sold by: | Hachette Digital, Inc. |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 224 |
| File size: | 46 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Jodi Torpey, author of Blue Ribbon Vegetable Gardening, is a garden writer, an award-winning gardener, a Craftsy online gardening instructor, and the founder and editor-in-chief of the website Western Gardeners. Torpey’s writing appears in digital and print media, and she’s a popular speaker at gardening conferences and events around the United States.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
The Competitive Legacy
You know you grow great tomatoes. Your family knowsyou grow great tomatoes. Heck, even your neighbors can't wait to get their hands on your garden-grown goodies. So why not take your best vegetables to the fair for some official accolades? Like the fair's other competitive events, a vegetable competition is a challenging opportunity to walk away with ribbons and some prize money. If you happen to have a natural competitive spirit, the bragging rights alone may be the best reward of all.
It's as much fun as a Ferris wheel to enter a vegetable contest and be part of the excitement of a fair. In the days leading up to a contest you have to balance nervous anticipation with the daily gardening routine. Gardening for competition requires monitoring progress, dealing with wild weather, making adjustments, and trying to outsmart Mother Nature. Then, finally, comes the exhilaration of the actual event.
Winning ribbons for picture-perfect produce is a splendid reward for a season of working in the garden, but you can win prizes for oddball vegetables, too. One time I was tickled to take home the top prize for funniest mutation in the novelty vegetable class. Two of my tomatoes had grown together to form a perfectly round miniature derriére. I titled my winning entry How I Got a Little Behind in My Gardening.
That oddball tomato is just one example of what you might get from your garden. The tomato that seems to be winking owes its funny form to catfacing caused by weather that's too cold while blossoms were forming. The carrot that looks like it's wearing pants grew in rocky soil that caused the root to split in two. The cucumber with the long neck and small head grew into its strange shape because of poor pollination or inconsistent watering. So don't worry if your vegetables aren't picture-perfect. You can still have lots of fun, especially with a good sense of humor.
Horse Racing And Horticulture
Since medieval times, fairs have been held to attract crowds. Some groups gathered together for religious purposes, others for trade and commerce, and many had educational aspirations. No matter the reason, all fairs eventually evolved into social and shopping occasions that included entertainment. Fairs haven't changed much in all these years.
As agricultural exhibitions grew in America, organizers added attractions to boost attendance. Horse racing became popular (and money-making) entertainment at fairs, despite strong opposition from some quarters. The 1881 book How to Manage Agricultural Fairs specifies the buildings needed on a fairground, including the ring: "Without here discussing the question of racing and its moral bearings, we say that it is usual to lay out a ring of some character, to exercise and speed horses upon."
It didn't take long for other amusements to work their way into fairs. Today's traveling carnivals started in small tents that featured games of chance and numerous "fakirs" to entertain (if not fleece) the attendants. There were also firework displays, band concerts, sideshows, and vendors selling trinkets, food, drinks, and sweets.
Despite all the added attractions, every fair's purpose was to showcase improvements in farming and to award prizes to the best specimens of crops, fruits, and vegetables. The agricultural competitions converged with two other important developments: an increased demand for better produce in the marketplace, and plant breeders' work to improve the quality, productivity, and appearance of many vegetables.
Breeding Leads To Competing
Today's gardeners would have a difficult time identifying the vegetables our ancestors ate. Wild tomatoes looked like yellow berries growing on bushes, and carrots were nothing more than white, rangy roots. It took years for vegetables to grow into the ones we recognize today. Gardeners owe a debt of thanks to those first farmers who dug tubers from the earth to feed their families and then kept the tastiest to transplant and grow again.
Compared to what gardeners plant today, early farms and gardens didn't offer much vegetable diversity. If we were transported back in time and could peek into a medieval English garden, we might see beans, cabbages, onions, leeks, lettuce, and peas. Mercifully, the world of vegetables mushroomed in the 1400s when intrepid explorers transported plants and agricultural products from one part of the globe to another. That's how corn (maize), potatoes, and beans from the Americas found their way into European dining rooms.
Agriculture took a giant leap forward in 1700s England when "gentlemen farmers" began to experiment with new concepts in tillage, cultivation, seed selection, and crop rotation. Informal sharing of ideas, inventions, and agricultural improvements grew into formal membership societies to encourage advances in farming. The Society of Improvers in the Knowledge of Agriculture was one of the earliest groups, started in 1723. The members of these societies met regularly for education and socializing. The larger groups held agricultural shows and awarded premiums for successful experiments, whether for cultivating the largest amount of land for growing early potatoes or for finding a cure for sheep rot.
Flower Fêtes In Britain
Agricultural and horticultural societies of all sizes flourished during the late 1700s, and members were inspired to share their successes. Some of the largest flower and vegetable shows held in the United Kingdom today were started by these societies two hundred years ago.
Britain's venerable Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) opened its doors in 1804. By about 1818, every kind of fruit and vegetable appeared "in its season" at exhibitions held during the society's meetings. The society's well-respected flower shows that flourish today began in the late 1820s as society floral fairs held at the Duke of Devonshire's estate. There was so much interest in the exhibitions that British horticultural newspapers reported the results.
As these flower and vegetable shows became more popular, they evolved into bigger events. A classic example is the St. Ives Flower and Produce Show in Cambridgeshire, England. The first contest of the Cottagers' Horticultural Society, staged on July 22, 1876, included 20 classes of vegetables and 11 classes of fruit.
Twelve years later, the St. Ives Flower Show had become an important fixture in the county and "the principal floricultural and horticultural exhibition in the shire." The Hunts Guardian & East Midland Spectator newspaper called it "a brilliant success." That show added extravagant elements like decorations of flags, fairy lamps, and Chinese lanterns. A flying trapeze took up a large part of the tennis ground, and the "Celebrated Yokohama Troupe" entertained the crowd with juggling and balancing acts. The Rushden Temperance Silver Prize Band performed twice in one day.
Around this time, at the end of the nineteenth century, the RHS adopted a set of formal rules for judging the quality of the specimens on exhibition. No longer were vegetables judged on size alone, but also on their general appearance and taste.
Agricultural Exhibitions in Early America
Today's county and state fairs are direct descendants of the agricultural shows and sales that began in early America as regular market days and fairs. As early as 1686 the first session of the New Jersey Assembly set aside every Wednesday as market day and the first Tuesdays in May and October for fairs, each lasting three days. Those early fairs included horse races, booths with streamers, and "a heterogeneous collection of articles for sale."
In the largely rural, agrarian society of early America, people began to form agricultural groups, similar to the societies organized by the gentlemen farmers in England. Distinguished members of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture included George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Other societies followed with the goal of improving commerce, stimulating trade, and expanding the economy in a country that was still young and working toward self-sufficiency.
The annual sheepshearing events George Washington Parke Custis held on his Arlington, Virginia, estate were modeled after similar events in England. Watching sheep being sheared doesn't sound like a reason to get all gussied up today, but in the early 1800s social occasions like these attracted a highbrow crowd.
America's gentlemen farmers benefited from these livestock events, but ordinary farmers were too busy farming to take part. Elkanah Watson, a successful farmer and businessman, changed that in 1807 when he displayed two of his Merino sheep to the general public in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Showing off two sheep might not seem like a momentous occasion, but that event helped Watson earn his title as "father of the agricultural fair." His Berkshire Agricultural Society started annual fairs and competitions that grew in the number of participants, contests, and prizes. He also added parades, plowing matches, and grand agricultural balls — many of the same elements that are part of county and state fairs today.
It was around 1840 that agricultural societies came into their own as a way to boost the American economy. During the next 20 years, almost a thousand societies sprang up as state or county organizations, all with the primary purpose of holding annual fairs.
These exhibitions and fairs were highly anticipated social events. Farmers and their families visited fairs to study new methods for raising livestock; watch demonstrations of farming equipment; learn about developments in planting, tilling, and harvesting; see the latest in the domestic arts; and compete for the "agricultural ideal" in crop and horticultural contests.
The resurgence of interest in fairs between 1850 and 1870 was so great that the founder of the Cooperative Extension Service at Land Grant Universities, Kenyon L. Butterfield, referred to those two decades as "the golden age of the agricultural fair."
Developing a Competitive Edge
Today's vegetable contests wouldn't be as interesting if it weren't for the work of plant breeders starting in the mid-1800s. American agriculturists and horticulturists were especially interested in applying Gregor Mendel's principles for using genetics to improve crops.
It wasn't long after Mendel published the results of his experiments with pea plants that Luther Burbank had his first important horticultural discovery. In 1873, the "gardener to the world" found a rare potato seed ball that became the famed 'Russet Burbank' potato, the same beautiful Idaho baking potato grown today. Burbank conducted his plant breeding experiments in California and introduced more than eight hundred new varieties of plants including hundreds of ornamental flowers and more than two hundred varieties of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains.
Extensive experimental work in plant breeding began in earnest at the turn of the twentieth century. Each year seed and plant companies promoted their new, improved varieties that were said to be more disease resistant, more productive, and better tasting. But the average farmer or gardener had no way to know if the seeds lived up to their hype.
All-America Selections
Horticulturist W. Ray Hastings of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, recognized the need for a network of independent trial gardens for testing new flowers and vegetables. He started All-America Selections (AAS) in 1932 to help gardeners find reliable varieties that lived up to their claims of being "new and improved." As president of the Southern Seedsmen's Association, Hastings was able to launch the program one year and release results the next.
AAS announced 19 new varieties of flowers and vegetables in 1933, and the organization has named new crops of winners every year since. The sugar snap pea, introduced as a completely new vegetable in 1979, is one of the organization's success stories. Prior to this introduction, there were only two kinds of peas: the English pea and the snow pea, but the sugar snap pea combined the best qualities of the two. AAS continues as an independent testing organization, coordinating the trialing process in test gardens across the country and recommending winners every year.
While new and improved vegetables are introduced to gardeners year after year, vegetable competitions haven't changed much from those early agricultural contests. Farmers and gardeners work all season to grow a good crop of fruits and vegetables to take to a fair, judges make their selections, and the best specimens receive recognition.
The authors of The English Vegetable Garden understood this process, too. "Those who are thinking and hoping to excel in the production of high-class vegetables must remember that much work and forethought are needful," they wrote. "Those who persevere are the ones to succeed. Success is not a matter of mere luck as some imagine."
CHAPTER 2
Why Not Give It a Go?
Vegetables don't do well when they have to compete with other plants, but the same can't be said about the gardeners who grow them. For some growers, a competitive nature is simply hardwired into their green thumbs. These gardeners are eager to place a friendly gardening bet long before the first seeds are planted and then yak about their garden all season long.
Good-natured gardening banter probably started as soon as the first vegetable gardens were planted. Even Thomas Jefferson had a gentleman's bet to see which neighbor could harvest the first edible English pea each year. Friendly wagers are the norm, but gardening can turn serious when the stakes are high. I've read about pumpkin sabotage right before a weigh-off and vandals using knives, axes, or shovels to attack a crop of giant leeks before an exhibition.
Competition exists in all horticultural pursuits. The extremely passionate rose exhibitors called roseaholics grow roses for the sole purpose of exhibiting them and collecting crystal trophies. Some impassioned rose gardeners have lost marriages to the hobby because it's so consuming. Unlike these roseaholics described by Aurelia Scott in her book Otherwise Normal People, vegetable gardeners would probably plant a vegetable garden whether or not they plan to compete.
It's fun to enter a contest, and it's even more fun to walk away with a ribbon and some prize money. Premiums are the monetary prizes awarded at the end of a contest, and most range from $1 to $50 for first place, less for second and third. In addition to the cash and ribbons for first (blue), second (red), and third (white) place, there may be other prizes donated by sponsors. These can include plaques, trophies, gardening products, garden-center gift cards, magazine subscriptions, and seeds. Additional awards might recognize Best of Show or Best of Class, Judges' Choice, Horticultural Excellence, or the person winning the most blue ribbons or the most prize money.
If ribbons, prizes, and a few bucks aren't enough incentive to enter a vegetable contest, consider chucking the ordinary vegetables to grow the oversized varieties. Giant pumpkin and cabbage contests offer premiums that can net contestants $1,000 or more for an especially weighty winner.
While some may think experienced gardeners have an edge on beginners, the simple act of gardening levels the field. Even time-tested gardeners have to find ways to cope with quirky weather, hungry insects, and plant diseases. Gardeners may have to deal with tomatoes that drop their blossoms during a hot spell, cucumbers that grow a little crooked, or pumpkins that explode.
Other dangers may lurk in the garden, too. One of the most terrifying garden pests of all time was the Were-Rabbit that threatened the annual Tottington Hall Giant Vegetable Contest in the award-winning British feature film starring Wallace and Gromit.
If you're going to plant a vegetable garden anyway, you might as well take a shot at winning a prize. While many gardeners plan ahead for what they'll plant, grow, and show at the fair, others just wait to see what looks good in the garden on the day entries are due. Either strategy can work. As vegetable competitors in the United Kingdom like to say, "If you fancy it, why not give it a go?"
A First Time for Everyone
Some experts say beginners should start by competing in small community garden contests or at county fairs to gain experience exhibiting their vegetables. Some fairs encourage new competitors with a special division for first-time exhibitors.
But don't let inexperience stop you from entering any event, especially if you have an exceptional crop to show off. As a judge once told me, "You've heard of beginner's luck, haven't you?"
Vegetable contests are annual events and an important part of state and county fairs. Sometimes contests for giant specimens — often pumpkins and cabbages — are held as separate, special events. Contests are usually scheduled at about the same time every year, typically during harvest time from July through October. To find a fair near you, call your county and state fair offices or search online. You can also look for fairs listed with local, state, and regional agricultural associations or check with the International Association of Fairs and Expositions.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Blue Ribbon Vegetable Gardening"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Jodi Torpey.
Excerpted by permission of Storey Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
PrefaceChapter 1: The Competitive Legacy
Chapter 2: Why Not Give It a Go?
Chapter 3: Blue Ribbon Basics: A Planting Checklist
Chapter 4: Beans
Chapter 5: Beets
Chapter 6: Cabbage
Chapter 7: Cucumbers
Chapter 8: Eggplant
Chapter 9: Onions
Chapter 10: Peppers
Chapter 11: Pumpkins
Chapter 12: Squash
Chapter 13: Tomatoes
Acknowledgements
Resources
Bibliography
Index