* Victorious Veg *

Whether you have an allotment, garden or simply a window box, a day out at your local vegetable and flower show is a must for any gardener.  As a child it will usually mean parents and grandparents helping to create miniature gardens, hours spent trying to cobble together vegetables into one design or another, the colouring in of posters and kitchens filled with clouds of flour for the baking competitions.  Others will harvest their lovingly tended vegetables and flowers on the morning of the show, scrubbing and trimming, trying to find perfectly matching sets and blooms, this is all part and parcel of the preparations for a day exhibiting at a garden show.  The prize money is usually modest but if you produce a winning entry there is usually a prize card, but more importantly a shared family experience and a fun day out with memories made to be treasured. 

An afternoon out at a vegetable show is unlikely to break the bank and will undoubtedly be an education, whether you are a novice or a seasoned vegetable grower. Talking with other gardeners, trying (and sometimes failing) yourself is absolutely the best way to learn the skills required to reap good things from what you sow; add in the element of some friendly (hopefully) competition and you are likely to see varieties at their very best as well as gaining tips from expert judges and other competitors. 

Dan Harvey a well known exhibitor in Devon has won approximately 3000 1st prizes, Dan is also a National Vegetable Society judge and lecturer with a wealth of experience, he recommends the following varieties for victorious vegetables on the show bench.

Many vegetable growers would benefit from joining the National Vegetable Society, to gain access to further expert advice and local meetings; their magazine Simply Vegetables is quarterly and is packed with useful and interesting advice on growing and showing. For further information visit their website at http://www.nvsuk.org.uk