Vegetable Section This is for advice only. We wish to encourage everyone to enter so will be helpful on the day, if you have any problems. We don’t expect everything to be perfect! The judges will be happy to explain their decisions. All produce must have been grown by the exhibitor.
WESTON FAVELL VILLAGE SHQW
Saturday 29th August 2026
Tips for showing fruit and vegetables
Remember, all produce should be clean and as free from pest damage or disease as possible. If you wouldn’t eat it then don’t ‘show’ it. (with the exception of the novelty classes)
- Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to stage your entries. Judging MUST start at the specified time and when you’re rushing mistakes will happen. The earlier you can get there the easier it is for the Committee also.
- Make sure you put the correct number of items in each class. Put in 4 tomatoes or 6 instead of the required 5 and your entry will be marked NAS (Not As Schedule).
- Ensure all flower vases are topped up with water.* Make sure you enter your exhibits with the stewards and that you stick one of the numbered labels on each and every entry. Unlabelled exhibits will not be eligible for judging.
- If you have time and you know the variety of your exhibit by all means attach a label stating what it is e.g. Tomato ‘Shirley’. It not only adds to the interest value for the viewing public but may (just may!) sway the judge’s opinion if he cannot quite decide between 2 seemingly equal exhibits.
And if upon your return to the Show after judging you find that you have won a prize then well done! But if you haven’t then don’t despair ask one of the Committee for reasons why you might not have won and vow to do even better next year!
3 Onions, trimmed,
Select uniform, round bulbs that are nicely ripened, with firm but thin necks. This means harvesting around 4 weeks before the show date. Avoid over-skinning after lifting, but try to get down to an unbroken skin. Trim roots a bit to the base without damaging the root plate, cut foliage off leaving 3″ of neck, wipe clean, and leave to ripen in a dry sunny place, turning occasionally so that they become nice and brown. Sprinkling with a little talc helps to dry them but this must be brushed off gently before exhibiting. Before the show make your selection of the best 3 from the stored bulbs, tie the necks with raffia or string and trim neck to about 1 1/2″ (3.5 cm). Display on dishes of dry sand or vermiculite.
(sand and raffia will be available for use on the day of the show)
3 carrots of one kind
Should be evenly matched, of good shape, colour and size, free from side roots and not green around the crown. Should be free of all dirt by carefully washing around (not up and down) with a soft sponge in plenty of water. Foliage should be trimmed to 3″ (7cm) and they should be staged flat on the bench side-by-side.
3 Beetroot
The day before the Show select uniform, round beetroot no larger than the size of a tennis ball, with a long, central tap- root. Wash gently. Trim foliage back to about 3 cm. The judge will cut one of your roots at the Show to make sure there are no rings indicating that it has been watered irregularly during growth. Stage on paper plates, or straight onto the bench with tap-roots facing forwards.
4 potatoes of one variety
Select equally matched, medium sized tubers with shallow eyes. Should be well but gently, cleaned and free from skin blemishes. Stage on a paper plate with the ‘rose’ end facing outwards
5 Tomatoes with green calyx
Should be well-matched, firm, round, richly-coloured and well-ripened fruits but not over-ripe. The green calyxes should be retained to the ‘knuckle’. Display on plain paper plates with calyx uppermost.
3 Courgettes
Should be young, tender fruits of good shape (straight if possible) and colour, matching in size if possible, approximately six inches (15 cm) in length and one and a half inches (3.5 cm) in diameter. May be shown with or without their flower.
1 Cucumber
The Cucumber should be exhibited with about 1” (2 cms) of stalk. The cucumber should be fresh, straight and not over mature. They should have a short “handle” i.e. the thin end to which the stalk is attached. They should be blemish free and retain their natural bloom. Care needs to be exercised when handling them as washing can remove the bloom.
5 Beans, runner, French, broad or borlotti
The beans should be exhibited with some stalk (the handle) attached, 5 matching beans of whatever type, according to class. For best results cut from the vine with secateurs rather than pulling off. They should be straight and of equal length and uniform size. They should also be fresh and not coarse and stringy. The seeds should not be prominent in the pod (the judge will snap one of your beans when judging to check that they are fresh and not stringy). They should be of a good even colour and free from blemishes. Exhibit in a row with stalks turned the same way.
2 cobs of Sweetcorn. They should be fresh and ripe but not over ripe and starchy. The ears of corn should be even, regular (in line) and fully formed over the whole of the cob. They should be exhibited with at least 1” (2 cms) of stalk attached and with the protective leaves (the husk) and dead filaments present. To present the cobs the outer leaves on one side only should be neatly peeled back and tucked under the cob to display a section of the kernels of corn.
3 Dessert or cooking apples of one kind (and other tree fruit)
Select optimum sized shapely fruits with eyes and stalks intact and clear unblemished skins of the natural colour characteristic of the variety shown. Specimens should also be fresh. Ripeness of fruit is not so important. Stage on paper plate with eyes uppermost.
Soft Fruit
Should be ripe but not over-ripe, Where possible pick with stalks and fresh green calyces. Display on a plate (paper plate ok).
Basket or trug of vegetables
This class is all about the variety and quality of the produce and the presentation of it. The more different types of veg that you can pack in and the more attractively you can display it the better.