Now is the time to get your entries ready, so first and foremost don’t forget to actually enter. Entry Forms are in the Cookham Dean Fete programme.  This delivered to some parts of Cookham, but is also available online here. Entries need to be with Janet Shanks by 6pm Thursday 12th September at 144, Whyteladyes Lane Cookham Rise SL6 9LA with entry fees (50p per class).  Further information and hard copies of the Fete programme are available from Janet (01628 525576 or penfoldshanks@btinternet.com).

In the week or so before the deadline look at your produce to see which classes you can enter, taking careful note of the schedule and the numbers required for each class. A bit like politics, the first requirement of showing is the ability to count.  Three carrots means three, not “the two best ones I’ve got” or “four because I’ve got loads of lovely ones”. If you have got spares then take them with you for set up on the morning of Saturday 14th in case of damage in transit. Flowers in particular are fragile.

As well as counting your exhibits, don’t forget to read the rules (also in the Fete programme).  For example in the “Top Tray” collection class, the rules state that “The vegetables must be displayed within an area measuring 18″ by 24″ without bending any part of them“.  Other rules state that “Carrots and parsnips should have foliage trimmed back to 3“, “Peas and beans should be displayed with some stalk attached” and  “Tomatoes must be displayed with calyxes (the green flower bud case)“.

The show is judged by RHS rules, so the true nerd could get a copy of the Society’s Horticultural Show Handbook.

RHS Horticultural Show Handbook

This very helpful little book gives advice on preparing fruit, vegetables and flowers for show and also explains the judging criteria.  For example for dessert apples, the merits are described as “Optimum-sized shapely fruits with eyes and stalks intact and clear unblemished skins of the natural colour characteristics of the cultivar“.  Defects are described as “Fruits that are too small or too large, mis-shapen, over-ripe or soft or that have damaged eyes or lack stalks or are not well coloured, or have any blemish, including evidence of any physiological disorder such as bitter-pit or glassiness“.  Then the available points for an exhibit are set out as follows:

• Condition 6 Points
• Uniformity 6 Points
• Suitability of size 4
• Colour 4 Points
• Giving a total of 20 points.

There are similar scoring systems for all classes, so to get good scores you are looking for pest and disease free and matching sets. Better to have six identical runner beans than your biggest six, which happen to be different shapes and sizes.  The picture below shows the squashes from the 2017 Cookham show, first prize went to the ones at the back left, which are certainly not the largest, but are in good condition and are easily the best matched pair.

Squashes at the 2017 show

Clean, but don’t polish fruit and veg. If you are entering alliums, tie up the necks of onions and garlic with raffia, similarly with root vegetables leave three inches of the leaves and tie them up. For the giant classes weight is all that matters; so don’t bother prettifying these.

For most entries freshness matters, for example one of the runner beans will often be snapped by the judge to check freshness.  This means that if you can, it is a good idea to put aside some time on Friday 13th for harvesting and preparing. Wrap beans and carrots in damp tea towels and pop them in the fridge overnight to keep them crisp.

There is a two hour slot for staging exhibits between 9am and 11am on Saturday the 14th, when there will be people from the Cookham Horticultural Society around to help if you need it.  The hall will be cleared at 11 for judging, so it is probably best to arrive early if you can.

Most importantly, if you are having a bash at the show this year, have fun and good luck to all of you.