Veg - Sow, Grow, Eat, Show
For me, the whole point of growing veg is to provide fresh food to eat throughout the year. But for some growers, the whole point is to grow the biggest, the tallest, the longest, the most ‘bad-ass’ veggies possible and to exhibit them at as many local gardening shows as possible - to win prizes.! They compete with each other in all sorts of categories – longest carrot, colour of rhubarb stalk; longest or fattest bean; biggest courgette / marrow; tallest most elegant leek; most perfect set of 3 beetroots or 5 potatoes or 6 tomatoes etc etc … the list of categories goes on ,,, and I haven’t mentioned, cakes, jams, preserves, wine (yes - even here in the north of Scotland) and more! The growers are fiercely competitive and I’ve noticed the same names appearing (and winning) time and again. The fact is that the displays are superb and they amaze me every time I see them. They show just what can be achieved with the right dedication, so … no excuses! I don’t think I could manage longest carrot or tallest leek but just maybe, my broad beans would have a chance and possibly my potatoes too … I can feel the competitive juices beginning to flow!
A winning display of potatoes – 4 different types and 4 of each. It’s apparently all about consistent size, shape and colour. Cucumbers, on the right, are more difficult to grow out of doors, especially in north Aberdeenshire, but this year’s unusual warmth has meant a good outdoor crop
What great looking tomatoes. Tomatoes were also available for sale at one show (and had a superb flavour) – not only typical tomatoes as shown in the photo but large beefsteak tomatoes too. It seems the grower thought them too ‘ugly’ to exhibit with their ridged sides and lack of uniformity, but for me, the bigger and ‘uglier’ the better!
Beans and onions – both grow happily in my own raised beds. The difficulty, especially with the beans, is not to eat them straight away!
Onions – presentation plays it part – placing them on plates of sand keeps them standing upright and looking their best. Colourful rhubarb stems are just visible on the right.
Leeks are often show-stoppers - nearly as tall as me; longest beetroots of different shapes; the most perfect cauliflowers; the longest runner beans – all setting the standards for next year.
Longest parsnips and carrots. I’ve seen these grown in full barrels of light sandy soil with roots that extend a meter or more to the barrel bottom. The trick is managing to extract them without snapping the central long root.
I thought I would end with a photo of my own broad beans. The plants produced several harvests despite some early blackfly issues treated with a soapy water spray and thorough wash. One harvest was used for broad bean hummus – 30 mins from picking to eating – delicious!
It really is so exciting each year to see the fantastic veg exhibited at the local village and town shows. My mind has already turned to thinking about what is needed to prepare the raise beds for next year’s crops. It is also time to think about which veg to plant now, for early cropping next year. Maybe SeeHow’s new interactive vegetable gardening book, SeeHow – Veg, can help!
SeeHow – Veg - now available to buy from SeeHow’s on-line shop, contains 107 of the most popular veg grown in the UK. The lifecycle of each veg is shown – January to December – all arranged alphabetically, for easy reference.
Happy Veg Planting, Growing, Eating …. and maybe Showing too!
The above Text and all Photographs are copyright of Wincenty (Wicek) Sosna. Please contact SeeHow (07939 226417) for permission to reproduce in any way, in part or as the complete text.
Wicek, now semi-retired, is an award-winning architect He is also a writer, horticulturalist and keen gardener and lives in Macduff on the dramatic north Aberdeenshire coast. He invented the unique interactive SeeHow gardening book concept, to actually show gardeners how plants and veg grow throughout the calendar-year. Because SeeHow books work visually, anyone can use them - from children to garden design professionals. Pictures really are worth 1,000 words!
Exciting Opportunity!
SeeHow is looking for investors / crowdfunders to help it grow - develop the SeeHow App.
Please spread the word to friends and colleagues you think may be interested. For anyone who would like to know more about becoming part of the SeeHow adventure, please contact Wicek Sosna on +44 (0) 7939 226417