Page 52 - Simply Vegetables Winter 2022/23

East Yorkshire DA
On Monday 26th September there were three ‘In-House’ presentations given
by Sue Rowe on Fertilisers, followed
by Keith Abel on Preparing produce
for Show, followed by Paul Neve on What the Judge looks for. With our forthcoming Annual DA Show in mind, it was deemed an appropriate opportunity to try and encourage new or novice growers to enter our Show this year,
if only to have a go within the specific novice classes.
Some interesting tips from all speakers were given. Sue has a Diploma in Horticulture and her presentation on Fertilisers was very detailed. I had not realised that the complete atomic bond structure of chlorophyll was not identified until as recently as1967! Her tip about weighing a personal handful of solid fertiliser once, as a rough guide to applying given weights of fertilisers in the absence of a set of scales for
Beetroot and carrots should be washed in plain water carefully with a sponge (horizontally around the roots rather
than vertically up and down the roots)
in order to avoid scratches. Careful and gentle use of toothbrushes and wooden skewers can help to remove blemishes
and any adhering soil particles in order to optimise appearance without damaging your produce. Wearing rubber gloves whilst cleaning vegetables should also prevent unintended damage from fingernails.
Paul talked about the role of the judge, the importance of the show schedule wording and the guidelines that a judge was required to follow. He explained the basic qualities of vegetables that were assessed when judging and illustrated these points using some personal slides and items from his judge’s toolkit. He explained the differences between judging single classes, various types of collection,
Sue Rowe discussing fertlisers
At the time of writing, we have two more meetings planned for 2022. The October meeting will feature Ian Sutherland who will talk on Dahlias whilst, at the November meeting, Peter Rogers will talk about “The Seasons at Burnby Hall Gardens”. We hope to visit this particular venue in person
at some stage in 2023. Our AGM will be held at the end of January 2023 by which time we should have determined our full programme for 2023/24
Reports on these events will feature in the next edition of Simply Vegetables but, in the meantime, current news can be seen on our website http://nvseyda.uk and Facebook page National Vegetable Society - East Yorkshire D.A. Our continuing aim remains to provide a variety of interesting topics throughout the year that will appeal to our existing members, as well as attract new ones.
Paul Neve FNVS
every occasion that you need them, I found quite useful. Similarly, her visual description of how to recognise the difference between a plant’s iron deficiency (symptoms affect new growth first) and a magnesium deficiency (symptoms affect older leaves).
The extreme weather conditions were the likely reason for the lower than normal numbers of entries staged in some of our classes
baskets, flower and vegetable combinations and some of the pitfalls associated with the dreaded NAS (Not As Schedule) card.
We held our annual DA Show on the first Sunday of October. The date was specifically chosen to accommodate West Yorkshire DA’s Show held on the previous day in order
to allow exhibitors from both areas to display
She also issued a
hand-out sheet on
the keypoints of her
presentation. For those who were unable to attend this meeting, a digital copy can be downloaded from our EYDA website.
their produce on successive days. A total of 17 exhibitors staged 109 entries. There were no entries in the classes for gladiolii, cabbage and novice carrots this year, the extreme weather conditions were the likely reason for the lower than normal numbers of entries staged in some of our classes. This year we dispensed with the award
of most of our physical trophies (except those awarded to winners within the novice section) in favour of prize cards bearing an image of the respective trophy. This idea appeared to be successful, especially with non-local exhibitors and those winning multiple trophies.
Keith demonstrated the correct tying of dressed onions using raffia and stressed the need to avoid marking the base of the bulbs through careful handling and the
use of padded display stands, rather than sharp-edged cups or lids. Always use black cloth to hide your supporting structures from view. When staging a set of onions, aim to place your best onion centre front and try to ensure that they all appear to be the same height when viewed in a line from the front.
Look carefully and you can see some of the trophy photo cards issued at this years Show, in place of actual trophies
52 Simply Vegetables
Keith Abel demonstrating onion dressing
John Smiles with NVS Medal-winning carrots