Blue-ribbon planting

Dig in now to produce a winning harvest

By Jomay Steen, Journal staff | Friday, June 20, 2008

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The Central States Fair & Rodeo is about seven weeks away, which leaves plenty of time to cultivate prize-winning fruits and vegetables, according to the experts. This year’s cool, wet spring has been a blessing for fruit trees and bushes, and it also will help with staggered planting schedules.

According to Della Colman of Rapid City, former fair horticulture superintendent, and NanCee Maynard of Box Elder, open class co-chairman, there’s plenty of time for novices, weekend gardeners, full-time farmers and those with serious green thumbs to bring in a harvest of award-winning garden stock and flowers.

Both said that reading the Central States Fair Premium Book, available at 800 San Francisco St., knowing the rules and finding what will work in an individual’s garden can give growers an advantage.

“Get a book and choose what you’re good at,” Colman said.

Doors will open at 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, and at 9 a.m. Friday, Aug. 15, at the Central States Fair Horticulture Building to cornucopias of vegetables, fruits, flowers, potted plants, annual and perennial flowers and herbs.

“Entries close at 12:45 p.m. Friday and judging begins at 1 p.m.,” Maynard said.

Key to having a winning vegetable, fruit, herb or flower is to look for new and unusual varieties, and to find the best representative of your garden that has symmetry, uniformity and is without blemishes or disease.

“Keep your seed packets and tags; they’re handy for filling out the entry forms,” Maynard said.

When working in your garden, it’s also a good idea to set aside space for rotating new plants as other plants come to fruit. “It’s a good idea to plant your seeds and seedlings two to three different times, staggering their harvests,” she said.

Maynard said once the staggered plots have been planted, thin as they begin to break through the soil and grow into thick rows. Choose the hardiest plants in the row for best plant growth. Try to create a routine of fertilization and mulching, all the while watching for disease or insect infestation of your gardens as you weed.

“Make plans to water your garden on a regular basis,” she said.

Colman suggests that gardeners don’t leave cleaning the vegetables and fruits to the last minute.

“We used to have people show up with vegetables just out of the garden with the dirt caked on it and wanting us to help fill out the tags as they cleaned up the entries,” she said.

It won’t happen, she said.

“Pick your vegetables, flowers or what-have-you in the very early part of the morning. Put them in warm water to clean leaves of all dirt and pesticides, then put them in cold water just before bringing them to the fair,” Colman said.

It’s not the judges’ responsibility to clean up entries, she said. In fact, it may lead to lower scoring or, in the case of discovery of bugs, disqualification.

The premium book is a good introduction to herbs, vegetables and flower projects beyond growing things in the garden. Take time to study it and decide what you’re going to do, Colman said.

Under the perennial herb category, there are 64 different plants that are eligible for entry and five projects that use herbs for exhibit. The annual herbs include 26 plants and four cool ideas for projects.

There are 14 different classes for flowers as well as information on houseplants and the Christmas cactus.

Fair participants may want to take a shot at their first blue ribbon by entering in Lot 302’s Herb of the Year: Parsley. A simple plant to grow, it does double duty by adding flavor to soups, salads and other foods. Display trays will be available at entry. Only one entry in any lot number is allowed per exhibitor.

Maynard warned novices not to become overwhelmed by the amount of entries or exhibits open to the public, but to choose something they will enjoy growing. It is not a contest in how many things you can grow, but in what things grow best, she said.

“If all you’ve got is green beans and radishes, that’s what you should enter,” Maynard said.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.