Medwyn Williams says there’s still time to sow for showing
If you want to have a go at showing, there’s still time to sow some seed
Some of the nicest and often simplest vegetables to grow and show are those that are quick to harvest. A number of these vegetables fall into what I call my 10-week window, in other words they’re usually ready to harvest from 10 weeks after sowing the seed. Naturally nature often takes part in these proceedings, so it’s always wise to have a couple of sowings either side of this date.
The vegetables that work for me and fall into this category are turnips, kohlrabi, French beans and pak choi, with the red hybrid ‘Red Lady’ being a very striking variety indeed and would look tremendous on the show bench.
Turnips, when grown well, are very pretty with a range of colours, from pure white to lilac to red, and the latest new variety which is bright yellow. My favourite is ‘Sweetbell’, an F1 hybrid variety with a lovely pale lilac splash around the shoulder. I normally start my turnips in the polytunnel using 60 cells and thinning them out to leave one seedling in each cell. When they’re well-rooted I pot them into 2 litre pots and last year I had some fantastic clean, blemish and pest-free roots to stage on my display.
I grow French beans ‘Hawkesbury Wonder’, which I sow in 12 cells that fit in to a half-size seed tray. I make sure the seed is pushed into the compost vertically, with the small raised mark at the end of the scar pointing downwards. This will mean that when germination occurs all the plants will emerge together. When they’re a couple of inches tall I pot them into 2 litre pots using Humax Multi-purpose Compost and from there to a 5 litre pot.
Why not follow me on Twitter throughout the season as I grow vegetables for my display at Malvern – @medwynsofangles.