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Sowing Dates Used by Exhibitors

by Medwyn Williams, MBE FNVS National Chairman of the NVS

Medwyn Williams at Chelsea Flower Show

Medwyn Williams MBE FNVS
National Chairman of the NVS

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This article was originally published on 10th January 2002

This is my sixth and final article on the different sowing dates used by 6 top exhibitors from different regions of the Country. So far the response that I have had to the articles has been very positive and encouraging for me and to the growers who helped me put it all together. One word of caution however; after many years of growing vegetables under all sorts of weather conditions, sowing dates is certainly not an exact science as it is so dependent on seasonal factors.

The dates given in each article by my colleagues are the dates that they use and I know for a fact that they would be the first to admit that sometimes even they get it wrong. One of the two worst vegetables for timing are Cauliflowers and Celery, they are a single specimen vegetable and therefore if they are not ready for a given date or were ready a few weeks prior to that date, then there isn’t a lot you can do about it. Multiple cropping vegetables such as peas beans and tomatoes are a lot easier as you can still get specimens higher up the plant a few weeks later than you had timed for.

Another question that I have been asked since these articles were published is what date to use if they do not live near to any of the growers dates. Well you may find it useful for instance if you live somewhere between Bob Herbert from Derby and John Branham from Aylesbury to split the sowing dates; For instance Bob puts in his first sowing of Gringo short carrots on the 8^th April whilst John would sow them on the 20^th April. If you therefore live somewhere between these two areas then why not sow your first batch on the 14^th which is half way between the 8^th and the 20^th, you wouldn’t be that far away come show day.

My last sowing dates were given by Charles Maisey from South Wales who is well known throughout the country for some exceptionally fine specimens of vegetables. Over many years Charles has performed at the highest level and has excelled with Runner Beans, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Potatoes and Peas. Charles is quite a scholar at the exhibiting game, if you notice he never grows onions or leeks or shallots because he realised many years ago that he couldn’t grow them to the standard that he would like so he dropped them. Instead he concentrated on those vegetables listed above that he did grow particularly well.

There is certainly a lesson here for many up and coming exhibitors who want to make their name at the highest level, concentrate on the vegetables you know you can grow well and make your name with them. To assist Charles with sowing dates for those items that he no longer grows he asked Jim Thompson to assist him, Jim is a National exhibitor who lives only a few miles away from him.

Charles is a National Judge and Chairman of the Glamorgan District Association of the National Vegetable Society and his vegetable plot is certainly a joy to see. Charles practices what I have repeatedly said, a mixed vegetable garden at it’s peak is a work of art and more beautiful than any floral garden.

Here are Charles’ varieties and their sowing dates for those on the list that he grows:-

Kind	Cultivar	1^ST Show Date 26/08	2^nd Show Date 29/09	Comments
Globe Beet	Red Ace	6^th May	9^th June	Cover shoulders with soil to prevent rough skins
Long Beet	Cheltenham green Top	15^th April	One sowing	Never allow them to dry out and feed with Maxicrop
Broad Bean	Own sel Exhibition long pod	29^th April	3^rd June	Seed given by a good grower many years ago
Green Cabbage	Globemaster	8^th April	12^th May	Matures quicker if weather turns hot
Red Cabbage	Autoro	1^st April	5^th May	Feed with liquid sheep manure for nice solid heads
Runner Bean	Stenner Selection	14^th May	17^th June	On no account must Runner Beans go without water, give plenty of liquid sheep manure
French Bean	Re selected Prince	Outside 3^rd June Under cover 17^th June	Outside 7^th July Under cover 21^st July	Dwarf Beans are best grown under cover in pots to prevent wind damage
Carrots Long	New Red Intermediate Re selected	20^th March	1^st April	grown in bore holes in barrels of sand. Cover from rain from the 1^st week in July to avoid splitting
Carrots Stump	Gringo	8^th April	21^st April	Bore all holes the same depth
Cauliflower	Beauty Virgin Liberty	from the 7^th May	Three successional sowings every ten days.	Very dependent on weather conditions
Trench Celery	Evening Star Red Star (new hybrids)	1^st February	21^st February	Greenhouse sown and potted up into 4 litre pots
Cucumber	Carmen	20^th March	10^th April	Greenhouse grown
Lettuce Butterhead	Robinson	20^th May	30^th June	Slightly longer time to develop a solid head later in the season
Table Marrow	Table Dainty	27^th May	30^th June	Place developing fruit on a sheet of glass on two bricks to avoid yellowing underneath the fruit
Onions over 250 gram	Kelsae (Derek Raw selection)	1^st week in December	.	Greenhouse sown do not rush the ripening
Onions under 250 gram	Bison	14^th January	one sowing	give the bulbs plenty of air when ripening
Parsnips	Gladiator	19^th February	1st March	Keep rain off from July
Peas	Show Perfection	20^th May	24^th June	Almost impossible to keep clear of mildew in the Wales area after August
Potatoes	Winston Kestrel	30^th April	7^th May	Potatoes are removed when at the correct size from the compost and placed in containers in the same medium as they were grown in, remove the haulms 10 days before lifting
Radish	Sparkler	29^th July	1^st September	.
Tomatoes	Goldstar	18^th March	20^th April	Good tomato plants can be grown from rooted side shoots from earlier crops. Won in Harrogate 2001 from cuttings taken from tomatoes sown on the 1^st February
Turnips	Snowball	16^th June	20^th July	keep moist at all times, if allowed to dry out will get woody and of no use for showing

I trust that the six articles have been of use to all of you who might consider exhibiting at either the Welsh Championships on the 26^th of August and/or the National Vegetable Society Championships which are held at Malvern on the 29^th September.

My whole hearted thanks must go to the six contributors as without their willing assistance the job could never have been completed; Also my thanks once more to Harry Atkinson who first planted the idea in my mind.

Medwyn

Next >> After the Vegetable Shows, Clearing up the Gardens from 07/11/2002

Previous >> Growing Shallots to a High Standard from 05/01/2000

This article originally appeared on Medwyn's of Anglesey the web site of Medwyn Williams which includes an online shop where you can buy his vegetable seeds, books and sundries.

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