Sowing Dates Used By Showmen

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Sowing Dates Used By Showmen

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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Sowing Dates from the top Showmen - 03/01/2002

Sowing Dates Used by Exhibitors - 10/01/2002

Greenhouses full in October with Leeks, Onions and Geranium cuttings - 17/01/2002

Polytunnel - Soil Analysis - 24/01/2002

This article was originally published on 20th December 2001

This is my fourth article on the sowing dates that top showmen use in different parts of the country for a given show date. The dates selected were to coincide with two major shows in the country that these growers have competed in. The first date was the 26^th August 2002 which is the timing for the Welsh Branch championships at Margam Park South Wales. The second sowing date is the 29^th September, this being the sowing date for the National Vegetable Society Championships which are held next year as part of the Malvern Autumn Show.

The growers chosen were selected because they grow an extensive range of vegetables as well as living at different locations throughout the Country. We have already had the sowing dates from John Branham who lives in Aylesbury, Jim Kirkness who lives on the Scottish Borders and Bob Herbert who lives in Derbyshire. This week we are back again in Scotland with Jim Williams who lives in Pathhead Midlothian on the Eastern side of Scotland.

Midlothian doesn’t have too high a rainfall like most other areas of Scotland and consequently they don’t suffer with too much snow either. However they do have to put up with some quite low temperatures which means that any early growing has to be started off under glass or covers. Jim is a trained biologist and is currently working on Animal diseases. He must have received some of his love of gardening from his father who was a trained nurseryman. Though Jim looked after his garden and kept it neat and tidy after he got married, it was during the seventies that he really got the showing bug. A friend took him along to one of the local shows and he soon had his first card, a third with stump carrots, a cultivar that Jim still does very well with.

He is very well known throughout Scotland being their NVS National Chairman and has been their Newsletter Editor for the past 13 years which shows the level of his commitment to the Society. Jim has traveled extensively all over the UK, in particular wherever the National Championships are held. Jim has won at the highest level at both the National and Branch level and is always willing to help his local shows by entering his quality produce in many of their classes.

Here are Jims’ 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	Pablo	Mid April	10^th may
Long Beet	Own Selection Regar	15^th April	Only One sowing
Broad Bean	Own selected seed	15^th April	Mid may	Cordon Grown like show peas to get maximum length of pod
Green Cabbage	Charmant and Regal	15^th April	Mid May
Red Cabbage	Cicero	22^nd January	One sowing only
Runner Bean	Stenner selection	Mid May	One sowing only	Sow in 4 inch pots in greenhouse
French Bean	Raw Selection	31^st May	Only does one sowing	Sow in 4 inch pots in greenhouse
Carrots Long	Own Selection New Red G Watson	3^rd April	One sowing only
Carrots Stump	Gringo and Yukon	9^th April	One sowing only
Cauliflower	Virgin and Beauty	5^th May	9^th June
Trench Celery	Ideal Evening Star Red Star Morning Star (new hybrids)	18^th February Sow all hybrids later such as Mid March	Mid March Early April
Cucumber	Petita	Mid May		Greenhouse grown
Lettuce Butterhead	Dolly	Mid April, in succession from that date
Table Marrow	Long Green Bush	Early May		Sow in warm greenhouse
Onions over 250 gram	Re selected Kelsae (Mel Ednie selection)	20^th December	one sowing	Lifting date very important i.e. 4 weeks before show date
Onions under 250 gram	Toughball	Mid January	One sowing
Parsnips	Gladiator and Dagger	11^th March	One sowing only
Peas	Own Selection Show Perfection	10^th May	10^th June	later date gives little chance of success because of mildew
Potatoes	Winston Kestrel Harmony	2^nd May	One sowing only	Make sure that the seed potatoes are well chitted prior to planting
Radish	French Breakfast	Mid April Onwards in Succession
Tomatoes	Solution	7^th March	One sowing only
Turnips	Snowball	Mid May	1^st June

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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Growing and Showing Vegetables with Medwyn Williams over the years

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