Feature Article - for release the week of March 15, 2009

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent

The Green is Red, White & Blue at Fair

 Tucked away in a corner of the Okeechobee County Fair entrance tent are several classes of exhibits.  They represent the hard work of a dedicated group of local residents that are showing off their talents in a number of creative areas.

 I’ve been honored to assist with the horticulture exhibits at the Fair.  While the number of exhibits has not yet started to “grow”, I can assure you that the quality has improved over the past three years.  Holly Mixon and I were honored to serve as judges for both the ornamental horticulture exhibits and the vegetable entries at this year’s fair.

Today’s column will announce these winners, and if you haven’t been to the fair yet, please go, as some of these items will be removed when they are too faded to show off. 

Horticulture Classes

CACTI AND SUCCULENTS -   First place in this youth division went to Andrew King for his Jade Plant cutting.  Top adult exhibitor was Mary Hench for her cactus dish garden, while second place was earned by   Janice Trent for her Christmas Cactus.  Mrs. Hench also entered a succulent dish garden, but since this is a second entry in the same division, the judges could only offer her a participation award.  Next year, we hope to see this division separated into two separate categories.  

FLOWERING PLANT award winner in the adult division was Janice Trent for her white begonia.  In the FERN category, she also earned top honors for her Asparagus Fern.

ORCHIDS growers are defiantly beginning to show their stuff.  Adult Division winner was Barbara Hench for her monopodial Phalaenopsis “Elizabeth Hayden”.  Second place orchid was submitted by David Hench for his hybrid cane Dendrobium ‘Rung roj red’ x Lady Pink).  And keeping it all in the family was the 3rd place adult orchid winner Mary Hench, who submitted a terrestrial orchid, Epidendrum radicans. 

The judges were presented with some additional youth entries that could not be placed in any other category, so we twisted the arms of the exhibit committee and added a new category, VEGETABLE TRANSPLANTS.  This allowed Chance Dean’s Collards plants to take a first place award.  He also entered an okra plant that was worthy of a participation award.

Vegetable Classes

The first class of vegetable exhibits is the garden basket, where exhibitors choose five different kinds of produce from their garden and arrange it into an attractive display for the Fair.  Youth exhibitor Joey Allen took top honors with some carrots, jalapeños, onions, potatoes, and white radishes from his garden. Adult Division winner in this contest was Jill Allen, who chose a delicious assortment of beets, carrot, Chard lettuce, lettuce, onion from her garden.  Sal Varri took second place with a basket of five different kinds of citrus found growing in his organic grove.

A second class competition was the produce plate, where three examples of the same product are entered.  Three youth entries battled it out for top honors this year.  Hanna Woods entered carrots, which took the blue ribbon.  Second place award went to Joey Allen for his white hot radishes, and third place youth exhibitor was Andrew King’s summer radishes.  Sal Varri entered a plate of absolutely gorgeous “red meat” radishes, and earned top honors in the adult division competition.

A third class is one of my favorites – The largest vegetable competition.  In this event, growers submit the largest kind of vegetable they have in their garden, and because a multiplier is applied to the ounces of the product, it is possible for smaller products to beat out the bigger produce.  And the winners stay on a list of the county’s biggest vegetables, which is updated each year. The list is available at this webpage (click here).

In the youth division, Joey Allen’s onion earned 28.8 pts (16 oz x 1.8) and earned blue ribbon status, and beat out his previous county onion record.   Coming in second with 1.36 pts was Andrew King for his radish (0.8 oz x 1.7).   The Adult competition had some big ones as well:  Janice Trent’s cabbage earned 30.2 pts (101 oz x 0.3), with Sal Varri’s golden beet garnering second place with 22.64 pts. (18.3 oz x 0.8).

The quality and creativity of these exhibits has improved over out first two years of the Fair, however, what is missing is YOUR entry.  I have heard many comments such as “mine is bigger,” or “I have a nicer one of those in my garden”, but unless you enter it, you will not win.  Contact our office if you need more advice on growing bigger vegetables or prettier ornamentals.

See Ya at the Fair!

Be sure to visit the fair – there are lots of fun things to see and do.  The Youth Livestock show ratchets up into full gear at for the end of this week, and will end with the traditional livestock sale of 4-H & FFA livestock on Saturday at 2pm. 

If you are hungry and want to help the Okeechobee Farm Bureau support their Young Farmers and Rancher’s program, why not buy an advance ticket from a 4-H’er or FFA member for $10.00.  It promises to be one of the best barbecues of the year, Saturday March 21^st, 1-5 pm at the Agri-Civic Center.

I’ve placed more information on our Okeechobee web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu.  If you need additional information on horticulture or the Fair, please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 3 PM on Tuesday afternoons.   Go Gators! 

 

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