Garden Column for the Salisbury Post

Carole Massey-Master Gardener Volunteer

August 25, 2004                         

 

            Are you ready for some homegrown competition? Are you anxious to see how all of the rain affected the size of the largest pumpkins and watermelons this year? Will there be more cut flower specimens, more hanging baskets, more roses? Are the tomatoes still producing, will there be enough okra, green beans or grapes for an entry?

            The Rowan County Fair will once again, in its 53^rd year, display the bounty grown by backyard gardeners, avid horticulturists, farmers, old timers and urban newcomers, young and older alike September 21-26 at the Rowan County Fairgrounds on Julian Road.

            Is it possible that fall and the Fair are already here! Only last week it seems, we were looking at those seed and plant catalogs. If you have never thought about entering anything in the Fair, perhaps you will want to review the fair catalog, which will be distributed in the Salisbury Post on Sunday, August 29. Additional copies are available downtown at the Post and also at the Cooperative Extension office on Old Concord Road.

            The Horticulture Departments provide categories for almost every fruit and vegetable suitable for growing in Rowan County. Have something truly unique? If there isn’t a specific category for your outstanding specimen, do not worry. There are categories for most unusual fruit and most unusual vegetable and any other vegetable. That should cover them all! There is a separate Division for Junior Horticulture, which offers youth (under 20 years of age) the opportunity to challenge the adults for bragging rights. The Divisions are not in competition with each other, but if Junior’s eggplant places above Mom’s, well, we’ll know who has the greenest thumb.

            Another Horticulture area, and my personal favorite, is Department D: Flowers. Categories offered are: Potted Plants, Cut Flowers, Hanging Baskets and Flower Arrangements. The single specimen display is artfully arranged on a gingham-clad shelf. The floral arrangements are grouped by category, and are as varying as the individual interpretation of the category. Sunflowers, woven baskets, marigolds, miniatures, all a color wheel artfully arranged for the judges. The hanging baskets, begonias, ferns, geranium, wandering Jew, and the “any other”category hang above dish gardens and floral centerpieces and African violets.

            Junior Horticulturists can also enter the Flowers: Junior Division, which has the same categories as the adults. In years’ past, Juniors have excelled with arrangements and single specimen entries.

            If your gardens have been productive this growing season, and you have canned, preserved, jelled or pickled your bounty, you might be able to win a blue ribbon in Food Preservation, Department F. The beautiful, jewel-toned jars with their luscious contents ( pear preserves, chow-chow, salsa, bread and butter pickles, grape jelly) await the judges’ taste test. There is also a Junior Department for Food Preservation, with specific categories including fruits, vegetables, jams, jellies and any other.

            The Rowan County Fair begins Monday, September 20^th. The fair premium catalog is available at the Salisbury Post and the Rowan County Cooperative Extension Office on Old Concord Road. You must pre-enter all Departments. Entry forms are included in the premium catalog and must be submitted to the Extension office no later than Wednesday, September 15.

Read through the official program. Look and see what the Agricultural community has to offer. Come to the Fair and enjoy Farm Fresh Fun.

 

Carole Massey is a Master For archived garden columns or other information, visit the Rowan County Master Gardener web site at www.rowanmastergardener.com , e-mail Darrell_Blackwelder@ncsu.edu