HINTS FOR SHOWING VEGETABLES AND FRUIT BASED ON RHS GUIDELINES
General
Uniformity and quality are more important than size.
Root Vegetables
Soak soil if necessary to avoid damaging roots when lifting.
Fruit
Must not be polished. Avid blemishes, over-ripe and under-ripe fruit. Do not disturb the bloom. Stalks should be left intact and face the back of the table. Aim for neat symmetrical presentation.
Apples
Stage with the eye uppermost and stalk downwards, with one fruit in the centre and the rest round it. The centre fruit may be raised by placing it on a pad of white tissue.
Beans
Select pods of uniform size and colour; long, slender and straight. Seeds must not be prominent. Exhibit on a plate with tails to one end.
Beetroot
For round varieties, tennis ball size is ideal. Avoid tough, mis-shapen or multi-rooted specimens.
Blackberries
Place in lines for easy counting. Green stalks and calyces all pointing one way.
Carrots
Avoid pale specimens or those that have turned green at the top.
Courgettes
Young specimens 100-200mm long, with or without flowers.
Cucumber
Aim for fresh green colour with flowers still intact, well shaped barrel with a short handle.
Marrows
Should be wiped clean of soil and placed directly on theshow bench.
Onions
Avoid soft, stained specimens with thick immature necks. Avoid over-skinning. Trim roots neatly back to basal plate.
Pears
Arrange around perimeter of plate with stalks facing the centre.
Potatoes
Ideal size 170-225g with shallow eyes and free from skin blemishes. Wash with soft sponge and stage on plates with the rose end outwards. Potatoes which have any colour on them, e.g. pink eyes, are not white potatoes.
Shallots
Stage separate bulbs, dried and free from staining and loose skins. Stage on dried sand, ideally of a contrast colour and piled on the plate to raise the centre.
Tomatoes
Aim for a firm fruit with firm, fresh calyces. Must not be over-ripe or have hard green back colouring round the calyx. Stage on a plate with calyx uppermost.