Potatoes - select medium sized spuds with a clean skin. Wash them carefully using a sponge, not a brush

Onions - don’t over skin and look for a thin mature neck.

Leeks - when cleaning try not to let the water run between the leaves, try not to have a bulb at the base and don’t over strip them. Lay them flat on the table with the clean roots at the front.

Beetroots - take care when washing as marks will show up later, small side roots may be removed.

Carrots - if you soak the ground before lifting it will reduce damage to the root. Try not to have discolouring around the top.

Beans - keep a bit of stalk on and bring a couple of spares. Try to get them all the same size and length with no seed showing through the skin.

Tomatoes - show with the stalk end upwards.

Shallots - neatly tied and best shown on a plate of sand or something similar.

Fruit - don’t polish it

Preserves - label with the preserve name and full date when made. Chutney must have a coated twist top lid with a rubber seal.

Macro Photography - defined as photography of a small object where the size of the subject on the image is life size or greater.

Roses - wondering what a hybrid tea rose is? They grow as a large-flowered bush. They differ from floribunda in that their blooms are larger and fewer in number. The blooms tend to be a classic rose shape and they usually flower more than once in the same season. Floribunda roses flower in large clusters.

After staging your exhibits check that your entry is as per the schedule ie. mixed annuals 3 or more varieties. Always bring a few spare just in case something was damaged on the way to the show.

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