Allotment Growing

Allotment & Vegetable Gardening

Articles About Growing & Showing Vegetables from Medwyn Williams MBE FNVS Chairman of the National Vegetable Society

These articles were originally published in 1999

Ten-times Chelsea gold medal winner Medwyn Williams is an expert vegetable grower with decades of experience. He has kindly allowed the National Vegetable Society to re-publish them.

The individual article links will open a new window with the article on the NVS web site.

• Vegetable Growing and Showing 1996
• Vegetable Growing and Showing 1997
• Vegetable Growing and Showing 1998
• Vegetable Growing and Showing 1999
• Vegetable Growing and Showing 2000
• Vegetable Growing and Showing 2001
• Vegetable Growing and Showing 2002
• Vegetable Growing and Showing 2003
• Vegetable Growing and Showing 2004
• Vegetable Growing and Showing 2005

Making the most use of the heated aluminium greenhouses from 13th January

If you are heating your greenhouse using an electric fan heater, do spare a moment to check the wiring and the plugs, particularly after a night of hard frost or snow. These heaters work overtime when the temperatures are consistently low and you will be surprised how hot the actual three pin plug gets if you put you hand on it. If the plug has been on your heater for a few years it's a good idea to replace it with a new one making sure that the wiring are really screwed down tight in the pins.

Exhibition Parsnips from 20th January

One job however that has to be done now is the preparation work in readiness for sowing parsnips, which are always the first vegetable seed to be sown directly outdoors. If you intend to have a serious attempt at winning with parsnips then you really have to start now, the first decision you have to make is how are you going to grow them.

Growing Celery in Raised Beds from 27th January

One vegetable that performed well for most growers last year was celery, the dismal damp, even wet Summer seemed to be to it's liking and there was a lot less talk of heart rot around. My celery grew in two newly constructed raised beds last year and this proved to be a slight problem as the concrete blocks forming the beds weren't completed until late March. This meant that the soil composition wasn’t quite what it should have been even though plenty of well rotted horse manure was worked into the top spit.

High Quality Potatoes from 3rd February

If you want to have a go at some very early shows or even just to make your next door neighbour green with envy, it's not particularly difficult to get a good crop of high quality potatoes towards the end of May. The secret is to get them chitting as early as possible so that you have shoots already emerging from each potato in order that they may be planted towards the end of January.

Growing Quality Exhibition Celery and Onions from 10th February

The variety that I shall sow will be my reselection seed of Ideal which has undoubtedly proven itself on the show benches for more years than I can remember. Another two sowings will be made of the two F1 crosses that I have had bred for on trial. For those of you that have been giving your large exhibition onions artificial lights for a twenty four hour period, it is now time to reduce the light period down to 16 hours. The onions in particular at this time of year, when they are on anything over three leaves per plant have a tendency to flop about on the bench and this can eventually be the start of misshapen onions later on in the season.

Parsnips and Tomatoes from 17th February

My four beds for growing Parsnips were completely emptied out towards the end of October last year and a far more thorough job was carried out on them having seen the way that Jack Arrowsmith from Brecon grew his astounding specimens last year. It will soon be time to sow your tomatoes, particularly if you want to have a go at the mid August shows and without a doubt the variety that was winning everywhere up to a few years ago was Goldstar.

Up-date on the Shallots + Blanch Leeks from 24th February

Can you remember the shallots that I had planted during early October last year after a conversation with a fellow exhibitor at the Shepton Mallet Show? The twenty bulbs that I planted for trial were growing at the side of my furthest polytunnel which is the same spot exactly that I grew them in last year. The constant rain that we have experienced ever since has killed off any chance of some top quality specimens from them. I have two varieties of blanch leek growing well in their four inch pots, I intend to plant 15 of the Peter Clark variety and 40 of the improved Welsh seedling leek from my own stock in four beds that grew my exhibition onions last year.

Artificial Lighting, Soil Warming Cable and Watering System from 3rd March

The artificial lights that the onions have been growing under for sixteen hours every day, right from the day they popped their heads through the compost, will now be reduced to 12 hours until planting out time. Last year they were planted on the 27th of March straight from my greenhouse into the polytunnel soil. I must however make it quite clear that I was only able to do this because the soil had already been warmed up using a soil warming cable.

Success with Tomatoes from 10th March

I haven't had much success over the past few years with tomatoes, and I must admit that it's probably becasue I haven’t been giving them the same attention than I used to years ago when I staged some winning exhibits. The attention to detail with tomatoes is just as important as it is with all the other show vegetables and will amply reward you in the end with some super specimens.

F1 Hybrid Exhibition Onions from 17th March

Most of the onions that I intend to grow are from seed that were sown a week before Christmas and are from the single onion that Mel Ednie kindly gave me a few years ago. The remainder, a dozen or so, will be plants that were sown from what is probably the first F1 hybrid exhibition onion seed developed by one of Europe's top onion hybridizer. This is a cross between Ailsa Craig and Balstora and in field trials, where the onions were simply sown directly and thinned to a few inches between each plant, the bulbs grew to over a pound in weight.

Sowing Exhibition Long Carrots from 24th March

Unlike many other exhibition vegetables such as leeks, celery and onions where there is the constant work of potting them on; with the carrots and parsnip roots, once the holes are bored, filled and sowed, then after thinning down to one seedling, there is comparatively little to do.

Produce for Chelsea from 31st March

It's all too easy to take everything for granted now that I have won three gold medals on the run and I was very abruptly reminded of this when for some reason my long carrots started giving me problems a few weeks ago. The Leeks have been very slow to put on weight, mainly because of the very dull days we have had. The large exhibition onions are, however, surpassing my expectation, as are the short carrots.

Exhibition Celery, Onions and Tomatoes from 7th April

My first sowing of celery is now ready for moving on into their final pots which are 5" square plastic and these have served me well over the years. The onions for the under 8 ounces class are now in 3" pots and are nearly ready to be potted on into 5" pots and from there into their final pots of 7". Your tomato plants should be really growing away now with the longer day length making a noticeable difference.

Artificial Lighting and Photosynthesis from 14th April

Why do plants therefore respond to this added light source that makes them grow at a much faster rate than they would normally? The answer of course is quite complex as the whole subject of lights and plant growth is an intricate one but I do want to try and explain that adequate lighting is important if you are not only to achieve better growth and end results, but also not to waste money on what might be a totally inadequate system.

The Onion Beds from 21st April

Soil samples from the Onion Beds had been sent away for analysis earlier on and the readings on their return showed that the soil was well balanced and needed only two ounces of Nitrogen and one ounce of Sulphate of Potash per square metre to bring them up to their optimum nutrient levels. I did however add one extra item and that was 2 ounces of calcified seaweed as a soil conditioner. Once the fertiliser had been worked into the top spit with my Mantis tiller, the soil warming cables were sunk down about nine inches below the surface of the soil and three lengths run along each bed.

Winston and Kestrel Show Potatoes from 28th April

The potatoes have chitted well this year and as I am concentrating my efforts on only two banker varieties I should have a large selection to chose from. The varieties are Winston and Kestrel, both well proven on the show bench and both are varieties that have silky skins that clean up well.

Germinating Parsnips from 5th May

I worry more about the seed of parsnips germinating than any other vegetable seed; they can be so erratic, and if they decide not to germinate, then by that time you will have lost valuable sowing dates. I have spoken to many growers over the past few weeks and without exception, they were all saying that parsnips have taken anything between 5 and 7 weeks to germinate this year.

Leeks and Cauliflowers from 12th May

Leeks - They were planted in three beds, 16 in each one comprising of 38 of the Ivor Maces Welsh seedling and 10 of the Peter Clark variety. They were very strong plants this year and were potted on into 4 litre deep rose pots. They measured nearly an inch across when planted with 9 inch plastic damp course collars around them. Cauliflowers - The varieties that I shall broadcast sow on some Levington Multi purpose compost will be Lindon and Plana as well as the three new varieties from my current seed catalogue.

Vegetables for the August and September Shows from 19th May

This week will probably be one of the busiest periods of the gardening year for me as it is the week leading up to Chelsea when all the vegetables have to be pulled, washed and boxed up. Additionally I have to pay some attention to the other vegetables that are going to be required for the August and September shows. Last year I delayed the planting of the Ideal celery until after the Chelsea show which means that it was June before they were planted and were too root bound to really grow away until later on in the year.

Short Carrots - Germination, Varieties and Pests from 26th May

During late April and early May I was able to complete all my sowings of short carrots in five raised beds. Germination was very quick indeed with the seeds all through just after the middle of May and they will, over the next few weeks, be thinned down gradually to leave just the one seedling in each bore hole.

"Show Perfection" Peas from 2nd June

"Show Perfection" is undoubtedly a high quality pea but it does tend to grow far better when it is timed for showing between July and late August. From the end of August onwards, the peas are prone to what a lot of growers around my area call "the white blanket" which means that the foliage and pods are covered in Powdery Mildew that sets in very quickly when the conditions are right.

Polytunnels for Welsh Seedling Leeks from 9th June

There's no doubt that the introduction of the Welsh Seedling Leek by Ivor Mace a few years ago was a definite boon for all exhibitors, as it is such a vigorous grower. Nearly every exhibitor can grow it to a large size, regardless of whether it is grown under cover or directly outside. However it has one drawback that becomes apparent from now on as the summer temperatures rise. The foliage puckers up or forms bubbles on the upper surface.

ABC of Vegetables - Part 1 from 19th June

I have had numerous phone calls over the years from people who want to know which varieties are best to sow for both kitchen use and for the show bench and I have, therefore, put together the ABC of vegetable selection together with sowing dates and the appropriate pointing system that is used by judges(both the RHS points and the NVS will be shown).

ABC of Vegetables - Part 3 from 30th June

This is the third in my series on the ABC of vegetables showing which varieties are best for both kitchen and for exhibition. It also gives sowing dates that I would use here in Anglesey as well as points values for each vegetable as laid down in both the RHS Horticultural Show Handbook and the new NVS judges guide.

ABC of Vegetables - Part 4 from 7th July

This is the fourth and final part in my series on the ABC of vegetables showing which varieties are best for both kitchen and exhibition. It also gives sowing dates that I would use here in Anglesey as well as points values for each vegetable as laid down in both the RHS Horticultural Show Handbook and the new NVS judges guide.

Not according to Plan! from 14th July

This is the time of year when all the best laid out plans can sometimes go completely astray with no real indication either of what has gone wrong. My problems started during the middle of June when three of my leeks went to seed, I haven't really got a clue why this should have happened. The long carrots this year have been a mixture of good and bad. One bed of 52 long varieties of my own selected seed are probably the best that I have ever grown, the next bed to them were sown about a week later with disastrous results.

Coming to the End of the Growing Season from 21st July

The small onions for the under eight ounces class have now all been harvested and are currently sitting on fine saw dust in a wooden box. A number of the large onions have also been harvested at around the twenty two inch circumference.

Long Carrots and Leeks from 28th July

Carrots - One job that I do at about this time of year is to check each individual carrot to make sure that there is only one central growth coming from the centre of the carrot. If there is evidence of any side shoots developing, clear around the shoulder of each carrot very carefully, making sure that you do not scratch the tender skin at all, and remove the side shoot by pressing it up towards the centre. Leeks - Keeping the leeks ticking over now with no sudden jolt in their nutritional needs is the order of the day. Keep the beds uniformly moist so that the leek can access the water as and when it needs it.

New Method for Growing Potatoes from 4th August

My potatoes look to be about the best that I have ever grown and far superior to last year when the growth was very inconsistent. The method I used this year was to effectively still contain them and prevent them from getting into contact with the soil but the potato rows were opened up a spit deep and slightly wider than the width of a spade. Commercial potato fertiliser and some slug pellets were then scattered on top of the soil and the whole trench was then covered over with 4 foot wide, thin black perforated polythene.

Staging Your Produce at Flower Shows from 11th August

Staging your produce at flower shows to be meticulously scrutinised by the judges is the only real way for any grower to know how good his stuff is. If you are a relatively new exhibitor, then it doesn't even matter if you don’t win the red card at your show as you will be more than satisfied to have staged an exhibit that was truly your very best.

Overcoming Botrytis in Tomatoes from 18th August

The new wooden tomato box that I had constructed earlier on this year has worked a treat. However things went dramatically amiss from around early July as they succumbed to the dreaded botrytis disease. This particular strain of Botrytis first shows itself as a brown patch on the leaf and if left untouched will progress right through that leaf into the stalk area and eventually it will work it's way into the main stem itself rendering the plant useless, the dying leaf will have a crinkly appearance similar to Autumn leaves.

Welsh Branch Championships of the NVS 1999 from 25th August

There is no doubt that over the past few years this show has become one of the main events in the keen vegetable exhibitors' diary. There are 21 competitive classes forming the Welsh Championships, with the addition of a further three classes for the novice grower. In addition the Welsh branch are also custodians of four major National Championships, ie the Welsh Open Onion Championship for a dish of five onions over 250grms, the National Leek Championship of Great Britain for a dish of three blanch leeks, the National Potato Championship of Great Britain for five dishes of four potatoes( five different varieties, at least two dishes must be coloured) and, finally, the National Tap Root Championship of Great Britain consisting of two parsnips, two beetroot long, two carrots long and two carrots other than long with a definite stump end.

Staging Vegetables on the Show Bench - Peas from 1st September

Peas are a good example of a vegetable that’s easily destroyed by careless handling and poor packaging; they should be cut off the bine on the morning of the show if at all possible while the plant is still fully charged up with moisture.

Cauliflowers and Beetroot from 8th September

Cauliflowers are an extremely difficult vegetable to grow to perfection for a given show day and you need to have a few staggered sowings if you are to have some element of success. Round beetroot are relatively easy to grow but you can improve your chances of winning in what can often be the most contested class in a show by making sure that the interior colour of the beet is good with no visible white rings.

Keeping Vegetables Fresh for the Show Bench - Celery from 15th September

It's worth remembering though that unlike pot plants, once you pull a vegetable from the soil, it’s effectively dead and all you can do is to try and keep it as fresh as possible from that point on. Of all the vegetables I really do think that celery should be one of the last to be cut, as it retains so much moisture it can very quickly loose it’s crisp condition that is so essential on the show bench.

Buffalo, Bison and Toughball Onions from 22nd September

I first introduced the Buffalo onion on to the show scene when the National Vegetable Society Championships were held at Swansea many years ago and it is still winning at the highest level. Today however we have some newer varieties that seem to be superior in shape and keeping qualities. Toughball is one recent introduction that has a globe shape coupled with a lovely brown colour. Another, even newer introduction, is Bison which is much more uniform in shape than Toughball, fully globular with light brown skin colour and deep prominent veining that makes it stand out on the show bench.

Clearing up the Vegetable Plot + Cauliflowers and Parsnips from 29th September

It's that time of year once again when most of the vegetable flower shows are over and we must make the maximum use of any good weather to clear up the vegetable plot. The cauliflowers in the onion bed are now all finished and the next task is to completely clear it out. The plants are all removed together with the black and white polythene, the seeping hoses washed and rolled up to be kept until next year and the heating cables in the soil also carefully removed to be utilised again during February next year.

Outstanding Vegetables + Parsnip and Celery Beds from 6th October

It's not often these days that we see something exceptionally good, either on the show bench or growing in the garden. Mel Ednie's bed of heaviest onions at the Dundee show about four years ago was such a sight. The other outstanding vegetables for me were Jack Arrowsmith's parsnips at the Welsh Championships last year.

Preparation & Planning for Next Season from 14th October

Most of the preparatory work obviously gets done outside but there is valuable work to be done indoors as well. One task that I like to carry out is to set out my next years activities on a planner so that I know exactly where and when the relevant shows are held.

Cleaning the Greenhouses from 21st October

The main job now is to remove everything from both greenhouses and give them a real clean out as I shall soon be requiring them for leek bulbil propagation and, before we know it, onion sowing time will be upon us. It is vital to thoroughly clean prior to this to prevent pests and diseases from taking hold.

Onion and Leek Beds - Adding Fresh Seaweed from 28th October

This year I intend to revert to my old system that I used when I won the best exhibit in show with my Blanch Leeks at the National Vegetable Society Championships at Southport. That year the beds were just slightly raised above ground level with some old planks and the leeks were grown out in the open with no protection overhead. They did however have a metre high green mesh all round to prevent any wind damage on the foliage. The beds were given a thick layer, about 6inches deep, of fresh seaweed.

Potting Sheds - Fertilisers and Additives from 4th November

There is nothing worse than going to your shed next spring to get some fertiliser, only to find that you haven't enough for the task at hand. Personally I use quite a lot of some types and less of others so I buy them all in fairly large quantities and I find some will last me for a few years provided they are stored in a dry environment.

New Potato Seed from 18th November

Every two years or so, I buy in new potato seed just to make sure that the potatoes I grow remain virus free and true to type. As soon as the new varieties arrive, I dip them in a weak solution of Armillatox just to make sure that there are no bugs lurking around.

Growing Blanch Leeks from 2nd December

When growing blanch leeks, it's vitally important when they are potted up into their first pots that they are given some form of support to keep them upright. Keeping the plants upright from a young age means that you are less likely to end up with bent leeks at showing time.

Vegetable Exhibitors Weekend from 9th December

The Vegetable Exhibitors weekend seemed to be very well received by all who attended and the knowledge that was imparted during it was second to none. The speaker on Saturday afternoon was Robert Foster from Mansfield who gave an excellent talk on the health and safety aspects of gardening as well as some first class first aid hints.

Growing Show Vegetables - Large Exhibition Onions from 16th December

Without a doubt it takes a great deal of skill to grow onions to the extremely high standard of Derek Raw and to grow a heavy onion such as the World Record breaker from Mel Ednie but it also takes one other thing, and that's dedication. You must have that 'need to win' feel in you that makes you go to the greenhouse many times during the day just to have a look at the plants in progress.

National Kelsae Onion Festival from 23rd December

Continuing the story of Kelsae onions and the world of large onions

Vegetables for Home and Exhibition from 30th December

For me personally, one man that I never had the honour to meet him, had a profound effect on the way I grow vegetables for exhibition as well as the way I stage them. Edwin Becket was undoubtedly a man before his time, the tremendous displays of vegetables that he used to stage during the earlypart of this century were phenomenal and his book 'Vegetables For Home And Exhibition' to me is priceless.