horticulture

Every pumpkin has a story

Funhouse October 23 October 24

Cindy Perkins teaches exceptional students at Grady Brown Elementary in Hillsborough. Part of their classroom learning is tending to a student garden. The class of seven has grown corn, squash, tomatoes, mums and pumpkins. Since all of Perkins students function at different levels, they have different jobs in the garden. Like watering and pulling weeds, and get excited about seeing the garden grow. “The students enjoy the garden,” Perkins said. “They look forward to completing assignments so they can have garden time.” The class monitored and watched the pumpkins grown and finally chose two to be pulled from the garden….

Meet the Superintendent: Daniel Danford

Cliffhanger July 9 July 9

Every year at the State Fair, there are hundreds of different competitions to enter. Each category of competitions is managed by its own superintendent. This year, the Flower and Garden Show has a new superintendent in charge and his name is Daniel Danford. Daniel and his friend Ashlyn riding the Ferris wheel at the N.C. State Fair. In addition to the Flower Show, Daniel enjoys rides like roller coasters and the Ferris Wheel and the horticulture exhibits including the giant pumpkins and watermelons. Danford has been working at the flower and garden show for about eight years as an assistant…

Sweet (potato) success for Rhylee Pope

Funhouse October 20 October 20

Rhylee Pope of Clinton has a lot to brag about. The 11-year old placed first in the commercial sweet potato display competition, earned $180 and a blue ribbon for her perfect sweet potatoes. Rhylee’s sweet potatoes were chosen first from 18 other entries. The judges chose her display based on the cleanliness and neatness of her three bins of potatoes. North Carolina ranks first nationally in sweet potatoes. And they are our state vegetable. Rhylee’s were grown on Pope’s Farm in Sampson County. Picking potatoes to bring to the fair is not as easy as you might think. Once they are…

Market Display Competition allows families and commercial farms to get creative with their fruits and veggies

Funhouse October 19 October 19

Produce and creativity collide in the Market Display Competition in the Expo Center. Families and commercial farms compete in decorating small market stands that include a minimum of 12 different produce items. More than bragging rights are at stake; the winning entry claims $200 in prize money. This year’s winner was Lee’s Produce from Meadow. Ellen and Marshall Lee and their daughter, Shelly Johnson, included fresh fruits and veggies and a working hydroponic pump. The display includes a variety of “living” lettuce. The Lees have sold their produce at the State Farmers Market since 1991. The farm enters several horticulture…

Tips from the expert

Jane Deere July 30 July 26

“If you can grow it, you can show it at the N.C. State Fair.” This motto sums up the State Fair’s horticulture competition, although there are some very specific rules you must follow. April Blazich, N.C. State Fair horticulture superintendent, offers her expertise on how to start growing good vegetables now in hopes of bringing home a prize in October. Categories For first-time exhibitors, it’s important to consider which category to enter. The hot peppers category is a longtime popular choice for exhibitors because peppers are easy to grow in North Carolina. To compensate for the influx of entries, the…

Progress Photo: 2 days and counting

Bearded Lady October 11 October 11

A sweet potato larger than a person’s head, a watermelon weighing 282 pounds and the infamous Bhut Jolokia or Ghost Pepper are just some of the items that will be on display in the Expo Center during the 2011 N.C. State Fair. Today, growers from across the state braved the showers to bring in their entries in various horticulture competitions. Henderson County apple growers meticulously selected apples from dozens of cases to find the blue-ribbon worthy picks for their trays. These exhibits are some of the most fluid at the fair because they consist of natural products. For instance, today’s…

Behind the scenes with…Betty Shaw, entry department superintendent

Bearded Lady September 29 September 29

As of Tuesday afternoon, 18,506 online, mailed, faxed and hand-delivered applications had been received by the entry department and the number keeps growing. There is still time to enter the horticulture and Flower Show competitions (deadline is this Friday, Oct. 1), but other Fair contests stopped accepting entries last Friday. If you entered one of the contests, you may have talked with Betty Shaw, superintendent for the entry department. Since Friday, Betty and her staff have been working to verify applications and prepare entries for the Fair. We took a few minutes to talk with Betty and find out more about the behind-the-scenes work that goes into the competitions each year. Note: If …

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