- Author: Amy Breschini
What a great day at the Fair!
A very special thank you to Kevin and Karen Larkin and Joe and Jill Sabol for spending a warm afternoon with the Master Gardeners! Kevin and Karen are commercial growers (Corralitos Gardens) and donated dahlias to the Master Gardeners and the San Luis Obispo High School, coordinated through Joe Sabol. As many of you know, our local fair is an opportunity to promote horticulture and agriculture, reaching the largest number of people at one event!
You have to see this!!! Thank you to Gene Schroeder for creating a beautiful online photo album! (you may need to copy and paste this link into your address bar)
http://dgimages.smugmug.com/gallery/9018838_oJnek#599908530_JkteX
Notes from the judging:
First off, we need to go by the standards created by the American Dahlia Society! If they classify the flower as being 4 inches, we need to enter into the 4 inch class and not by the actual measurement! That was something new for Joe and Jill as well!
www.dahlia.org
The following photos are owned by Corralitos Gardens (Kevin and Karen Larkin). They have the most fabulous collection of dahlias on their website: www.cgdahlias.com
The key terms in classifying are a little tricky! Especially when it comes to the coloring of dahlias. Here's a little summary:
- Variegated: Distinct lines of random colors.
- Light Blends: Main color of petal is darker, fading to lighter on the tips and centers.
- Dark Blends: Main color of petal is lighter, fading to a darker color on the tips and centers
.
- Bicolor: Most notably the red and white flowers.
Stem Length: Above the first set of leaves, the stem length should be 2 to 2.5 times the width of the flower. - Stem Thickness: Should be fairly thin, but not too thin!(bowing or bending will knock off points with the judge!).
And Judging!
We won 13 ribbons
out of 23 entries!
Congratulations!
(photos are found here: http://dgimages.smugmug.com/gallery/9018838_oJnek#599908530_JkteX )
Patti Duron 1st Place ‘Woodland’s Merinda’ BEST OF SHOW!
Patti Duron 1st Place Dahlia small bicolor
Wave Stonerock 1st Place ‘Rusty Bucket’ Class 27
Susan Silva-Treadwell 1st Place Large flowering Red Class 4
Susan Silva-Treadwell 1st Place Red/white bicolor Class 12
Susan Silva-Treadwell 1st Place Purple Class 2
Susan Silva-Treadwell 1st Place Cactus Class 31
Patti Duron 2nd Place ‘Juul’s Star’ Class 35
Susan Silva-Treadwell 3rd Place Class 33
And if you would love to see more great dahlia images, check out Joe Sabol's online photo album.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joesabol/sets/72157606094398257/
Special Gardening tips from Kevin and Karen,
1. Sanitation!!! Clean up old leaf litter and debris, especially over the winter!
2. As soon as the soil warms up, start messing around with the soil above your dahlia to see if earwigs are already present! Try setting different traps for earwigs such as rolled up paper, tubes (or old canes of giant bamboo). They love to crawl in and hide during the day and then you can just toss them out!
3. Snails and Slugs- Using iron-based snail bait is effective and safe around pets!
4. Staking is essential! The slightest breeze can snap off a giant dahlia flower! Tomato Cages, obelisks and iron stakes with string can all be used.
5. Nitrogen and Calcium are two important fertilizers for strong dahlias- just don't over do it! Too much nitrogen will mean too lush of growth (and less flowers), too much calcium may mean too thick of stems and too much of any fertililizer is wasteful and a pollutant to our ground water!
AND a very special thank you to Nell and Mary B who helped stage all of the flowers and deliver them and to Marylou who was our emailing liason for the new class and the dahlia project!
AND did we mention Zucchini's!!!!
Chris Cocchiaro and Gene Schroeder both came through with a basket of zucchinis!
Congratulations to Gene who placed 2nd!
Thank you to TK Hardwick for being the Zucchini Gardening Liason for this project!
-Gary
Thanks for your question. Quoting the Midstate Fair Competition Handbook: "Vegetables desired for exhibit will uniform commercial grade rather than monstrosities." There are two classes of Zucchinis: Market Size is up to 8 inches (you may submit up to 5). Mature: 14-16 inches (you may only submit 1). As a zuczhini get's larger and more mature, the seeds become larger and courser and the pulp becomes drier. This is all natures course for producing seed for the next year!