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Blue Ribbon Vegetable Gardening: The Secrets to Growing the Biggest and Best Prizewinning Produce
Win the blue ribbon every time! Master Gardener Jodi Torpey offers all the information you need to grow champion vegetables — beans, beets, cabbages, cucumbers, eggplants, onions, peppers, pumpkins, squash, and tomatoes — covering everything from choosing the right varieties and scheduling planting dates to harvesting, preparing, and transporting your produce. She also walks you through every aspect of competitive showing, with useful tips for thinking like a judge. This book will delight you with lively photos of mammoth pumpkins, truly gigantic onions, perfectly pear-shaped eggplants, and the farmers and gardeners who grow them. Filled with the excitement of a county fair, it’s a fun read as well as a solid guide to growing the biggest, tastiest, best-looking vegetables for miles around.
- GenresGardening
224 pages, Paperback
First published December 29, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 11, 2015
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
An invaluable book for any vegetable gardener who wants to make the most of his or her veggies. Full of information on amending soil, composting, planting in the right place, etc. But the unique thing about this book is that each veggie has its own chapter, with so much information shared for each one! What to look for in each vegetable with the view of what a judge would look for means that the sky is the limit for your growing. Thank you for sharing these secrets! Highly recommended.
An invaluable book for any vegetable gardener who wants to make the most of his or her veggies. Full of information on amending soil, composting, planting in the right place, etc. But the unique thing about this book is that each veggie has its own chapter, with so much information shared for each one! What to look for in each vegetable with the view of what a judge would look for means that the sky is the limit for your growing. Thank you for sharing these secrets! Highly recommended.
April 16, 2026
-3 stars. the library had it on display and i picked it up. i mostly just paged thru it because i wasn't interested in all the vegetables it lists. and i wasn't interested in the first few chapters about history of competitions and why to try to win a ribbon. i just wanted to see how to grow a couple things bigger and better.
-veggie chapters - beans, beets, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, onions, peppers, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes.
i only looked at beans, cabbage, onions, and tomatoes.
-it lists seed varieties that might win for you. talks a lot about conformity. when to plant, when to fertilize, how to fertilize, what diseases and insect problems you might face.
-there is such a thing as exploding cabbage.
-cabbage can use a side dressing of compost.
-the guinness world record for the heaviest cabbage is 138 pounds, grown in alaska.
-onions need fertilizer high in phosphorus to encourage root growth and bulb formation.
-'kelsae sweet giant onion' typically grows 15 pound onions. the record is 19 pounds.
-apparently now tomatoes are being grafted onto stronger rootstock to increase output and dodge soil borne diseases. seems like an awful lot of trouble to go thru.
-the world record for heaviest tomato is nearly 17 pounds! and 39 inches across! it was the 'domingo' variety. it is not a pretty tomato - https://www.bigpumpkins.com/displayph...
-tomato monster blooms are fused flowers that are the result of two or more blossoms growing together into one big flower, which will grow multiple conjoined fruits. the resulting bumpy and unattractive fruits are a jumbo prizewinning type of tomato.
-says to fertilize tomatoes weekly.
-veggie chapters - beans, beets, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, onions, peppers, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes.
i only looked at beans, cabbage, onions, and tomatoes.
-it lists seed varieties that might win for you. talks a lot about conformity. when to plant, when to fertilize, how to fertilize, what diseases and insect problems you might face.
-there is such a thing as exploding cabbage.
-cabbage can use a side dressing of compost.
-the guinness world record for the heaviest cabbage is 138 pounds, grown in alaska.
-onions need fertilizer high in phosphorus to encourage root growth and bulb formation.
-'kelsae sweet giant onion' typically grows 15 pound onions. the record is 19 pounds.
-apparently now tomatoes are being grafted onto stronger rootstock to increase output and dodge soil borne diseases. seems like an awful lot of trouble to go thru.
-the world record for heaviest tomato is nearly 17 pounds! and 39 inches across! it was the 'domingo' variety. it is not a pretty tomato - https://www.bigpumpkins.com/displayph...
-tomato monster blooms are fused flowers that are the result of two or more blossoms growing together into one big flower, which will grow multiple conjoined fruits. the resulting bumpy and unattractive fruits are a jumbo prizewinning type of tomato.
-says to fertilize tomatoes weekly.
September 9, 2015
I received an advanced copy from Netgalley, to read and review.
This was an interesting look into the depths of competitive vegetable growing. I didn't realize all that went into grovwing vegetables for show! A little too detailed for me, but interesting all the same.
This was an interesting look into the depths of competitive vegetable growing. I didn't realize all that went into grovwing vegetables for show! A little too detailed for me, but interesting all the same.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews