A Winning Smile

Judging at the DC State Fair last Saturday afternoon was a hoot. Washington Gardener Magazine sponsored the Biggest Vegetable categories and being a first time event on a busy (understatement of the year!) weekend in DC, we had no idea what would should up as far as entries. When I arrived for the judging time, only a few veggies had been entered and none in the container-grown category, so a quick pow-wow with IndoorGardener later, we decided on two categories of "Big" -- length and weight. One of the crowd wanted a girth category too, but we demured. For length, a tape measure from stem to stern, but NOT including the stem, was the deciding factor. For weight, we had a bathroom scale and one of the organizers got on the scale pre-vegetable to establish the starting weight, then she got back on one at a time with each entrant veggies. Brave girl indeed! After some quick math, the heaviest veggie was determined. Pictured here is our 3rd place winner in the length category, a charming purple okra. First place winners in both "Big" categories received a year's subscription to Washington Gardener Magazine. The full winners' lists and more photos will soon by up on the DC State Fair web site.