By Carole Massey
Master Gardener Coordinator
This year will mark an anniversary of sorts for me ó 10 years of participating in the Rowan County Fair.
Between preparing fair booths for both 4-H and Master Gardeners and planting and creating horticultural exhibits of my own, I have anticipated September with all of the enthusiasm of a child.
I love the fair! The competition, the sights and sounds, the country coming to the city. Where else can you see, under one roof, floral arrangements so beautifully crafted that they would grace any high society wedding; specimen flower stems so perfect in petal and leaf; blemish-free fruits and vegetables precisely meeting the standard; home canned and preserved summer bounty in sparkling Mason jars, row upon row awaiting inspection?
Sometimes it is enough to walk through the Horticultural Exhibits building viewing all of the county entries, savoring the colors and variety on display. Then again, the competition bug starts to nibble, and I cannot wait to check the prize list and compare what I might have in the garden and flower beds, hoping for something so perfect that it needs to be shared.
This year will be another challenging one for local farmers and gardeners to maintain that specimen vegetable or flower for entry. Even though the fair seems to be a little earlier this year, the insects have read the calendar also, and seem to be out in record numbers.
The lack of rain, even with the backlash from former Hurricane Fay, has stressed all of the homeowner gardens and reduced the quantity (and maybe quality) of many of the most popular categories such as tomatoes, cucumbers and squash. In case there is a question, all items in the Horticulture Garden Exhibits and Fruit should be “well selected as to uniformity, freedom from blemishes and trueness to type.” In judging, special emphasis is placed on quality.
In both Department C-Horticulture and D-Flowers, there is a Junior Division open to youth under 20 years of age. One of the most rewarding skills we can pass down to our children is the art and lifetime craft of gardening.
The fair is a perfect way to participate in a countywide activity, exhibit their commitment to a project and perhaps earning a coveted blue ribbon and cash premium.
The 57th Annual Rowan County Agricultural & Industrial Fair begins Monday, Sept. 15, and runs through Saturday, Sept. 20. Presented by the Jaycees of Faith and Spencer, this year’s fair is titled “A Harvest of Discovery.” There have been a few changes in procedure this year in that the fair catalogue has been mailed to those who participated in the fair in 2007.
Additional copies can be picked up at local garden centers, Rowan Public Library and the Cooperative Extension Service, with additional sites throughout the county. All entry forms for the Agricultural Fair must be turned in at the Rowan County Fair no later than Friday, Sept. 5, or mailed in advance to 2008 Rowan County Fair, 332 Shinn St. Rockwell, NC 28138. All instructions, rules and regulations, are included in the catalogue. Come on out and enjoy the “Harvest of Discovery” of the Rowan County Fair.
Carole Massey is the Rowan County Master Gardener coordinator.
Web sites:
http://rowan.ces.ncsu.edu
http://www.rowanmaster gardener.com
http://www.rowanhorticulture.com