Apartment Garden Blues (Blog): Plant Competitions at the 2013 OC Fair

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Published on Friday, August 02 2013 10:42

Written by By Alexandra Martin

As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I love the Orange County Fair, and my favorite part of the fair is always the plant competitions and 3-acre demonstration garden. In this week's blog, I'll show you some of the plant competitions (check back next week for more information about the 3-acre demonstration garden called "Centennial Farm").

Each year more than a million people visit the OC Fair. Last year 1,257,335 visited, and I was one of them! Last week we again made our annual trek to the fair at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, Calif., for this year's fair (themed "Come & Get It"), which runs from July 12 to August 11. Four plant competitions have been held so far this year: on July 11, 16 and 30.

More than $334,000 is offered in cash premium awards to competition entrants at this year's fair. But competition is fierce; almost 4,000 locals entered in the many competitions during the 2012 OC Fair. In addition to some winners shown below, there were many other winners for different kinds of vegetables and flowers, canned foods, homemade wines and beers and much more. The main Garden & Floral competition categories are Container Plants, Cut Flowers Dry & Silk and Fresh Arrangements, Floral Design and Fruit & Vegetable. Other competitions available at the OC Fair are in the Culinary Arts, Crafts & Hobbies, Visual Arts and Livestock categories.

When I visited, I saw the winners of the July 23 competitions, including:

Largest Lemon, Adult
Larry W. Lee, 1st place

Unusually Shaped Carrot, Adult
Fred Rose, 1st place
(Greg Schroeder, 2nd place, also pictured)

Specimen Produce, Hot Pepper (Jalapeno), Adult
Erin Almond, 1st place

Specimen Produce, Adult Cherry Tomatoes
Bill Graves, 1st place
and
Largest Item, Adult, Largest Tomato
Kevin Mats, 1st place

Specimen Bloom, Adult Hydrangea
Michael Manley, 1st place

Specimen Bloom, Adult Alstroemeria (Peruvian Lily or Lily of the Incas)
Mortimer Shea, 1st place

DIVISION WINNERS (not pictured) for the July 23 competition

Jon Dietz, Other Dahlia, Adult, Lavender/Purple Shade

Jack and Patricia Hargrove, Professional Arrangement, Adult, Exhibitor's Choice, specify theme, Division Winner and Best in Show

Paul Hoffman, Miniature Arrangement, Adult Simply Mini

Carla Montgomery, Decorative Dahlia, Adult, Yellow Shade, Division Winner and Best in Show

Trip Montgomery, Cactus Dahlia, Adult, Red Shade, Division Winner

Hidetoshi Motozaki, Ikebana Arrangement, Adult, Exhibitor's choice, specify theme, Division Winner

Dee Sheahan, Adv Amateur Arrangement, Adult Sweet Sixteen, Division Winner

Kiyoko Way, Amateur Arrangement, Adult, Tea Time, Division Winner

For more winners for July 23 and other 2013 dates, visit ocfair.com/competitions. Maybe I'll see one of your flowers, fruits or vegetables at next year's fair!

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Alexandra is a professional writer from Southern California who grows vegetables, herbs, lots of aloe vera and one giant Boston fern in her balcony garden. She also grows dracaena, pothos and English ivy indoors. She loves traveling and birdwatching in addition to gardening.

Apartment Garden Blues (Blog): No Plastic Bins!

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Published on Friday, July 26 2013 21:54

Written by Alexandra Martin

It's hard to find large, deep plant containers for apartment gardens that are cheap and lightweight. I purchased a plastic storage bin thinking I could use it each year to grow potatoes in. Plus, it was see-through, which meant that I could see root growth. How fun!

I poked holes in the bottom of the bin with a screwdriver. It took a while, but I did it. Then I filled with my new container with dirt and planted an old potato that sprouted. The potato plant grew wonderfully, but nearing the end of the season, the plastic bin would chip apart at the slightest touch. Too much direct sun, water and the weight of the potting soil pushing on its sides made it extremely brittle. And there was no easy way to get the dirt out without bits of plastic in it.

While the potatoes grew wonderfully and produced great tubers, I wondered if any of the plastic had leached into the potting soil. Had harmful chemicals entered the potato plant itself? Was I eating plastic?

I had the opportunity several years ago to interview oceanographer Captain Charles Moore, who was most well-known for his discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a giant floating garbage dump of degraded plastics and other debris. (Click here to larn more about ocean pollution.) One of my questions during the interview was about plants and plastics. Were plants able to take up chemicals from the plastics in our plant containers? If they did and we ate them, what did that mean for us? His answer was that we don't just don't know everything about plastic and its negative effects. His response didn't comfort me much, and I decided that I wouldn't use any plastic not made specifically for growing plants anymore, like my plastic storage bin experiment.

As far as lightweight plastic plant containers for our balcony gardens, I think they're safe. There's no research to indicate that plastic plant containers leach any harmful chemicals into the food we grow in our container gardens.

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Alexandra Martin is a professional writer from Southern California who grows vegetables, herbs, lots of aloe vera and one giant Boston fern in her balcony garden. She also grows dracaena, pothos and English ivy indoors. She loves traveling and birdwatching in addition to gardening.

Apartment Garden Blues (Blog): No Drainage Holes

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Published on Friday, July 19 2013 21:08

Written by Alexandra Martin

You just bought a cute plant pot at the garden shop and want to use it in your balcony garden. But you bring it home and realize that it has no drainage holes! If you're an apartment dweller who doesn't own power tools so you can make your own drainage holes, don't fret. You can still use this plant pot. Here's how.

If you can't borrow a power drill from someone you know, you can still use a plant pot with no drainage holes. You just have to plant using a different technique and care for the container plant differently. Plant the new plant container like you would a terrarium. Terrariums do just fine, and they have no drainage. First add a layer of small pebbles to the bottom of the pot. Cover that layer with aquarium carbon (found at a pet store) and a layer of sphagnum moss (also found at pet stores). Now you can put in your potting soil and your plant. These layers will unfortunately leave less room for your plant's roots to grow, so choose a smaller plant to grow in this pot. Also remember to water this plant less than your other plants. The layers of pebbles, carbon and moss at the bottom will prevent root rot if you do not overwater, but too much water, and your plant will be in serious trouble!

So decide if your new pot is worth the trouble of either borrowing a power drill or planting it with this terrarium method. If it's not that cute, then you should probably return it to the store!

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Alexandra Martin is a professional writer from Southern California who grows vegetables, herbs, lots of aloe vera and one giant Boston fern in her balcony garden. She also grows dracaena, pothos and English ivy indoors. She loves traveling and birdwatching in addition to gardening.