4-H Fair

I've never entered anything in the 4-H Fair before, but this year I decided to.
I entered a vegetable basket, and all the vegetables were grown in a SFG using 100% Mel's Mix that I made. The big cabbage was grown in large flower pots with 100 % Mel's Mix that I made.

I entered two vegetable plates.

And I made a poster display of the Certified Illinois Herb of the Year Garden that is a SFG.

I didn't know what to expect, but I did really good.

The vegetable basket won First Place ribbon and Grand Champion ribbon, and was chosen as Best of Show!





The vegetable plate, (had to make two plates) won First Place ribbon, and everyone was complementing me on the big cabbage.



The Horticulture display of the Certified Illinois Herb of the Year Garden, that is a SFG, won First Place, Best of Show, and Grand Champion, and was chosen to go to state!


They didn't give us a ribbon for Best of Show, but called us up on stage.





Looks like I'll be going to the State Fair in Springfield Illinois! Never been there before.

Anything is possible with a SFG!

AAARRRRGGGGH! CONGRATS! All blues!! Next year you will do even better. Nice looking stuff. Did you get a few dollars of prize money?

I love getting the purple ribbon! I am entering a few things but fair is in 10 days and sadly I don't think my tomatoes are going to be ready.

I love the Fair!

Congratulations, Josh. You worked hard and you deserve every one of those awards !!

You certainly put in the effort and deserve the rewards and recognition. Well done!

Way to go Josh! I enjoy watching your success, and the pictures are very nice! Best Wishes at the state level competition.
LM

Now THAT's awesome Josh! we are 4H leaders too. I know how much work you kids put in, and you were well rewarded for all your hard work! I was bragging about you to a local organic gardener!! Congrats!!

Josh! How cool is that. But, you are an expert in the subject so no big surprise. Congrats.

Congrats, Josh! You'll go far, I'm sure.

:dancingpepper:

GG

Thanks everyone!!!

Today I showed my English Angora rabbit, he is one of my compost makers, helps my SFGs grow so good, a big part of how I got all those vegetables for the fair!

I won first place for a Senior Buck, class 4 (under 7 lbs)
I won first place for Senior showmanship
and I won Grand Champion

Way to go Josh! 4-H is a fantastic program. I laugh when parents complain there is nothing for our children and teens to do. Hogwash! Get them in 4-H. There are projects for just about everything from baking and sewing, to rocket building and photography. It's not all animal oriented. I'm happy to see another young man taking part in 4-H and all it has to offer. Congrats Josh! You've done good man

More kudos for you, Josh !!!

NICE! Another PURPLE RIBBON! And a beautiful buck! Is this your last year in the Junior class? Hey how much did your cabbage weigh and how did you keep the worms from making holes in it?

Congratulations, Josh! My girls are in 4H but they don't have a lot of interest in gardening right now. Maybe some day.

camprn wrote:NICE! Another PURPLE RIBBON! And a beautiful buck! Is this your last year in the Junior class? Hey how much did your cabbage weigh and how did you keep the worms from making holes in it?

Yea this was last year for Junior, I don't know why I waited so long to join up, it was a lot of fun, and a lot of kids my age there that I knew.

The cabbage weighed 6 llbs 8 oz. I covered it with netting all the time to keep those white cabbage moths off of it. I had a lot of compliments on it and the other vegetable too. I had a cabbage that was 8 lbs something, but the little slugs ate on the outer leaves down at the bottom and I needed the outer leaves to still be on it, but they all thought the 6lb one was awesmome It was tough getting the vegetable basket together all at the same time, I pulled all the carrots, and I needed 5 perfect ones, there was about 20 carrots, they had to be perfectly straight, no bug damage, I had just 5 that would do for the fair. the tomatoes was a tough one too, I had one tomato I had for almost a week that was ripe, if it had to go one more day it would have been to long for it, then there was one that I didn't think was going to be ripe enough, and I read to put it in a paper bag with an over ripe banana, so I did and it made it! Then I had to have 5 banana peppers, I had about 20 of them, but they all needed to be nice and straight, and most of them were curled up...but I did get 5 nice straight ones
Then there was the acorn squash, I just needed one, and I had been watching it on the vine, then the day I picked it for the fair, on the bottom of it was spot where a bug had ate on it by luck I found one growing on the vine that I didn't know I had, and it was perfect!

I had a lot of parents ask me about how I grew the vegetables, even at the rabbit event, people were coming up asking me about the vegetables, I told everyone about SFG and that was how I grow my stuff.

High 5 to you Josh, no, make it high ten! Congratulations!!
LM

I went to the state fair in Springfield Illinois today with my SFG herb garden poster, and I received a ribbon of Excellence, and a Superior ribbon. I will get some money for winning the Superior ribbon but i don't know how much. The judge talked to me for about 20 minutes, and when I was telling her all about SFGing, she said she was there at the herb show and saw Mel and me give a SFG class together!

that is totally exciting! Well done Josh!

Wow, we'll done! If only I'd been as ambitious as That when I was your age!

Congratulations Josh and keep up the great work! We're proud of you!

Great! And well deserved.

Josh, you are a great ambassador for SFG. Well done, and all the best when you get to the State.

Congrats Josh...we've been gone over the last few weeknds (county fair and IA State Fair)...I noticed gardening exhibits, vegetable production, etc...but I wish I would have drove my pick-up as the cattle, horse, chicken, rabbit, sheep, and goat manure with clean bedding material was everywhere in abundance...would have been a great start to next year's compost pile.

landarch wrote:Congrats Josh...we've been gone over the last few weeknds (county fair and IA State Fair)...I noticed gardening exhibits, vegetable production, etc...but I wish I would have drove my pick-up as the cattle, horse, chicken, rabbit, sheep, and goat manure with clean bedding material was everywhere in abundance...would have been a great start to next year's compost pile.

Only a SFGer would see all the goodies for the compost pile.

I did see something that caught my eye at the fair, and you know what I thought of when I saw it....boffer!....All those tomatoes!



Thanks everyone!

As a former 4-H'er myself, congrats! Also, this might help you get(or get a bigger) a college scholarship should you decide to major in agriculture....
As a Purdue ag econ grad, I hate admitting that Illinois has an excellent ag school....