Re: CULT: Weather & Judges & Shows

Mornin'  

>> "bobkeup" <bobkeup@email.msn.com wrote:  Wow , how do you manage to enter 
50 stalks? I'm sure many on this list would enjoy some hints! How much time 
is allowed to enter? How do you transport that number of flowers.<<

Well, Bob, you have to be an organizer.  For a Sunday show, you eyeball your 
stalks Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday to see what are show stalks and could be 
blue ribbons.  Friday I unpack all the vases, take them in the house and get 
them all half filled up with water, placing them on every inch of space 
available on countertops, tabletops, stove, etc.  I start cutting on Saturday 
(anything that is in danger of closing due to bad winds and/or heat)... If 
heat is a problem I crank the a/c down in the house to 58.  If cold is a 
problem, the heat goes up to 86.  

I always upend the stalk outside to have excess water, dirt, bugs, etc. fall 
out and/or off.  I remove loose foliage while walking stalks to the house 
(never more than two at a time, one in each hand and one carefully between my 
lips -- not teeth, in my mouth)...  I do have some good sized round tables 
outdoors that I will rest the stalks on (if it's not windy) and continue 
taking them inside 3 at a time.  As I take them in, I rinse them off under 
the faucet and remove any big bugs.  I place them in vases, careful not to 
touch each other, usually not more than 3 or 4 per vase.  I grow lots of 
medians, so usually never have more than 2 TB's in any given vase.  I also 
use heavy tall vases to hold them.  

Once I get a good number of them cut, I will sometimes take some (especially 
the ones in bud or just barely opened) on up to the garden center which, 
thankfully is only 1 1/2 miles north of my house, straight up a good smooth 4 
lane thoroughfare.  (You really don't wanna hear how I hauled 25 stalks to a 
Dallas show a couple three years back... or my Hobart OK show hauling days...)

I will go back home and continue evaluating and cutting til dark.  I always 
use the wet paper towel up and down all stalks at the house before I ever 
take them to the GC.  BTW, I always have show tags done a week ahead with 
everything but the variety name and class.  I go ahead and make up any 
possible tags I think I'll be taking on Friday night.  In the wee hours, I 
double check any questionable registrations, names, classes, etc. in the 
R&I's...  Grooming can go into the wee hours Saturday night, especially if 
there are some in tight bud that I'm having to pry open with a crow bar.  
Microwave ovens do NOT work.  

I am hauling now in a bit of a different manner with my new Grand Am than 
when I had my Toyota Celica, complete with electric sunroof.  Those tallest 
stalks really rode well sticking up out of that sunroof!  The GA has a 
textured interior that is much more non-slip than the leather of the Toyota.  
So, I can place the stalks between the seat and seat backs and let the taller 
medians ride in the back and some TB's ride up front.  With the Toyota I 
hauled everything in buckets filled with foam rubber plumbing insulation that 
I carefully slid each stalk down into...  I still will haul in buckets with 
the GA if there are 3 or 4 blooms open and/or if I can get a box full or a 
bucket full all standing up straight & not touching each other.  

I usually will make at least 3 or 4 trips to the garden center.  Once, my ma 
hauled a carload in so I could unload them into the Garden Center on her way 
into church.  That saved some time. 

For the 4 shows OKC runs, show entry times are 4 to 7pm Saturday and 7 to 
10am on Sunday.  So, I always try to have the first full load of irises at 
the GC right at 7am...  This entails that I begin loading around 5:30.  
Usually, I finish grooming and getting the tackle box loaded and get all the 
tags double checked, finished & loaded inside the box around 4 to 4:30, which 
gives me a 30 minute to hour long nap.  

Once at the garden center I carry in my tackle box and the best flower 
(usually I've driven up with it in my right hand --- it's helpful now that I 
have an automatic) pick a big spot on a free table (or next to Rex Matthews 
if he's beat me there) and plop the good iris into a big tall vase.  I then 
cart over however many big and small vases I will need arranging them on the 
table so when I bring in the irises, none should be touching each other.  I 
will carry in that load and go for another.  Although the drive is short, the 
loading can take a little time.  You must keep attuned to your watch and 
judge your time wisely.  

I can't recall ever making more than 3 Sunday morning trips.  Sometimes I'll 
have a jump on things if there are Saturday shows.  I'll take all the 
Saturday stalks that are gonna last and do well on Sunday on over to the GC 
on Saturday and stage them then.  I've had great luck with this and have 
actually had queen material on both days from different shows.  

Once back at the garden center I put all the pre-rubber banded entry tags on 
the appropriate sized vases and then begin putting the right iris in the 
right vase.  I'll stage them & put in the foam rubber spacers as needed and 
then whiz it over to the cart for the placement crew.  

I'm one of the few that does this alone.  Rex has his daughter to help.  
Perry Dyer has Miss Kitty.  Husbands have wives and wives have husbands, etc. 
 This is why I have to be so meticulous in having everything as ready to go 
as possible.  

When Rex & I used to compete (brutally) for the silver medals, frequently it 
would come down to one or the other of us winning by one blue or one red 
ribbon.  

If I'm totally on schedule, on Sunday morning the minute it is daylight, I 
rewalk all the gardens and make sure nothing has snuck by me.  Occasionally I 
will come up with one or two more stalks that are contenders.  I'll cut them, 
run them in the house to quickly groom and then on to the car for the ride.  

I know that's wordy, but I tried to detail exactly how I do it.  In OKC, not 
a single one of us does things the same.  Many roll their iris in wet 
newspapers.  Many have liquor bottle boxes full of bottles or vases.  Perry 
hauls his in big old quart bottle six packs, complete with carriers.

I've never strapped any iris to the top of the car.  And, when hauling them 
out the sunroof of my old Toyota, I drove slow.  

We are fanatical about shows here in OKC...  Does it show?  

Kath in OKC..... =^..^=   AIS Region 22,  USDA Zone 7

BTW, always a bridesmaid, never a bride...  I have yet to win that elusive 
first Queen of Show, be it daylily, daffodil, or iris...  I probably have up 
to a couple dozen silver AIS medals and another dozen bronze and have won 
every other position on the queen's court dozens of times...  But, never the 
queen...
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