{"id":2437,"date":"2023-11-08T16:34:03","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T16:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/?p=2437"},"modified":"2023-11-08T16:34:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T16:34:05","slug":"malvern-a-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/2023\/11\/08\/malvern-a-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Malvern-A-Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

British Camp. No, not you ducky, we\u2019re talking Iron Age hill forts. Specifically, \u2018British Camp\u2019 the immense Iron Age hill fort in the Malverns<\/a>. British Camp was once a place of safety and a store for harvests, away from marauding foes who probably weren\u2019t inclined to grow their own. British Camp isn\u2019t what to used to be. But, once upon a time, it physically and symbolically dominated the land we call Worcestershire<\/a>. Why are we all so jazzed about British Camp?<\/a> Why indeed!<\/p>

If it stood today, British Camp would overlook a new haven for good people who are passionately connected to nature and the land. What is the name of that new haven? And, prithee, what goes on there now? Friends, that haven is the Three Counties Showground<\/a>, home of The Malvern Autumn Show. Do we all know where this is heading? Possibly.<\/p>

\"The
Above: The Malvern Autumn Show is a joy to go around<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Yep, it\u2019s Malvern Autumn Show<\/a> time! Or rather it was when we visited – this blog isn\u2019t live. Though this year\u2019s event has now passed into memory it is well worth revisiting, if only to visit upon you the essential importance of your visit next year! <\/p>

As we\u2019ve said in previous editions, Malvern really is a blue riband event in terms of horticulture, agriculture, and outdoor living. This is true on both a national and, arguably, international level. The sheer quality of growing on display, the presence and availability of great growing minds, plus the unique character of the show make it a pretty much unmissable fixture in our diaries. <\/p>

\"Bonanza!
Above: Bonanza! In the wild west of England – this yesteryear display by Medwyn\u2019s of Anglesey is typical of the kind that proliferate at Malvern<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

For pristine, competition-level fruit, veg, and flowers Malvern is absolutely the place to come. The Harvest Zone<\/a> plays host to the finest examples of British-grown produce and delicious uses thereof! Hops, apples, and pears (careful on the stairs!) of incomparable quality are readily available as beers, perries, and ciders (careful on the stairs!). <\/p>

Such tipples are the perfect accompaniment to a tour of show benches that groan with historically significant examples of British crops. But you needn\u2019t be thinking the mindset of Malvern is pure traditionalism. <\/p>

\"Calling
Above: Calling occupants of interplanetary craft – immense, otherworldly organic creations descend upon the CANNA Giant Veg Championships at Malvern<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

There are plenty of progressive ideas about at Malvern, as evidenced by the produce grown using contemporary techniques. And nowhere is the embrace of modern growing more apparent than at the CANNA UK Giant Vegetable Championships<\/a>. <\/p>

If you want to rub shoulders with giant veg growers and their giant veg (some of those veg ARE big enough to have shoulders) then the CANNA Pavilion at Malvern really is the place for you. There you can see the record-breaking results made possible using today\u2019s fertilisers, grow media, climatic controls, and watering systems. <\/p>

\"Those
Above: (L) Those veg are very big, those people are faraway. (R) Those people are near, those veg are very big. It\u2019s confusing.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

\u2018Otherworldly\u2019 doesn\u2019t really do justice to some of the monster vegetables that land at the show. Truthfully, many resemble captured alien lifeforms more than veg, utterly fascinating in their anatomical development and, like aliens, are a daunting prospect to use in your cooking!<\/p>

No less than eight Guinness World Records tumbled at the Championship this year, including runner beans and bell peppers by the legendary Peter Glazebrook<\/a>. As well as being able to see the veg at Malvern you can purloin some brilliant know-how, with many a champion grower on hand and happy to chat. Chief amongst them? Medwyn Williams!<\/p>

\"Imagine
Above: Imagine a giant child trying to use veg to tie their laces (badly) – this what the results might look like<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Holding court with his customary wit and good cheer, Medwyn<\/a> took a trove of his favourite, competition-proven products to Malvern – including ours truly! A full range of AutoPot Watering Systems festooned Medwyn\u2019s display along with his favoured seeds, feeds, and media. The maestro himself merrily enlightened visitors on the principles and benefits of all these marvels, and for good measure Medwyn taught us a trick or two too! <\/p>

\"Enchanted
Above: Enchanted by AutoPot, these poor souls never noticed as the cabbages moved in for the kill<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

As a typically innovative grower Medwyn has taken to fettling our systems to suit his higher purposes. In the process he\u2019s unlocked potential we didn\u2019t even see ourselves. Lately he and his son Alwyn have modified Tray2Grow<\/a> to produce fresh butterhead lettuce that is the toast of North Wales\u2019 restaurants. The modification<\/a> involves an elegant use of split drainpipes on the tray to accommodate lettuce seeds grown in Jiffy cells<\/a>. No peat, or compost are required, you\u2019ve got year-round, on-demand availability of crops, grown cleanly, power-free with low-maintenance watering and feeding via the Tray2Grow. Mightily impressive! As is Medwyn\u2019s use of Rapid Roots<\/a>.<\/p>

\"Blast
Above: Blast off! A farewell glimpse of the Three Counties
as we rent the heavens asunder – missing you already Malvern, we\u2019ll be back next year!<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Medwyn enjoyed spectacular success with Rapid Roots when starting his seeds and cuttings for last season. In the coming months he looks set to return to the 100% organic rooting gel in order to stimulate the development of a healthy, well-structured, uptake-optimised rhizospheres in his new plants. As Medwyn explains<\/a>, \u2018the roots are stronger, the plants are stronger\u2026this rooting gel is the one to have\u2019. We very much look forward to seeing the results of his next crop.<\/p>

Relaxing with friends and like-minded people, absorbing ideas, tippling, nibbling, enjoying the season, and dreaming of what\u2019s to come. That is the Malvern Autumn show right there. Will we be there next year? Indubitably! Come and join this splendid celebration in 2024!<\/p>

All images copyright. Selected images copyright Malvern Autumn Show. Selected images used with kind permission of The Malvern Autumn Show.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

British Camp. No, not you ducky, we\u2019re talking Iron Age hill forts. Specifically, \u2018British Camp\u2019 the immense Iron Age hill fort in the Malverns. British Camp was once a place of safety and a store for harvests, away from marauding foes who probably weren\u2019t inclined to grow their own. British Camp isn\u2019t what to used […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-autopot-news-october-2023"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Malvern_Main.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2439,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437\/revisions\/2439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}