Biggest head prize winners

We changed the plan and decided that there should be an annual prize for the tallest sunflower and another award for the biggest flowerhead!

Uncle Ken has kindly made another trophy and John Le Measurer presented it to the proud winners Keith and Margaret Stevens, landlord and landlady of the Rose and Crown, whose head was a whopping 29cm (11.4").

That's about it for this year. I think next year is going to be even more competitive and along side the sunflower contest John Le Measurer is suggesting a biggest marrow contest! Plants will be sold on May Day Bank Holiday Monday outside the Rose and Crown - it will probably be raining!

Bye for now . . . . . .

Sunflower contest sees Andy shine

The winner has been announced of a flower-growing competition, held in honour of a keen gardener.

Jane Kelly, of Broad Road, Bocking, started the competition after her father, Eric Miller, died in 2005.

She said “When he went into hospital, he was growing a sunflower, which he was very proud of. When he didn’t come out of hospital, I decided that holding a sunflower growing competition in his honour would be very fitting”

Andy Duzniak, of Station Road, Braintree triumphed with a sunflower that stood more than 12 feet tall, and he attributed his success to “good soil and luck”.

As champion, Mr Duzniak collected a handcrafted trophy, made out of yew by Eric Miller’s brother Ken. The competition , which attracted people from all over mid-Essex, began on the May bank holiday with sunflower plants being sold outside the Rose and Crown pub, in Bocking.

The sale of plants raised over £150 for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. Mrs Kelly, 52, and her sister-in-law, Helena Kelly, who helped to organise the event, now hope the competition can become an annual event. As champion, Mr Duzniak collected a handcrafted trophy, made out of yew by Eric Miller’s brother Ken. The competition , which attracted people from all over mid-Essex, began on the May bank holiday with sunflower plants being sold outside the Rose and Crown pub, in Bocking.

The sale of plants raised over £150 for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. Mrs Kelly, 52, and her sister-in-law, Helena Kelly, who helped to organise the event, now hope the competition can become an annual event.

Braintree and Witham Times, Wednesday September 12, 2007-10-09 Essex
Weekly News, Thursday, September 20, 2007

Sunflower competition results and a big thank you

Hi everyone,

Firstly thank you all for turning out and making it such a great day. I'm sure from the conversations going on next year will be even more competitive! Dad would be so chuffed!

A special thank you to Helena for helping out (in the pouring rain!) on May Day Bank holiday when the scrawny, starter sunflower plants were sold at the May Fayre, raising £150 for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Another special thank you to John the Gardener aka John Le Measurer for being the judge and delivering the results. He did a wonderful job in a most professional manner, suffering even more of the English weather as it rained all day on the designated measuring day and he also had to contend with ladders and scaffolding!

Last, but not least, thanks to my Uncle Ken for making the trophy, hand turned out of Yew, which I hope will be cherished by the winner and handed over (maybe!) next year. Keith from the Rose and Crown informs be that Yew never dies - that makes it an extra special trophy.

Anyhow here's what you've all been waiting for . . .
. . . . . . THE RESULTS!

5th - Siobhan Pierce, Braintree - Height 2.49m Flowerhead 18cm

4th - Rose & Crown, Bocking - Height 2.78m Flowerhead 29cm

3rd - Brian Bell, Rivenhall - Height 2.93m
Flowerhead 18cm

2nd - Clare Avery, Bocking - Height 3.58m
Flowerhead 23cm

1st - Andy Duzniak, Braintree - Height 3.74m Flowerhead 26cm





Here's Andy with his trophy!

A photo of the champion with his sunflower, scaffolding and all, will be published shortly. John Le Measurer is kindly going to take a picture for me, because as you know I've carelessly broken my arm!

Andy said his success was down to "good soil and luck", but he did attend Writtle college and spends a good deal of his time at his allotments!

Anyhow whatever method he used, Andy has made that German offering look like a tiddler! Well done!

The Rose and Crown took the biggest head prize with a whopping 29cm, so we could also get some tips from Keith and Margaret!

We'll start all over again, and slugs be warned, next year at the May Day Fayre and JLM says we're aiming for at least £500 for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. Thanks again and well done everyone!

The Simonds

Message from Cathy re the Simonds Set of Sunflowers

"Nathan's sun flower's snapped off where the cord holding them up cut through the stems." Doh! "I have got two left, one might win a prize (the booby) unless it dies (and it is on its way) by then. Although my other one has done quite well and is as tall as a person that person is me so no prizes there then"

There's still no news on Amy's . . . . . . . . . . .

The day of reckoning is looming - John the Measurer will be in touch to visit the contenders with his measuring tool on Sunday . . . . . . .

News update

Siobhan sent this picture of her sunflower for everyone to admire. She says "It's a little limp now but you should see it when its fully erect!"


Also the news today from Birthday Boy Brian Bell is that the Rivenhall Rambler is now about 9 ft and is just coming into flower . . . . . . .


No news yet from the Simonds lot - maybe there's a sly one coming up from behind!

Bets are now being taken

Hi everyone

As you may know we raised £150 for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation in Dad's memory by selling the sunflower plants etc on May Day Bank Holiday. Let's get a bit more dosh for this worthwhile charity by placing our bets on the winner. The possible contenders are listed below:

The Avery Amazon

The Super-Duper Duzniak

The Rose & Crown Monster

The Rivenhall Rambler

Siobhan's Silent Secret

Gill's Giant

The Best Bacon

Any of the Sly Simonds Set

Get your bets placed by Monday 27th August. £1.00 a go. The winners get half the takings shared out. Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation gets the other half. Payouts at the presentation.

Blooming marvellous

This sunflower in a Berlin allotment is head and shoulders above the rest at 3.5 metres (11.5 feet). The tallest ever is reported to have grown to a lofty 7.76 metres (that's nearly 25.5 feet in old money!) in Holland in 1996.

They're not saying what the secret is so I guess we'll just have to keep talking to ours nicely!

Change of last measuring day

Hi everyone

First of all our judge John the Measurer will measure the contenders next Sunday 19th August. If you think you might be the winner let me know so John can call you and arrange to visit and measure your specimen.

We'll present the winner with their prize at the Rose and Crown pub in Bocking on Bank Holiday Monday (27th Aug) around lunchtime so hope you can make it.

The latest progress on the 15 or so surviving sunflowers is as follows, see picture gallery at the bottom for proof !

Andy Duzniak - A monster!!
Keith & Margaret, Rose & Crown - 105 inches at the last measure (a couple of weeks ago) but peaked a bit early - its got the droop! - see picture as proof!
Alison Bacon - not very good - better luck next time Mrs Bacon - possible contender for the booby prize!
Cathy Simonds - not as big as Cathy and she's only 5' 1" !
Saville Family - one surviving out of three but very spindly - slug sabotage again! - about one leaf remaining! - possible contender for the booby prize!
Nathan & Jo - was doing well on the last report. Need an update
Gill Kelly - about 7 foot - flowered already - about 7 foot - see picture gallery
Siobhan Pierce - apparently one survived the slugs after all and is "enormous"! - waiting for a measurement and picture on this one (it's in Siobhan's front garden so you could take a peak when passing by Safeway)
Miller Family at Maldon - it was actually "Chris" that survived the storm. "Rosie" was the biggest until then but she got blown over :-( Not a contender.
Clare Avery- another monster and only just coming into flower. Clare's been doing more than talking to it I think! - see picture gallery.
Jane Kelly - several alive but no contenders
Amy c/o Cathy Simonds - need an update on this one
Jackie and Nick Payne - not a bad effort, has flowered and peaked already though. Not a contender this year
Harry Adams - donated to Brian Bell who has a sunnier garden
Brian Bell - doing very well - a possible contender - see picture
Hanson family - one tiddler and the rest sabotaged by slugs

Well thats the news so far - hope to see you at the Rose and Crown, Bank Holiday Monday (28th August) for the presentation. (Please don't laugh when you see me and my injuries!)

Love Jane

Picture Gallery

I didn't take the measuring stick to the Rivenhall contribution but it was well above Brian's shed on 23rd July - so who knows how big the Rivenhall Rambler is now!

Update on progress

Hi everyone

Firstly we have an official judge. John the Gardener aka John Le Measurer will check the winning submissions and it goes without saying that "the judges decision will be final" and he cannot be bribed!

Progress reported so far for this years competitors is as follows:

Andy Duzniak - out of three one is reported by his wife Carrie to be a good bit taller than her, else not much news from Greenfingers Duzniak.
Keith & Margaret, Rose & Crown - growing very well in a pot and a likely contender, well over 7 foot
Alison Bacon - not as big as Keith and Margarets!
Cathy Simonds- not as big as Cathy and she's only 5' 1" !
Saville Family - one surviving out of three but very spindley - slug sabotage again! - possible contender for the booby prize!
Nathan & Jo - 3 alive - largest approx 5 feet
Gill Kelly - coming into flower and about 7 foot
Helena Kelly - sabotaged by slugs! we did warn you!
Siobhan Pierce - two attempts sabotaged by slugs!
Miller Family at Maldon - out of six , all named, one survivor "Rosie" doing quite well, the rest lost in a storm
Rose Austin - just a stick remaining!
Clare Avery- another contender, this one is much taller than Clare who is a very tall girl herself. Clare has been talking to it though!
Jane Kelly - several alive but no contenders
Anita Hanson - shrivelled in the pots!
Amy c/o Cathy Simonds - need an update on this one
Michael Doyle - sabotaged by slugs
Jackie and Nick Payne - last report was one is bigger than Jackie
Harry Adams - need an update on this one
Brian Bell - need an update on this one
Sid - sabotaged by slugs - Sid reported it was half eaten by a slug which he gently put the fence but another came up from behind and finished it off!
Sue - slug sabotage again!

Well thats the news so far. I'll keep you posted of progress.

Love

Jane

Sunflower progress

Hi everyone

I hope your sunflowers are growing nicely :-) Don't forget the latest measuring day is Monday 27th August (August Bank holiday weekend)
I've been checking up on progress and it seems a few of you were sabotaged by slugs! Never mind - better luck next year

However there are a few six footish monsters being reported. Probably jousting for first place are Keith and Margaret at the Rose and Crown pub, Andy (green fingers) Duzniak or Clare Avery who says her specimen "Is now taller than me in my wellies – which makes it at least 5’ 12” but is much slimmer and greener! "

I also hear some of you have named your plants and talk regularly to them!!

Anyhow post your own comments and pictures here so we all can see progress

Bye for now

Jane

Tips for growing sunflowers

Here are some basics on growing sunflowers:
Plant them in full sun.
Russian Giants, Kong and Mammoth varieties grow as tall as 15 feet and have flower heads as large as 20" in diameter. If using a container you'll need a pot at least 15" inches deep and 15" in diameter (or larger) to grow these giants.
Sunflower roots grow deep and spread wide if you are using a container make sure it is big enough
Tall plants may need staking.
Keep the soil moist and fertilize them with a 1/2 strength organic liquid fertilizer every two weeks.
Sunflowers need lots of water (plants 6 feet tall can consume 8 gallons per week), but over-watering them can cause deformed seed heads. Use well-drained soil and keep the soil evenly moist. Water seedling deeply once per week for the first month so they develop deep roots. After that, water your sunflowers lightly every day.
Sunflowers are called sunflowers for a reason. They need sun. Make sure that the location you choose for your sunflowers gets full sun.
You do not need to worry about soil too much. Sunflowers are not picky about the conditions of the soil, but they are plants. They will do better in better soil.
Sunflower seed shells do contain a substance that is toxic to grass. So, you will need to either harvest the sunflower heads before the seeds begin to fall out or you will need to plant your sunflowers in a location where you do not mind any nearby grass being killed.
Keep in mind the height of the sunflower variety you have chosen. A giant, twelve foot variety will end up acting very much like a small tree and may shade the surrounding flowers – we are growing Russian Giants.
Protect from slugs, ants and pigeons. Use crop rotation in your garden to avoid diseases like Sclerotina (white mould) which makes their stalk and head rot. Other diseases to watch out for are downy mildew and rust. Pesky insects like moths are attracted to the sunflower head at flowering time; their larvae feed by tunnelling through the seed. You can protect your sunflowers by covering the heads with plastic netting which should also deter birds. Sunflowers are ready to harvest when the back portion of the head turns brown.
As mentioned above, sunflowers can also help you to attract local birds to your garden. When the growing season is coming to a close, you can harvest your sunflower heads and use some of the seeds to feed the birds over the winter. You have two options when using sunflower seeds to feed the birds. The first is that you can simply leave the sunflower heads outside for the birds. This option is the easiest but be warned that the birds will make a mess when pulling the seeds out of the sunflower head. Your other option is to remove the seeds from the head and to put them in your bird feeder. This method is a little more work but will be neater in the long run. Also, putting the seeds in a birdfeed will also help to keep your feathered friends safe as the birdfeeder will be up off the ground and out of reach of many of the animals that eat birds.

Some facts about sunflowers

• The scientific name is Helianthus? It comes from two Greek words, Helios meaning sun, and Anthos, meaning flower. The sunflower follows the sun's apparent path over the earth (phototropic), and this characteristic is how got its name.
• They belong to the Aster family. Interestingly, some sunflowers have 89 petals, which is a Fibonacci sequence number (a figure formed by adding consecutive numbers from zero).
• Sunflowers are one of the plants associated with the zodiac sign Leo the lion (23 July to 22 August) because of their mutual relationship with the Sun.
• The Sunflower is a good bee plant.
• In many parts of Europe sunflowers have provided/and still provide leaves for smoking, flower buds for salads, flowers for dyes, and oil for cooking.
• There are 67 species of sunflowers, growing in the various countries of the world.
• The sunflower is not one flower, but a cluster of more then 2000 tiny flowers growing together...go and have a closer look next time you come face to face with one.
• A sunflower's head can grow to be as big as 2 feet across and the plant itself can be as tall as 18 feet.
• The tallest sunflower grown on record was 25 feet tall and was grown in the Netherlands.
• The largest sunflower head on record measured 32 1/2 inches across its widest point and was grown in Canada.
• Miniature sunflowers can be grown using the Bonsai technique The shortest mature sunflower on record was just over 2 inches tall and was grown in Oregon using this method.
• The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas.
• The sunflower is the national flower of Russia.
• The French word for Sunflower is tournesol, or literally "turn with the sun".
  and in Spain and Italy: Girasoland
  in Germany: Sonnenblume
• Flower Meaning -Dwarf Sunflower: Adoration
  Tall Sunflower: False Riches

The Rules

The competition is to grown the “biggest” sunflower. “Biggest” will be determined by measuring in centimetres:

1. the height of the plant from the stem base to the base of the flower head
2. the diameter of the flower head excluding petals
3. adding the two results together

The “winning” plant will be checked and if it agrees with its owners submission the trophy will be awarded to that person for one year.

For your information all plants were started from Russian Giant seeds on 6th April 2007 in 3in pots using J. Arthur Bowes Peat-Free Multi-Purpose Compost.

There will be a charge of £1.00 per plant which will be donated to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation (Registered Charity No 1046854) in memory of all lung cancer sufferers.

Please let me know how many plants you would like as soon as possible.

There will be an additional booby prize for the ugliest sunflower submitted (twisted, crooked etc!).

There will be no arguments – the judge’s decision will be final!

The prize giving venue will be decided on location of the winners

Diary of events - 2007

Collect plants from Jane any time from Sunday 6th May onwards. Please phone before you call in case we are out.

Take plants home – there are no rules – you can talk to them, feed them Guinness, fertilise or just hope for the best, but beware of slugs, pigeons and ants!

Latest measuring day is Monday 27th August (August Bank holiday weekend)

Send your measurements to as soon as possible. Also send a photo of your specimen for the archives and potential entry to the “ugliest” competition.

Good luck

Jane