Best Allotment Competitions
The 2023 Best and Intermediate Allotment competitions will be judged on Monday 26th June. Half plots and new members will be judged on Thursday 22nd June 2023.
Our 2022 Best Allotment and Intermediate Allotment competitions were again judged by Reg Knowles and Andy Smith, Chair and Vice Chair of the Nottingham & District Allotment Council. Members of our committee judged the half plots and new members competitions. The results are listed here:
Plots are judged in two categories - Expert and Intermediate. The winner of the Intermediate category will advance to the Expert category the following year. It is hoped that this will encourage more members to enter.
There are separate competitions for Half Plots and for New Members, who are eligible for this category for the first 2 years of membership.
Judging process
The judge is independent of the allotment association. Chairman or nominated Committee member(s) will be involved with the recording and score sheet but occasionally representatives of local Councils, sponsors or the land agent may attend and observe. Members are not permitted to make contact with the judge prior to or during the judging.
The judge will give points according to the Score Sheet. The secretary will issue the Results Sheet to the participating and scored allotment holders as quickly as possible after the judging.
The Judge's Score Sheet and any amendment will be agreed by the Committee.
Previous Results are available here:
2021:
(Due to restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid-19, most of our allotment competitions were cancelled in 2020. Judging went ahead in late August for the New Members Most Progress competition.)
Intermediate Competition
Judging for the Intermediate category is based on RHS criteria:
- QUALITY of crops, to include your own choice of veg, fruit, flowers and plants (Max. 150 points)
- ORIGINALITY of layout and design (Max. 50 points)
- CONDITION of plot (Max. 25 points)
- VISUAL aspect of plot (Max. 25 points)
Some additional guidance for criteria used to judge can be seen in this document taken from the RHS handbook.
If you would like to take part, you can register by email watnallallotments@gmail.com, giving your name and plot number, or by contacting one of the committee. You can also leave a note on our Facebook page.
Half Plots Competition:
Half Plots are judged separately to Whole plots, by a team from our committee.
Expert Competition
This category is judged according to the criteria issued by the National Vegetable Society (NVS). In order to enter this category, you must grow a selection of crops from the categories shown on the entry form.
The winner of the Intermediate category will advance to the Expert category the following year.
For further details of this competition, contact a member of the committee.
New members Competition:
All new members are entered for a new comers competition in the first two years, judged by a team from our committee. Upon allocation, the plots are scored for condition. 10 points for a weedy plot and 0 for a weed-free plot. These initial scores act as an handicap.
Sign up to Compete
If you are up for the challenge you'll need to Sign up for the Best Allotment Competition.