Sally Scalera

Brevard County Horticulture Extension Agent
3695 Lake Drive -- Cocoa FL 32926 -- 321-633-1702

The fair is coming!!

June 11, 2005

The fair is coming, the fair is coming! This year the Brevard County Fair will be held at the Cocoa Expo Center from Nov. 4-13. You can bring your favorite houseplant, foliage plant, annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs and fruits on Tuesday, Nov. 1 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

To enter an item, you must have been growing these plants for at least three months prior to the fair. The flowering houseplants, foliage houseplants and herbs must be rooted and displayed in a pot. It is also a fair rule that each person can only have one entry per class. For any plant, fruit or vegetable you enter, we need to know the genus, species and cultivar or variety if there is one. All plants must be groomed and displayed in clean and undamaged clay, ceramic or plastic containers. Also, please bring a saucer if your plant will need to be watered during the fair.

Department 6: Horticulture has five divisions and ten sections. The divisions are broken down by ages and they are Division A: Pre K – 2nd grade, Division B: 3rd-5th, Division C: 6th-8th, Division D: 9th-12th and Division E: Adult.

The first section is flowering potted plants, which contains the following eight classes: African violets, wax begonias, begonias, geraniums, hibiscus, impatiens, any other flowering potted plant and dish gardens. Rules for the dish gardens are that they must have five or more labeled varieties planted in a container that isn’t longer or wider than 18 inches.

The category for foliage potted plants, Section 2, contains 12 classes: coleus, bromeliads, ivy, ficus, dracaena, dieffenbachia, ferns, croton, spathiphyllum, schefflera , any other potted foliage plant and dish gardens.

In section 3, orchids, there are five classes: Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, Cattleya, Vandas and any other orchid.

Section 4, cacti, includes three classes: blooming, non-blooming and dish gardens.

Succulent plants make up Section 5, which has the same three classes as cacti. They are blooming, non-blooming and dish gardens.

For those of you who are interested in entering some herb plants, section 6, there are seven classes: basil, mint, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage and any other herb plant.

Section 7 is for hanging plants and it has six classes: philodendron, ivy, spider plant, bougainvillea, ferns and any other hanging plant.

If you enjoy growing flowers, you can enter them in the cut flower section which is Section 8. This section contains six classes; roses, pentas, ixora, marigolds, gerber daisy and any other cut flower.

For those of you who are more interested in growing vegetables there is Section 9. This section has five classes: root vegetables (ex. potatoes and carrots), leaf vegetables (ex. lettuce), stem vegetables (ex. celery), flower/seed vegetables (ex. tomato, green pepper and cucumber) and legumes (ex. beans and peas). You only need three samples or one head of each.

The section for fruit, Section 10, is the largest and contains 12 classes: oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, other citrus, bananas, persimmons, pears, avocados, mangoes, papayas and any other fruit. The avocado, mango, papaya and any other fruit require only one specimen for entry, while the others require three fruits on a plate.

Now, you may be wondering what you win if you have the nicest looking stuff. Besides the thrill of having your plant or produce displayed during the fair, the first, second and third place entries in each class will get a ribbon. The Best in Section will receive a Rosette, the Best in Division will receive a Rosette and a monetary award and the Best in Show will receive a Rosette and a monetary award.

The Brevard County Fair will have many other areas of competition such as art, photography, needlework, and sewing, just to mention a few! For information on entering items in the fair you can either visit our website at http://brevard.ifas.ufl.edu/ or visit either of our offices. You can call our Cocoa office at (321) 633-1702 or our Palm Bay Office at (321) 952-4536.