New 4-H Horticulture Judging Publications Available

The 4-H judging resources have been updated!  

cabbage at the state fairThe Harvesting and Preparing Vegetables for Exhibit (4H 462) publication that gives guidelines on bringing vegetables to the fair has been updated and expanded. It now includes guidelines for ten new vegetables, including tomatillos, gourds, and asparagus.  

There is now a brand new publication that addresses only herbs and includes guidelines for exhibiting 14 different species. These updated and expanded guidelines can be found in the publication, Harvesting and Preparing Herbs for Exhibit (4H 5551).

Exhibiting Cut Flowers and Houseplants (4H 464) has been expanded and updated.  This publication provides tips and advice on exhibiting 29 different types of cut flowers (a significant improvement over the 16 in the previous edition).

We also now have an entirely new publication called Preparing Floral Arrangements for Exhibit (4H 5552).  This new resource talks specifically on assembling and exhibiting flower arrangements at the fair.


All of these new resources can be found on the Extension Store or the Yard and Garden website.

New 4-H Judging Pubs at the Extension Store

4-H Judging Pubs on the Yard and Garden Website


Oh, and if you've been using the old publication to prepare for this year's fair, don't worry.  The individual guidelines for each species have not changed from the old publication; they've just been clarified.  So, both publications can be used to prepare your exhibits - the new ones just provide more information in an easy-to-reference format. 

Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Yard and Garden, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on June 24, 2024. The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.