Page 8 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2023

Article Plea
The paragraph below was in
the April 2008 edition of the
NVS Quarterly Bulletin, the predecessor of Simply Vegetables magazine, and was written by the then webmaster John Harrison who now runs a very interesting website on allotments. The Keith he refers to is Keith Ross who was the editor at the time.
“I know Keith has a hard job getting articles for the bulletin and I have the same problem with our NVS website so here’s a plea.
If you are a speaker or just knowledgeable why not write down what you do? It doesn’t have to be a work of Shakespeare, either Keith or I can edit it and tidy it up.
Once its down on paper, its available to a wider audience than you could ever reach giving talks and you will be helping the society help people everywhere.
Of course, they cannot ask questions, but they will still learn a lot.”
I could not have put it better myself, if you have knowledge please share it, that is the way the human race has improved over the millennia, don’t take your knowledge to the grave with you otherwise it is lost forever.
Regarding answering questions, you can send your question into me at the address on page three and I could get back to the author. Your article could be on conventional growing, growing for showing
or giant vegetables, exhibiting, hydroponic growing, soil care or ideas to make growing easier, basically anything on vegetable growing.
Charities Commission requires that NVS funds can only be used for set purposes and social events aren’t in the list of set purposes.
Sourcing a sponsor for the full
cost of the event is also unlikely.
The annual social evening
is a vital part of the National championships and brings the membership who have travelled
from all parts of the country together
– general agreement was that it
should be retained even if members must purchase a ticket to attend.
The January Trustees meeting was
held on the 17th of January via Zoom. Our Chair, Sandra Hall opened the meeting, welcoming all present. A membership report was issued in advance of the meeting. Membership numbers remain steady for 2023. It was reported that more people are now paying by direct debit and card rather than cash. Some tweaks are required to the website around renewals which will need to be resolved in 2023.
Members of the Membership Subgroup reported on the ongoing work to centralise the Society’s finances. A report was issued in advance on the meeting.
and spelling and are reluctant to sit the theory paper.
Jean Forrester issued a finance report
in advance of the meeting. The report was well received. Kelvin Mason provided an update on the Simply Vegetables magazine and noted there were some minor delays reported in receipt of the winter magazine due to the postal strikes. It was reported that the winter Zoom talks are going well, with over 100 members attending each. The recording of the talks are also been
A Phase 1 proposal was carried. All subs including cheques and cash to be paid into a central fund (like direct debits) and prior to distributing the funds back to Branches, the capitation fee will be deducted.
The benefits will be less reporting, less invoicing, and greater clarity on the level of funding. A plan will now be prepared regarding a clearly defined process, training and implementation date.
It was reported that the winter Zoom talks are going well, with over 100 members attending each
well received on Website. The Trustees thanked the contributors and organisers.
The 2023 National championships will be hosted by the Northern Branch at Newby Hall, Ripon from September
15th to 17th. It was reported that the Northern Branch committee have voted not to hold a social event in 2023 due to cost. It was also reported that we are still seeking someone to take the role of Trophy Secretary
Raymond Higgins had prepared and issued a paper on ideas to improve the judge’s exam process with input from the Judges Examination Board prior to the meeting. The report included a number of proposals which would make a difference in supporting both exam candidates and supporting each Branch in hosting the exam. All proposals were carried with
the trustees noting the positive changes.
It was requested that the changes
be implemented as soon as possible. Guidance notes for perspective candidates along with past papers and answers prepared by the Judges Examination Board are now published and available to view on our website. The theory exam will now be held twice a year on set dates (Spring and Autumn) and the Practical Exam will still be held once a year in each branch but now on a date that works best for the branch. In addition, reasonable accommodations and supports will now be offered to members who have a disability that may cause problems for them with reading, writing
for the National Championships, however we are very grateful to Mark Hall for offering to assist in the interim.
Chris Spree updated the trustees on the continuing positive engagement with our sponsors and it was noted that Shelley Seeds have sadly ceased trading due to ill health. A report on the recent online member survey was issued prior to the meeting. The survey provided
an opportunity for members to provide feedback on the free seed provided with the Simply Vegetables publications in 2021/2022. The trustees would like to express their sincere appreciation to all those who took the time to partake in the survey. The survey results will be shared with our Sponsors who are very gracious to provide free seed to our members.
At time of writing this report, the Trustees will meet again on 14th March and the April Trustee meeting is scheduled for the 25th. All meetings continue via Zoom.
Simply Veg 02_22.indd 1
09/03/2022 14:36
––––––––SIMPLY ––––––––
VEGETABLES
the quarterly magazine of the National Vegetable Society Volume 28 Part 2 Spring 2022
This edition of
SIMPLY VEG
is supported by
8 Simply Vegetables
When winter approaches I am regularly asked whether fruit trees should be pruned during the dormant season so
I thought it might be worth writing a few words about this subject. Before I go any further, the first thing to note is that the only fruit trees that should be pruned in the winter months are apples and pears. Stone fruits - almonds, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, and plums, must never be pruned in the dormant season (October to March) to prevent possible ingress of the diseases bacterial canker and silverleaf. I would slightly qualify that by saying that if
trees that were summer pruned to ensure nothing got missed - which it often does! Generally speaking, the majority of winter pruning will take place during the January to March period which is why I seem to spend much of my time away from home during this time of year!
you discover any damaged branches in stone fruit trees - caused, for example, by bird or wind damage, it is better to trim off the branch to remove any jagged edges and torn bark than leave the damage unattended. In the case of larger breakages and resulting large cuts I suggest that you might smear the cut end with Vaseline or something similar to help seal the wound.
Starting first with a) it should be noted that whilst traditionally spur and tip bearing trees are pruned in different ways during the initial growing period this can largely be ignored once a tree has been established - and that is a sigh of relief for many people! - as current pruning methods are very similar in not undertaking a cutting back of all growth. The first thing to do is to cleanly remove all dead, diseased, and damaged wood, then remove any very weak branches and eliminate crossing branches rubbing together by cleanly removing
the branch that is of
least benefit to the
tree. After this initial
work shorten all of the
previous year’s growth
to a bud; this will
help encourage new
branches and spurs.
Leave all side shoots
i.e., laterals unpruned
as you want them to
produce fruit buds in
the following summer. However, you may need to judiciously remove some of these laterals if they are crossing or there are too many of them. On trees that have been growing for several years you may find some spur systems have become very
Winter pruning is used in three situations - a) where apple and pear trees are grown as free-standing bush trees or standard trees and are established several years after planting b) for trees which have become large, well established and possibly overgrown c) to go through of all
Leave all side shoots i.e., laterals unpruned as you want them to produce fruit buds in the following summer
28 Simply Vegetables
Simply Veg 01_23.indd 28
23/11/2022
12:25
Winter pruning
fruit trees
GERRY EDWARDS FNVS
Pruned step over apples
If you have a tree of this type that has not been pruned for a few years and has become congested and a little out of control, do not worry! Firstly, open out
the centre of the tree by removing larger branches back to where they emanate and secondly reduce the height and spread of any branches that have grown too long or big by pruning them back to a fairly vigorous outward and upward facing branch. In future years follow the usual winter pruning regime as I noted above. Established trees as in b) are more interesting challenges! I am referring here to the big, old garden trees that were probably planted some 50 plus years ago and quite possibly not on anything but
congested and if this is the case remove those from the underneath of branches.
In the case of tip bearing trees cut back a proportion of the older fruited branches to a young, strong shoot and this will help keep the tree under control without those ever- extending branches that are often seen.
Simply Veg 03_22.indd 1
09/06/2022
15:05
––––––––SIMPLY ––––––––
VEGETABLES
the quarterly magazine of the National Vegetable Society Volume 28 Part 3 Summer 2022
This edition of
SIMPLY VEG
is supported by