Page 6 - Simply Vegetables Autumn 2021

Lady Chair’s Report
SANDRA HALL FNVS, NATIONAL LADY CHAIR
Us Brits best topic of conversation is the weather and well what can I say it’s gone from one extreme to another from cold and frosty nights to hot unbearable nights where nobody could sleep. Still, that’s the British weather for you, we are never happy, are we?
The early runner beans I risked planting out early, all survived and
are growing well, but it has all been very slow growing this year for me, my tomatoes have taken what seems like months to ripen, then as for the watering, it became almost a fulltime job, but as I sit here writing this report we are in a wet spell, and it is raining quite heavily... good for the garden I hear you say.
I have sown some of the lettuce seed ‘Winter Density’ from D.T. Brown that I received in my last SV magazine,
and I can now report is that the germination was very good as they popped up to say hello within a week. I will give a finished report
in the next edition.
A big thank you must go to Raymond Higgins for constructing and managing the recent online survey.
Raymond gave the Trustees a fully detailed and comprehensive presentation via zoom and from your valuable feedback, the Trustees will be working through the various topics as it has given us plenty of food for thought and lots to work on for the future. An initial summary report from Raymond can be found at page 26.
As we have started easing out of lockdown
and travel restrictions lifting, some Branch and DA activities are returning gradually, I found myself on my travels again, firstly venturing to the new BBC Gardeners World Spring Fair, Beaulieu in the New Forest. Thinking the traffic would be light with not much about,
I headed off, but how wrong I was as the journey both ways was horrendous taking double the normal amount of time. The show, however, made up for my travel anguish as the Hampshire DA were very welcoming and they had helped to build an excellent vegetable
garden doing a great job promoting the NVS.
Branches have managed to either hold their AGM or because they were no officer changes, they postponed till next March 2022 I attended my own Midlands Branch’s AGM, where we elected a new chair Mrs. June Davies FNVS, a long serving member who has been the Midlands branch Secretary for many years. Thank you, June for taking on your new role.
The Trustees continue to meet, communicate, and work via zoom and the awards committee met at the beginning of the summer awarding an NVS Fellowship to Louise Clubley, Treasurer of the Surrey DA and an NVS Silver Medal to Kelvin Mason, our SV editor and Southern Branch Committee member. Congratulations and thankyou to you both for doing sterling work.
Looking forward, I can only hope that the weather improves, and that the January edition of SV will contain some interesting event and show reports from our Branches and DA’s, as well as the National Champs. Things are looking positive this Autumn.
Until then, good growing and keep up to date via our website and Facebook pages.
I am happy to inform
you our partners
continue to pull out all
the stops and inside
this edition of your SV
is another packet of
seeds, this time from
Medwyn’s of Anglesey
and it’s a red onion ref
No. “3119” which I hope
you will enjoy growing
at the turn of the year.
It will also be the 2022
National Championships Chairman’s challenge (Class 26), see pages 22 & 23 for more info.
A big thank you must go to Raymond Higgins for constructing and managing the recent online survey
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