Page 64 - Simply Vegetables Autumn 2021

Kent District Association
It’s been another strange year so far for us in Kent with no meetings or shows in the first half of the year. But with the relaxation of the Covid rules we were able to arrange meetings for August and September at Bridge Village Hall. Most of the shows I should have judged have been cancelled. But it was a real treat to dust off the judging kit on the last day of July to judge the fruit and vegetables at Elham Village Summer show.
We always seem to be talking about the strange and difficult weather conditions which affect gardening. Everything seems to have been thrown at us this year – too cold, too hot, too dry, too wet! At the time of writing (late July) we’ve had some torrential stormy showers which have caused a lot of localised flooding. Unfortunately, the recent humid weather conditions have been perfect for the dreaded
potato blight. The blight rampaged through
our allotment site in
Tonbridge in a matter
of days. Everyone has
been busy cutting off the
potato haulms and some
have harvested their entire crops a month earlier than usual.
Recently I went to visit one of our members, Gordon Francis, who has been suffering with ill-health for
the last year to see how he’s coping with the garden. He had decided that working the allotment would be out of the question and so has put it on hold for now. Instead, with the help of his two sons, he has embarked on a small project in the back garden. An old 24ft x 8ft greenhouse has been removed and, in the space created, he has installed some raised beds, edged with scaffold boards. The new
vegetable beds are planted up with a good range of vegetables including carrots, beetroot, dwarf French beans, sweetcorn, peas, potatoes, cherry
tomatoes and Brussels sprouts. A remaining smaller greenhouse is bursting with tomatoes, peppers and aubergines.
Hopefully we can look forward
to a normal year in 2022 with a full programme of events to enjoy. In the meantime, keep gardening and keep safe.
Chris Passey
For information about the Kent DA contact: Chris Passey on 01732 352707 email: chris.passey52@gmail.com
Surrey DA
It looks like the Surrey DA are slowly getting back to normal as we have been given permission to re start our monthly meetings, we start on 8th September with a talk by Paolo Agrigo titled Plot to Plate, we look forward to the meeting.
Members have been busy on their allotments and in their gardens harvesting crops, the weather
has been changeable with high temperatures and heavy rain.
Personally, I have had a number of onions and leeks go to seed.
We look forward to being able to attend local shows and I am looking forward to attending the Malvern Autumn Show in late September.
We will be attending the RHS Taste of Autumn Show being held at Wisley in October, it will be good to interact with the public.
Stay safe,
Keith Hine
64 Simply Vegetables
A remaining smaller greenhouse is bursting with tomatoes, peppers and aubergines