Page 9 - Simply Vegetables Autumn 2021

any new gardeners only have
a very small garden there are trained trees that take up
very little room such as
espaliers, fans, cordons,
arches and step-overs (more like trip overs!). these can be grown along a wall, fence, trellis and can act as a divider between the vegetable patch and ornamental area.
Having had my rants for this issue what is in the magazine to interest you? First, I should thank Raymond Higgins from the Irish DA for the work he put in doing the recent survey for the NVS. He put together an excellent survey in July and
the feedback will give the trustees guidance on the future direction of the society. Raymond has also very kindly produced an article for the magazine so members can see the initial
results of the survey themselves; it
is well worth a read. A couple of the questions were on Simply Vegetables and I have written a short response and some comments on suggestions for future articles. I think the survey was a very useful exercise and we owe Raymond our thanks for his efforts.
One of the requests from the survey was for some interviews
with top growers; Simon Smith has gone one better and managed to get an interview with two stars from Emmerdale, many thanks for your efforts Simon. It is good to see even the stars are growing their own food.
Ron Nutall has also been busy and sent a couple of articles on potato
growing and his
family enjoying the
allotment. It is
always a pleasure
to receive letters and I have had four in recent weeks on various topics. Two are on no-dig following the article in the last magazine; having read John Negus’s letter I decided to do a little research on the topic. There is plenty of information in books, magazines and on the internet but not much real research on no-dig. A brief report follows the letters page, as I say at
the end of the report the debate will continue and it really needs some proper research to compare dig and no-dig. Possible something members would like to try!
Another request from the survey was for some quizzes and crosswords, I have often wondered about putting some in the magazine but was not sure whether members wanted them. Raymond Higgins has very kindly put together some puzzles and quiz which should tax your brain after digging your allotment or spreading mulch!
Derek Brooks continues his series on seasonal jobs to keep you active up to Christmas. For those recent members Derek covers the jobs you should be doing on your allotment / garden during the period following the issue of the magazine. He gives
very good advice on the work
that needs doing to grow good crops and flowers.
Adrian Baggaley who I owe a big apology for misspelling his
name twice in the last magazine, I even checked it and still got it wrong! In this issue Adrian has written about grafting fruit trees and shows us
how he does it and his successes and failures. Grafting is not easy although it comes with practice so have a go if you fancy producing your own fruit trees.
For those of you looking for Christmas presents there is a book review from one of our members on vegetarian and gluten free cooking, which is not commonly covered in many books. If reading is not the gift receivers favourite pass time other presents include good quality tools, plants, remember bareroot trees are still in season at Christmas, gift tokens for seed companies or garden centres or some of your home preserved produce.
Talking of which Linda and Marion have sent in a couple of recipes to use the produce you have grown; I have
to say the pizza looks almost edible
on the page and made my mouth water. More recipes would be most welcome so please ask the chef in your household to send one or more.
That completes my comments for this issue other than to wish members a Happy Christmas and New Year
– yes, I know it’s early, but I bet the tinsel is in the shops!
Apology
I owe Adrian Baggaley an apology for mis-spelling his name in the previous magazine – ED.
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