Page 43 - Simply Vegetables Autumn 2024

Annual Seminar
We are very much looking forward to this year’s Scottish Branch Seminar at The Aytoun Hall, High Street, Auchterarder PH3 1BJ. A big thankyou to our speakers who have volunteered to give a wide range of talks on the day and to our hard-working committee members who help the day run smoothly.
We would also like to thank Gavin Thomson of Premier Hydroponics who is busy organising our commercial area for the day which takes a huge amount of time, money and effort. We will have our usual sales table on the day as well as a wide selection of seeds, courtesy of Unwin’s,
for you to browse and take away. And of course, you will have the opportunity to renew your membership and buy some 200 club tickets for 2025.
As we arrive and have a cuppa
from 10.00am, we will run PowerPoint presentations to share plenty of photos from Scone Palace and our annual garden visit and from this year.
Our first speaker this year will be top
root grower Paul Grimes from Craven Arms, Shropshire. Paul will be giving a talk on how he grows Parsnips. Paul won the National Championships in 2023 at Ripon and was awarded the most meritorious exhibit for his Parsnips, as well as achieving 3rd in 2018, 5th in 2021 and 2nd in 2022
so I’m sure we will gain some valuable knowledge from his growing methods.
Next up will be Fiona Shenfield who will provide her usual update on the Scottish Branch Championship results, National Championships results and the “Scots Abroad”.
After lunch we look forward to another top grower joining us from Loughborough, Leicestershire in the form of Simon Smith. Simon will be sharing with us how he grows Cucumbers and Tomatoes. This, I’m quite sure, will be very informative and, of course, entertaining. Simon has been in the tickets at the National Championships for
Paul Grimes – Parsnips
Simon Smith – Cucumbers
these two veg types with a 5th in 2016 and a 4th in 2015 for his tomatoes, plus a 4th
in 2012, 5th in 2021 and 5th in 2023 for his cucumbers.
Our third main veg speaker for the day is Scottish Branch Member, Jim Pearson from Whitburn. Jim will be giving a talk on how he grows his veg for the Millenium Class which, for the National Championships requires you to stage a collection of 4 of each ; Onions <250g, Stump Carrots, Globe Beetroot, Potatoes and Tomatoes. Often difficult to get all five veg types ready for
the same show, Jim will share his growing techniques with us. Jim won the Millenium Class in 2008, was 5th in 2011, 3rd in 2018, 3rd in 2021 and 3rd in 2022. As always, Jim’s talk will be down to earth, informative and entertaining.
After a tea break, we plan to “ask the Experts” and this provides you all with the chance to ask our main speakers questions on any veg types.
We will, of course have our raffle to end of the day.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Jim Pearson – Millenium
Malleny Gardens Plant Fair, Balerno
On 29th June 2024 at Malleny House Garden, owned by the National Trust for Scotland
Jim Williams and I were asked to represent the NVS and so manned an advice stall. It was a beautiful day, and
the event was very well attended. We answered many questions on the growing of vegetables and also directed people to Malleny’s well-tended plot to see vegetables starting to mature.
This plot is looked after by the volunteers of Balerno Village Gardeners, of which I am a member, and is leased to us for a peppercorn rent by the NTS. A variety of both heritage and modern vegetables are
grown as near to an organic standard as possible. The harvested produce is offered to the public at the monthly Balerno Farmers Market. This gives a small income with which to buy seeds etc for the next season
Our vegetable gardening advice at Malleny was well received and hopefully has encouraged many of the visitors to grow their own and learn more about the NVS.
The organisers gave a huge thank you
to all who attended the plant fair, stating that they felt it was a successful event, and that they had a wonderful time chatting
to you everyone and meeting some lovely people. The organisers closed in saying “what a wonderful community spirit there is
in Balerno, this was so lovely to be part of”. I’m happy to report that the organisers are already looking towards 2025 based on the success.
George Harrison FNVS
Simply Vegetables 43