Page 56 - Simply Vegetables Autumn 2024

Southern Branch
MEMBERS 50000 TO 59999
I begin my report by congratulating Mr Keith Hine on being awarded the Silver Medal for his work and commitment
to the Society, especially at both DA and Branch level. Congratulations
also go to Mr Chris Spree who has been awarded a Fellowship for his work at DA and Branch level, but more importantly, for his work as the NVS Sponsorship Manager, who else could have got a solar PV manufacturer to sponsor the NVS! Congratulations to both of you for jobs well done.
It’s good to see that the weather is behaving a little more like summer, but down here we are definitely getting weather that does not entirely fit the normal pattern expected for summer. With the Southern Branch Championships scheduled to take place next week, as
I write this in July, it would appear that entries are down against 2023 but up
for the New Forest Show. The last three years statistics from 2022 give 27 entrants with 154 entries, 2023 had 26 entrants with 194 entries and so far for 2024 we have 20 entrants with 175 entries. For
the NFS side, in the same order we have 22 entrants with 112 entries, 25 entrants with 135 entries and 27 entrants with 149 entries. It will be interesting to see how many actually stage and by the time
you get to read this, the numbers will of course have been confirmed.
The Sussex DA were once again active in the Horticultural Tent for the South of England Show held over three days at the beginning of June and all had a most enjoyable time. There were three Show Gardens on view outside of the tent with the new Wildflower Meadow at the rear, still work in progress but
should look good for next
year’s Show as it was
only sown in April this
year. Plans are afoot next
year to increase the size
of the horticultural area
and bring together all
horticultural orientated
activities into one place,
a sort of “one stop” for
horticulture.
organising the SEAS Horticultural Show in the Robins Building. Full results and reports for both will appear in the Winter edition SV.
Having held an NVS Judges Examination in 2023 there are no plans to hold one in 2024. If there are sufficient
members out there who would like to take the exam in either 2025 or 2026 then please let me know so that planning can commence.
Once again, the NVS Southern Branch will
be pleased to accept applications from NVS affiliated Societies and Organisations for the NVS Plaque and Card, please either email me or Jan Lovel our secretary, for an application form, which needs to be in by January 2025 and for which
there is no charge for the
plaque.
As always, I close by wishing that you
had a good growing (and showing?) season and enjoyed the fruits of your labour.
Norman Dickinson FNVS Southern Branch Chairman
Plans for the NVS
National Championships
to be held at the South
of England Showground
in Ardingly are just about
complete, with a recent
meeting with the Show
Director of the South of
England Agricultural Society (SEAS) to effectively dot the i’s and cross the t’s, so we all look forward to a most successful event, which, will have just taken place by the time that you read this. In addition to the NVS National Champs, the Sussex DA will, in conjunction with SEAS, be
Plans are afoot next year to increase the size of the horticultural area and bring together all horticultural orientated activities into one place
Kent DA
At the time of writing, late July, your veg plots must have now recovered from the cold and wet start to the growing season. Hopefully, your gardens and allotments will have supplied you with plenty of vegetables for the kitchen and for exhibiting.
Since my last report in April, we have had three DA events. In May we were pleased to invite Vanessa Jones along to speak about the worrying invasion of the Asian Hornet to our shores from mainland Europe. Vanessa is well known as a vegetable grower and a NVS Judge, she is also a Master Beekeeper. Asian Hornets are not just a nuisance to beekeepers
but are voracious predators attacking all insects including caterpillars. Vanessa explained the threat not only to the bees but, also to the environment. We learnt how to identify the Asian Hornet and how to differentiate them from the European
56 Simply Vegetables