Page 64 - Simply Veg 3.21

Sussex DA
Gosh where has this year gone? Even though we have spent the first part
of the year in Lockdown, it seems to have flown by.
Here in the Sussex DA we have been having Zoom committee meetings to discuss rescheduling our talks and also keeping our members up to date with newsletters. We had of course started a lot of plants off ready for our shows, which has kept us busy.
Sadly we decided not to have a presence this year at the South Of England Show at Ardingly mainly because there had been a change in the Horticultural area of the show which meant we would not have been able to have our normal stand and set up. Plus the numbers would be much reduced due to the current restrictions. However we hope to be back in 2022.
Our first ‘Live’ meeting will be our
mini show in September on the 8th
and we will be adding more classes in the hope that we can encourage more members to enter. We also want to make it a more social occasion to bring us all back together and meet our many new members who have recently joined us.
Have a lovely summer.
Right are a couple of pictures of plants that were destined for Ardingly this year.
Southern Branch
Championships
2021 – Virtual Show
We hope you have seen the show schedule for the Southern Branch Championships Virtual Show which is available on the NVS website and on Facebook.
First thing to do; send your entry form
to chair.nvs-sb@outlook.com. It must
be submitted by 11.50pm on 17th July. Otherwise you will be too late to enter. Bad times! Then take your photos between 20th and 21st July.
All exhibits need to be photographed with a pound coin as an indication of scale. Some long exhibits also require a tape measure to be in shot. Please see the photographic brief in the show schedule for full instructions.
Email your photographs to chair.nvs-sb@ outlook.com by 11.59pm on 21st July.
Remember, no airbrushing or retouching and be sure to submit entries large enough and clearly in focus. The judges need to be able to see them without any difficulty and to zoom in if necessary and the images to retain definition. The judges will be reviewing the entries on 24th and 25th July. We have certificates and beautiful rosettes awaiting worthy winners. Good luck to all who enter!
The results are expected to be released on 27th July.
Alison Clarke
Southern Branch Championships 2021 Virtual Show Secretary
Kent DA
Hopefully when you are reading this in July things might be back to something like normal. This is all due to the impressive Covid vaccination programme in the UK and the lockdowns we have had to endure.
I am afraid there is little for me to report currently as there have been no Kent DA activities so far this year. We are planning
to recommence our monthly meetings at Bridge Village Hall possibly from August. Also, our DA Autumn Show at Wingham may be on the cards if all is well. All possible events are subject to confirmation with details being sent out nearer the dates.
Our social evening at Judd’s Folly Hotel, Faversham has been booked for 10th November. Details to follow from Peter Aplin.
We are well into the growing season now and your vegetable plots must be all planted up and looking great. There will be some shows this year, some real and some virtual. Don’t forget that the Southern Branch Championships is a virtual show this year, so you can enter from the comfort of your own home! Whichever you enter I wish you all good luck.
I can report information about some other non NVS events. The Kent Federation of Horticultural Societies Summer Show is cancelled. This is because the venue which
is the Kent County Show will be a scaled back show this year with a focus on farming and agriculture. They will not be hosting any indoor flower and vegetables shows. The KFHS Autumn Show should be going ahead at Ditton Community Centre on Sunday 20th September. Schedules for this show will
be available in due course. Another Kent / Surrey event which is planned to go ahead is the Edenbridge and Oxted Agricultural Show on 29th/30th August.
In a previous issue of SV I mentioned that
squashes were one of my ‘must haves’. I grew several varieties last year but the one which did particularly well for me was Squashkin. The keeping qualities are exceptionally good, in fact we still had one left in store in May and still edible!
If you would like to get in touch with the Kent DA for any information please call me on 01732 352707 or email chris.passey52@ gmail.com
Hope to see some of you very soon.
Chris Passey
64 Simply Vegetables