Page 65 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2025

Welsh Branch
MEMBERS 40000 TO 49999
At long last we have the date of our
Welsh Branch championships. We
knew that they would be returning to
St Fagans Natural History Museum, St
Fagans near Cardiff, but we didn’t know
the date until just recently.
They will be held on Saturday 13th &
Sunday 14th September to coincide with
their food festival. St Fagans for those who
have never visited is primarily an outdoor
museum of old buildings and crafts etc
taken from all over Wales and erected on
about 50 acres of park land. The latest
acquisition is a public house called The
Vulcan, re-erected brick by brick from
Cardiff. Farmhouses, Chapels, A terraced
street, Pigsty, A miners Institute are just
some of the highlights. There’s a good
restaurant, and there’s free entry with a
small parking charge. We’d love to see as
many of you as possible come to see our
show.
We have been busy organising a seminar
at Oswestry Showground on 22nd March
with 4 great speakers. I realise by the
time you read this the event will be past.
However, I mention it primarily to thank
Owain Roberts, Medwyn Williams and the
long travelling Sherie Plumb and Raymond
Higgins for readily giving their time and
experience.
The Royal Welsh show is held at
Llanelwedd nr Builth Wells mid Wales.
Monday 21st – Thursday 24th July. We’ll be
there on Sunday 20th, to erect a vegetable
display on behalf of the Welsh Branch.
Some of our committee members man
our stand for the four days. Last year we
made quite a few new
members. One of which Ben
Thomas and his daughter
has joined our committee.
Ben along with his wife has
set up a Facebook page for
the Welsh Branch. Please
consider joining our page,
it’s a good way to keep in
touch with each other and
somewhere where we can
post information on events
like our seminar, show etc.
On a personal note. I’ve embarked on
a leek breeding program, these things
although quite straightforward, take time,
from making the crosses in 2022, selecting
the seedlings in 2023, producing grass on
the selected seedlings in 2024 and trialling
them good and proper in 2025. Fingers
crossed something worthwhile will (could)
come from them. My old Son T lamps
decided to pack up after 40 years. So, I’ve
invested in an LED light. My new leeks look
My old Son T
lamps decided
to pack up after
40 years. So,
I’ve invested in
an LED light.
good under it, and so do the onions. I hope
they won’t be too advanced.
I’m also trying a few new potato
varieties, well probably not brand new
but new to me, Caledonian Pearl, Sally,
and Sagita. I do like to try something new
every year, it’s a good way of learning
and keeping up with
what’s going on around us.
Regarding potatoes, I think
2024 gave me the biggest
crop of potatoes I’ve ever
had. I still have one and
a half rows of Valor still
in the ground, (I only dig
them when I need them)
of course if you do this you
must earth up well because
of frost protection and have
no ground slugs. To prove
to you all how good a crop I’ve had, I’m 2
stone overweight!
I sent for my seeds but forgot broad bean
seeds, so I had to send a second time. My
wife said that I’m starting to lose the plot,
then she remembered I’ve always been like
this.
Ivor Mace
Simply Vegetables 65