Page 8 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2025

Kelvin’s
Comments
KELVIN MASON FNVS,
NATIONAL MAGAZINE EDITOR
These comments are very brief partly
owing to there being plenty of articles
from members to fill the April edition and
partly owing to I somehow managed to
delete or lose them when ready to send
to our publishers! I also threw away my
notes and have not the time to retype
the two pages, it was a brilliant rant so
you had a near miss there!
We have plenty to read in this magazine
with a slight bias towards fruit so come
on you veg growers don’t be shy put pen
to paper or fingers to keyboard. We have
a brief From the Kitchen in this issue as
Helen Hutchins-Cox shows us how to
make jam from chillies. This could be a
good use for the thousands of chillies the
plants produce and something different to
have on your cream crackers! Ron Nuttall
has been very busy with some articles on
a range of topics which should be useful to
any new members looking for advice.
Adrian Baggaley has sent an excellent
article on melons and watermelons a
crop I like but am not very successful at
growing, if you have the space indoors,
they are well worth a try and save having to
buy imported fruit. Gerry Edwards covers
planting in less-than-ideal conditions,
although not directly relevant to this time
of the year it is good advice for next winter
and we need to plant more trees and
ensure they establish.
There is a new class in the National
Championships of Globe Beetroot and
Mark Hall and Fiona Shenfield give
advice on growing top quality beetroot for
exhibiting. Our President Medwyn Williams
gets a few mentions in this issue as there
is an article on his growing of top-quality
vegetables using the AutoPot system. This
is a very good system used by a number
of top growers so have a look at Medwyn’s
advice and give it a go if you want to win
at the shows. Raymond Higgins sent
an article on Medwyn’s last Masterclass
Weekend in North Wales which has
received very good feedback. There are
a group of members hoping to continue
the weekends so note the comment in this
magazine and watch the NVS website for
details.
Andrew Moakes expresses his
frustrations on N.A.S’ing exhibits, it would
be good if some NVS judges have a read
of his article and send in their comments. I
don’t think the number of NAS’s I give has
increased in recent years, but I seem to get
a few each year most of which could have
been avoided by a bit of care and attention
and the stewards checking the exhibits
properly. Whilst on the subject of shows
Bob Bleasdale has penned an article on
supporting local shows and his efforts at
supporting a show in Cornwall.
Derek Brooks continues his very useful
series of seasonal jobs on the allotment
and garden, if you follow Derek’s advice
you should have a good supply of
vegetables throughout the year.
Depending on how much space is left
there may be a couple of articles by me,
I bet you thought you were getting away
with it!! I am not sure of the topics as this
will depend on the space available.
I hope none of you have suffered from
flooding or severe damage from the winter
storms, I live above the flooding level and
was lucky just having a couple of fence
panels blowing out and some panes of
glass out of the greenhouse. There is no
doubt the weather is getting worse, and we
need to do more to reduce the effects of
climate change. We went over the critical
temperature of 1.5˚C above pre-industrial
levels last year so we need to work harder
to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions
that we produce. We cannot rely on the
political leaders in the world they seem to
have lost the plot, if they ever realised one
existed! We all need to do our bit so have
a look and see what you and your family
can do.
Keep growing, keep fit and keep sane.
Correction
Please note that on the yearly planner enclosed with the January Simply
Vegetables the RHS Summer Fruit and Vegetable Competition is stated to be
at Tatton Park, in fact this year (2025) it is at Wentworth Woodhouse, in South
Yorkshire. Also, a quick note about the same competition in 2026 which is due to
be held at Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
8 Simply Vegetables
New Social
Media
Officer –
Faisal Ali
I joined the NVS in 2024 and
immediately became the Social
Media officer, a role which I am
eager to get stuck into, help
promote NVS and building on the
work done by my predecessor,
Sean.
After moving to our village 12
years ago and visiting the local Leek
Show, I obtained an allotment and
joined the show, allowing me to grow
vegetables for consumption and
exhibition.
Now, as Secretary of the Monkton
Leek, Vegetable and Floral Society, I
continue to balance family, work, and
my passion for growing produce for
both eating and showing.
I will manage all social media for
the NVS and develop strategies to
attract new members. I welcome any
feedback you may have. (Contact
details are on page 3 or via our
Facebook members site).
We are excited that we have a new
Social Media Officer on board. Faisal
is a Northern Branch member and
was Co-opted during the Trustees
meeting in November.
We have already started to benefit
from Faisal’s input to the team and
look forward to benefiting from his
expertise.