Page 52 - Simply Vegetables Summer 2023

East Yorkshire
District
Association
Our AGM was held at the end of January. The existing Committee was re-elected for a further year.
It was felt by a majority of our audience that insufficient consideration and encouragement was given by NVS
to catering for the showing needs of younger, less experienced growers, or those with limited growing opportunities. Concern was expressed that with the natural passing of elite national growers,
a vacuum of expertise might be created, and continuity of succession would be lost. This is considered likely to be a dilemma affecting NVS membership nationally
and the Committee was invited to raise this collective concern at the Northern Branch AGM in March in order to promote discussion on this issue.
Traditionally, East Yorkshire and West Yorkshire DA Shows are held on the
same weekend to enable members to exhibit their produce at both events. West Yorkshire DA will shortly lose access to their former home at Paxton Hall, Leeds and will need to secure new premises in due course. Following discussions, the date of the EYDA Show is confirmed as Sunday 1st October 2023 and will be held at Cherry Lane Garden Centre, Beverley.
Discussion took place on the provision
of buffets at our monthly meetings. It was agreed that a buffet would only be provided at the AGM, rather than at every event.
Following the buffet, we enjoyed a slide presentation by our Secretary - Gill Raven on her visit to Pakistan in her role as a theatre nurse in support of plastic surgery. She gave us a very interesting insight into the history of this country, the cultural differences she witnessed together with an account of some harrowing experiences she encountered during her stay.
We hope to continue this dual feature at future AGMs by encouraging any members who would like to share any historical ‘tales’ or personal experiences (in the form of a
Lee Plevey
short presentation), alongside the more formal business component of the AGM and as a means of adding extra interest for members and visitors.
Several of our members attended the final Winter NVS Zoom presentations for the 2022/23 season. Like it or not, this technology is here to stay and offers the benefit of watching and listening to national speakers from the comfort of your own home. Some argue that these meetings lack the social interaction of face-to-face meetings which is true but the technology allows you to ask questions and receive answers from the speaker and to message and communicate with others attending these sessions. If you just want to glean interesting facts and wisdoms from people you might not otherwise be aware of, or come into contact with, then Zoom offers you that possibility at very little personal cost.
Roger Burnett from Scarborough talked about growing and showing Pelargoniums at our meeting held in February. There are 20 or more classifications of Pelargonium and he grows 1800 varieties which he exhibits at most of the major northern Shows. The major UK Pelargonium nursery for the supply of plants is Fibrex Nurseries Ltd.
He was full of praise for his Keder Polytunnel which he claimed kept his plants up to 5 degrees warmer than ambient temperature during the winter and up to 5 degrees cooler during the summer!
You can grow Pelargoniums easily
from seed, but serious showmen tend to propagate new plants from cuttings taken from healthy parent stock. Cuttings taken from flower-bearing shoots are said to be more vigorous. Cuttings should be taken just below a leaf joint as this is the site of the highest concentration of plant auxins which are responsible for encouraging root growth. March/April and July/September are the best months to take cuttings. He uses Darlac soft bow scissors for this
purpose as they avoid cut thumbs which can happen when using a sharp knife!
Pelargoniums suffer from a number
of pests and diseases. Whitefly thrive
in hot dry conditions so maintaining a humid atmosphere is beneficial during the growing phase. Aphids can be attacked with the commonly available proprietary insecticides but Roger has been impressed with SB Plant Invigorator which functions as both a pesticide and a mildewicide. Pelargonium Rust can be prevented
by using regular doses of Roseclear or Provanto Fungus Fighter.
When showing Pelargoniums don’t let your plants rub against each other during transport to the Show. It is also important to ‘put your best face forward’ when staging on the bench. Use a clean, neatly written label bearing the correct spelling of the variety shown and remove any dead or damaged leaves or flowers. Cleaning the pots with a handwipe tissue is also beneficial.
There was also some discussion on alternative growing media, their suitability and the validity of their eco-credentials with the imminent ban on the sale of peat to domestic/amateur growers. In his view and after various experiments, he has found very few suitable alternatives to peat-based compounds. Woodchip/fibre will take nitrogen out of the soil and so needs extra fertiliser to compensate. Coir has poor water-holding capacity and requires extra nitrogenous fertiliser to be applied after even just a few weeks. Green waste carries the risk of unknown provenance and therefore possibly toxic chemical content. The best peat-free media he has found so far are produced by Melcourt and Dalefoot although they are relatively expensive to buy.
At the end of March we welcomed
Lee Plevey from Plevey’s Garden World, Doncaster to talk to us about Growing Composts. This presentation might be more aptly retitled as “What’s in that Bag?”
Roger Burnett from Scarborough
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