Page 66 - Simply Vegetables Summer 2023

Irish Spring Seminar 2023
We held our inaugural spring seminar in Ireland on Saturday March 4th, Moore Hall, South Roscommon with members travelling from all parts of Ireland including Kerry, Clare, Mayo, Fermanagh, Dublin, Waterford and nearly every county in between. The venue is central and within easy access to the road network. Our group has increased over the last year, and it was a great privilege to welcome everyone to the seminar. We are most thankful to everyone who arrived with plants and seeds for our plant sale area and prizes for our raffle. A special word of thanks to Pat Thornton who covered the rental cost of the venue by holding talks at local garden clubs during the winter months.
We had several presentations during
the day covering the activities of our society included membership benefits, growing vegetables in the Irish climate
and growing for Irish shows. John Harford gave a presentation on North Dublin shows and also gave us a demonstration on Leaf Mould and its benefits. Michael Gordon was on hand to take minutes and Sean Egan gave a treasurer’s report and outlined how successful the 200-club fundraising campaign has been to date.
During the afternoon there was plenty
of time for refreshments and we wish to thank our catering team Kathleen Higgins and Treasa Egan for their help on the
day. During the break, members had an opportunity to meet and greet. We had organised a seed swap table and plant
sale area which was very popular. We
also had a table for members to place any merchandise orders, including branded polo shirts. Sean was on hand to collect membership and 200 club tickets. A special word of thanks to Erica and Evanna Tully, our junior members, who took the lead in selling raffle tickets and plants.
After the interval, Tullamore show 2023 was discussed and it was agreed to sponsor a class at Tullamore show for
first time/novice exhibitors. The class
will require 2 Heads of Lettuce, which
was chosen as easiest for a beginner.
We currently have two perpetual awards presented annually at the show, the
NVS Michael Walton memorial shield
and the NVS trophy for Potatoes. I gave
a presentation of the various all Ireland competitions and provided tips for success. We also officially launched our inaugural NVS Irish Championships which will be held in Moate Show on 27th August.
Before the end of the event, we held our first 200 club draw and then a raffle for prizes donated by members. I think no one went home empty handed! It’s really important to provide opportunities for our members to meet in person for the chat, cuppa and share tips for the new growing season. All members enjoyed the day, and we were delighted to receive lovely feedback a sample of which is follows:
“What a lovely way to start the new growing season. Great to meet everyone. Now to sow all the new seed” Margaret Prendergast, Co. Mayo
“A great afternoon. The presentation was brilliant. The teas and refreshments were
a true delight. Thank you to everyone for making me feel very welcome, very proud to be a new member of the group.” Zara Evans, Co. Leitrim
“Thank you to all the NVS team for organising such a wonderful event. The beverages were amazing, and the food was delicious, thank you. We had a great time. Roll on the gardening now, hard work and looking forward to the Shows 2023 “ Mary and Pat Boylan, Co. Fermanagh
“What a fantastic day it was! I learned
a great deal about growing vegetables, most importantly I met a lot of new friends, I am so honoured to be a member of this wonderful society. Well done and bring
on the new growing season, Slainte.” Noel Cavanagh, Co. Dublin
Raymond Higgins
John Harfords presentation
Plant sale
Raffle winner
Refreshments
Sean Egan
Zara Evans and Raymond Higgins
66 Simply Vegetables