Page 57 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2021

plus an IBC cage full of leaf mould which I find when added to the compost lightens
it up and makes it more open it is a bit of
a trial this year and we will just have to see how it goes but I thought I would try making my own as some compost I have bought last year or two were a bit disappointing I will probably need to add some fertiliser to the mix but we will see.
Between rain showers I scrubbed cleaned and disinfected my 14x 6 greenhouse, the second greenhouse still has a late crop of carrots and some cabbage waiting to be harvested but when they are done it will get the same scrub up so with a bit of luck I going to be ready come spring.
Last years Strawberries
Grazing Rye green manure
Secretaries report
If I recall correctly, it was Oscar Wilde who said “I don’t desire to change anything in England except the weather.” I wonder if after the experience of the last 12 months he would still make the same quote to-day. Who would have thought that 12 months on from the start of the pandemic that life
as we knew it would change so drastically? Hopefully if the vaccination programme goes according to plan there will be a slow return to a more normal way of life, although I think, we will all be still wearing face masks well into the future.
The earliest casualty for the Northern Branch was the cancellation of the Seminar due to be held in March 2020, obviously face to face meetings of the Branch Committee were not able to be held, and the Northern Branch Show at the ‘New’ venue for the Harrogate Autumn show at Newby Hall was also cancelled. The Northern Branch Committee did agree to give ZOOM meetings a go although not everyone was able to attend, those that have run have been quorate and successful meetings.
So where are we now? At the December ZOOM meeting it was decided that we were unlikely to be able to hold our usual March AGM in Horbury, because the restrictions would likely be still in place, rather than ‘throw in the towel and cancel
all events until we get a better picture of the situation. We’ve postponed the AGM until June and the plan is it will take Place at the Paxton Horticultural Society Hall in Leeds on the 6th June (details published elsewhere in this magazine). And we will also plan for a Judges exam in October, and the Northern Branch Championships at the Harrogate Autumn show, Newby Hall in September.
At the time of writing, Harrogate are still planning for a Spring show in May although numbers allowed in will be limited, and the Great Yorkshire show is still hoping to take place mid-July, this year over 4 days with limited numbers allowed to attend, but I’ve just heard on the radio that the Chelsea flower show has been moved from May to September. So it’s a case of don’t hold your breath as to everything going to plan we’ll just have to see what transpires.
Geoff Wilson FNVS Secretary
North Yorks and South Durham DA
It’s been some time since I last penned a note to the North Yorks and South Durham DA but I don’t feel the need to produce useless drivel if there is nothing to say. If anyone else from the DA wants to have anything published relating to the DA or local area, please send it on, I’m certain it will be appreciated.
For obvious reasons we have not been able to arrange a DA programme for 2021 but it would have followed the plan we had in place for 2020. We did consider holding ZOOM calls and the possibility of carrying out presentations via ZOOM but it was considered that the take up would be limited so currently this idea is on hold.
Over the past few years the DA has had the benefit of a free Internet presence hosted by British Telecom particularly for community groups. BT have decided that they no longer wish to support this service and it will end in May. This means that if we want an Internet presence for the DA we need to develop (Build and populate) another web site from a different provider. There are a number out there that offer a free service. We’ll still have the Facebook page but the Web-site reaches a much wider audience and I do not believe I am the right person to own this, so we need someone who is willing to own, develop and populate our new Web presence, any volunteers?
I hope you have all had a chance to visit the new National Web Site and the new way to renew your membership. It’s certainly a vast improvement on the original site, and there is still much more that it is capable of.
We are still planning to put a stall up at the Harrogate Spring Show, and Kevin Tritschler has been hard at work producing some show veg for the display but whether this show actually will take place and we get the opportunity to display his quality veg, is in the lap of the pandemic and the Government.
Geoff Wilson Secretary
Simply Vegetables 57