Worthing and District Allotments and Gardens Association

YOUR ASSOCIATION CONTACTS:

EDITORIAL
The Annual Show was the biggest and best so far. 356 exhibits - up from 258 last year. The only downside was the Flower Section where numbers were slightly down, so come on you gardeners, more floral entries for next year.

Talking of gardeners, please find in this issue an article by Cathy Garton from Findon Valley. I do not get very much input from gardeners, so how about putting pen to paper?

NOMINATIONS for Officers must be made in advance of the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING on 10th November 2010. Forms are available from the Chairman, Ian Dunster.

Dennis Dixon

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PUBLICITY OFFICER NEEDED

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SECRETARY'S NOTES

At the moment we are seeking a new secretary as Peter Webb had to resign because of business commitments.

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TRADING NEWS

This is to remind members to send their Potato Order in to me by the end of November. The Order Form is on the back page of this issue of your personal Plotholder, so it is now decision time.

Several people have said that they thought the Humber Store was now closed; this is not the case. We are still here waiting to supply all your gardening needs.

New season's seed will be on the Store racks in November, so bring your list and stock up. You will find Japanese onion sets in each of the Stores at £1.10 per lb and garlic orders will also be ready for you to collect at this time.

Dithane 945 has been discontinued and once existing stocks have been sold there will be no more.

Peter Everett, Trading Secretary

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ALLOTMENTS - CHANGES?

The Borough Council's vision for the allotments
The Borough Council would like to break even on the costs of allotments and this would mean gathering an income of £48,000 per annum. To achieve this, rents would need to rise to £50.00 p.a. but no details of how they reach this figure have been supplied. The 30% pensioner's discount would apply to the first allotment only, with the remainder being charged at full price.

The Council is also proposing a deposit of £50.00 from new tenants which would be refunded when they give up their allotment in good condition.

Finally and most importantly The Council would like to see the Association take over the running of all the allotment sites.

The Association's point of view
Whilst £50.00 (less than a pound a week) does not seem excessive, it is a big increase in one go and should be phased in over a number of years.

The pensioner's discount should be on the first 2 plots, not just one. The deposit idea is good but £50.00 is not necessarily appropriate.

As for running the allotment sites, your Committee feels that this is far too big a job for them alone and would require paid staff. Similar schemes are run in other districts but probably do not cover as many allotments as Worthing does.

Watch this space.

Dennis Dixon

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MEMBERSHIP RECORDS AND YOUR DETAILS

It really does not seem a year has passed since Ken, our retiring Membership Secretary, asked you to renew your membership and update your records with us. As the new Membership Secretary it has now fallen upon me to request the same from you and to encourage you to renew your membership as soon as possible to ensure you continue to receive your bi-monthly Newsletter and all the benefits of membership.

When you send your subscription I shall be grateful if you take a few minutes to update any details about you which have changed since your last renewal by completing the form on the back cover of your personal Plotholder; please forward the form with your subscription. If you renew at one of the Association's Stores and forget to take your form along there will be a supply of forms there for you to complete. Alternatively, you may email me direct with your details - p.foan@ntlworld.com.

Your subscription can be paid now for 2010/2011 (renewal only £3) either by sending it to me with a SAE for the return of your card, or by dropping in to any of the Association's Stores on a Saturday or a Sunday morning. Alternatively, you can pay me in person at this year's Annual General Meeting on 10th November.

West Tarring Site only
Due to the size and layout of the site, the number of vehicles visiting and in conjunction with the Association's drive on security of members' plots and property, I respectfully request that members supply the registration numbers of any vehicles which may visit the site. There is space for this information on the renewal slip. Please note that supplying this information is not obligatory but it will assist the Association to identify vehicles to members and maybe raise questions about any vehicle for which we do not have a record and the reason for it being at West Tarring.

Please do rest assured that this is not meant to a "Big Brother" tactic in any form and all information given will be subject to the Data Protection Act 1998. I hope you will understand our reasons for this request as the Association is committed to do all it can to protect our members' plots and their property and to ensure your allotment experience remains a pleasurable one. Once again, this request applies only to members at our West Tarring Site.

Peter Foan, Membership Secretary

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HOME GARDENING, 20th Century Style

I love my garden - it is not finished with a perfect stripy lawn, nor has neat rows of anything. No, the front garden is a work in progress, from an overgrown mess when we moved in 6 years ago, to a slightly less overgrown mess now, but still needs 'refining'. Does any gardener not want to continue to 'refine' things - when is a garden ever 'finished'?

The back garden, with its trampoline, climbing frame, guinea pig run and lawn decorations of chewed up 'things' that the dog has destroyed (which make my homemade compost so much more colourful than anything bought in the shops), is probably fairly typical of a family garden. Apart from my veggies - I really love growing veggies! The soil preparation, the seed catalogue planning, nurturing seeds, fighting off slugs and other pests (including children and footballs) and the first taste of something grown yourself - I am not sure there is anything quite so satisfying.

My veggies are everywhere! They have pretty much taken over every sunny spot in the garden - the shady bits have been filled with shrubs that need very little attention, as, frankly, I prefer to spend my time on the productive plants. I have, at last count, 21 different types of vegetable, including 4 different types of tomato and not including the 3 different varieties of potato. I have fruit too - pears, plums, Bramleys, autumn fruiting raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. I have had triumphs - the blue banana squash which has nearly taken over an entire raised bed - and disasters - from where did the white rot on my onions and garlic come?

I do enjoy gardening at home but there are aspects of gardening on an allotment that are missing. OK, I can visit Dr.Google and enter "brown patches on tomatoes" and get any number of hits, but I am sure that there would be someone on site who would know straight away if I have blossom end rot, buckeye rot or grey mould and how to resolve it. All those pictures of something similar but not quite the same as I have at home - well, I still do not know - answers on a postcard, please?!

The internet has some excellent gardening forums; my personal favourite being John Harrison's site www.allotment.org.uk This site has everything - advice and articles on growing, harvesting and cooking your produce, a diary of John's own trials and tribulations, advice and articles about poultry (oh, I have not mentioned the ladies who also live in my garden - eggs and rocket fuel for the compost heap, they certainly pay their keep), links to companies selling garden items at often discounted rates and the forum. In this open forum, people raise questions on pretty much every aspect of gardening and you can bet that if you have something strange going on with your onions then someone on the forum will also have experienced it and other members will have come up with a solution. So, whilst I may not have access to real life people to ask, the internet comes a close second place.

Cathy Garton

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THE GREAT VILLAGE SHOW

Saturday, 4th September was the day of the Show, working side by side with the Worthing Horticultural Society; with the weather set fine we were all ready for a great day. Our gang of regular helpers worked wonders setting up on the previous evening and we were all set to go. There were a lot of new entrants as well as regulars to fill the tables with their efforts,100 exhibits more than last year, keeping the judges busy all morning. Gentlemen, please note that the lasses outnumbered the lads almost two to one, so come on, chaps, next year you really must be more courageous.

The halls looked wonderful, a blaze of colour, glorious produce and flowers everywhere and rows of home cooked goodies. There were three real eye catchers, all thanks to Bernie Broad - a huge pumpkin, an equally large marrow and the most stunning sun flowers you have ever seen. The few new items in this year's schedule proved a big success, particularly the Novice Classes which were well supported.

The public was kept busy casting votes for the flower arrangements in teapots and egg cups and photographs of "Blooming Worthing" and really enjoyed getting involved. Children's entries were well up this year; they really do love to take part. There was a tie for the most points between Orchard Chamberland and Ben Edwards who also took the "Best Exhibit" award. The raffle was well supported with some excellent prizes donated by Fargro and the cake stall was stocked superbly with a vast array of lovely things, so, many thanks to all who contributed. Your hard work is really appreciated. On the White elephant stall there were bargains to be had all afternoon, resulting in bumper takings. The out of date seeds sold well and Ian's runner beans disappeared at the speed of light.

As if this was not enough, in the hall next door was the Horticultural Society's show with all that had to offer, particularly the flowers which were just stunning, plus the chance to sit down with a cup of tea and a slice of homemade cake.

Then it was time for the prize giving: The Best Front Garden was won by Jim Short for the third year running, holding off Jenny Rollings by the narrowest of margins. Best Allotment went to Jack Rudland, with Celia Powis second and Val Chappell / Dennis Dixon third.

The trophy winners for the show classes were well spread out amongst the entrants with Bob Bingham winning the vegetables section and the Banksian Medal; Jack Rudland had the best vegetable exhibit. Celia Powis had most point for flowers, Gloria Aylott won the rose trophy and Eric Cornfield had best fruit exhibit. The best flower exhibit and Best In Show Trophy went to Bernie Broad for his wonderful sun flowers. Margot Hollingdale won the Floral Art cup and the Novice awards went to Martin Ellmore who did really well at his first attempt. The Cookery cup was won by Jacquie Edwards and the public voted Lyn Willo's photograph the best. Your humble Show Secretary won the Top Tray and the syrupy apple tart which will not last long, it is quite delicious. Congratulations to them all.

Each year our Show is successful but I think this one was even better than usual. Lots of exhibits to fill the halls, a big crowd viewing and a wonderful atmosphere. Someone remarked on the look of true joy on individual's faces when they find a prize stickier on their card; he was right. It was such a pleasure spending an afternoon in the company of so many happy people, and then, like magic, the gang cleared it all away.

On your behalf I thank everyone who helped in any way to make this event so special.

Jack Powis, Show Secretary

(For a report of the show with pictures and a full list of class winners see our News page. Ned)

THAT'S ALL THIS TIME. GOOD GARDENING AND HOPE TO SEE YOU IN ISSUE No 6