Plympton Gardeners Association

Next Meeting

Thursday 2^nd April, at Harewood House. Doors open 7.00pm for a 7.30 start. The talk this month promises to be quite spicey! - It’s from South Devon Chilli Farm. We will have our usual free tea and coffee, sales/swap table, informal competition and the raffle. For any new members there is an explanation of the Informal Competition at the end of this newsletter.

Spring Show

Held on Saturday 21^st March, the show proved to be a success, despite the random power cuts that dogged us throughout the day (especially around lunchtime). Whilst entries were not as high as on some previous occasions, the standard was generally very good considering the awful weather in the months leading up to the show. Thanks go to the show committee for all their hard work and to the many members who exhibited and gave a hand with setting-up, stewarding and with the clear-up at the end of the afternoon. Thanks to all who attended and bought tombola tickets, plants and bric-a-brac. This income helps to offset the cost of putting on the show.

Coach Trips

TOBY’ GARDEN FESTIVAL TRIP – FRIDAY 1^ST MAY

The cost of this trip is £35 and it’s now open to friends and family. There are pick-ups at Plymstock, Plympton and Ivybridge.

Payment by bank transfer Plympton Gardeners   Sort Code 30-94-58   Account 0093 0198    Reference quote   Toby & your surname

or by debit or credit card at this Thursday’s meeting.    https://tobygardenfest.co.uk

Also

TAUNTON FLOWER SHOW TRIP – FRIDAY 7^TH AUGUST

For £38, this is a good day out. The venue is in a lovely park in the centre of Taunton. There is plenty going on and there are many refreshment outlets.  About Taunton Flower Show | Taunton Flower Show History.

Pay by BACS (details below) or by credit card at Thursday’s meeting.

Plympton Gardeners   Sort Code 30-94-58   Account 0093 0198    Reference quote   Taunton & your surname

Hare Spring Cottage Open Weekends

One of our most popular guest speakers, Stella Oxley, has 3 Open Weekends at her own garden in the South Hams. Make your own travel arrangements.

Friday 10^th, Saturday 11^th & Sunday 12^th April;   10.00am – 4.00pm

Friday 29^th, Saturday 30^th & Sunday 31^st May;    10.00am – 4.00pm

Friday 24^th, Saturday 25th, Sunday 26^th July;         10.00am – 4.00pm

Mill House, Ford, Kingsbridge;    Use postcode    TQ7 2LN;  Tel 07792 376805. Please check before travelling if the weather is dodgy.

Plants for sale and refreshments available.   www.harespringcottageplants.co.uk

Cheques

Due to the cost of processing, and the cumbersome process when trying to deposit them, we are no longer able to accept cheques. We will still accept cash for membership (£5) but for all other payments should be made by bank transfer or by debit/credit card.

Trading Hut

The committee have agreed that because of very low/no usage the Trading Hut in Stoggy Lane will no longer open on Sunday mornings.

Members are still able to buy, at competitive prices, supplies of fertilisers etc at our monthly meetings, or by contacting Phil Warren – 07892 623991 to request ad-hoc orders.

Onion Competition

We are once again running our popular heaviest onion competition and seedlings will be available at the May meeting for members to grow-on during the summer months. If you won’t be there in May, please ask a friend to collect an onion for you. Full details about the competition will be given in next month’s newsletter.

Trophies

If you are holding any PGA trophies please arrange to return them to us, preferably at next Thursday’s meeting

St Lukes Open Gardens

This popular and worthy charity is once again running its Open Gardens events. Three of those coming up are:

5th April Gnaton Hall near Newton Ferrers

26th April Morval Hidden Gardens near Widegates, S.E. Cornwall

3rd May Horrabridge Open Gardens

See their website for more information   https://bit.ly/2FVApUY

Guidelines for Monthly Meeting Informal Competitions   

This is, first and foremost, an opportunity for members to display things they have grown or made, for the interest and enjoyment of other members. (See note 1 below). The intention is that it should stimulate discussion and help members to learn from the skill and experience of others. We wish to encourage all members to participate.

The competition element is still valid but should be seen as a secondary consideration and not taken over seriously, bearing in mind that the judging is carried out by fellow members who are not qualified judges (see below). We have attempted to put in place some guidelines to make things clearer whilst at the same time being mindful that this is not a formal competition.

·         There are 3 categories:

                Fruit and Vegetables;

                Flowers and Plants;

                Craft (to include art, needlework, knitted/crocheted items and homemade models)

·         Only one entry per person, per category (see note 1 below)

·         No entries to be shown that have been entered previously

·         Judges’ decisions to be accepted with good grace.

·         Judging criteria will be based on a balance of quality of entry against quantity of entry (see note 2 below)

·         There will, generally, be just one winner per category.

Judging - at each meeting we look for some volunteers to act as judges. They are each given 3 coloured discs to correspond with three different categories. At the start of the interval the disc holders should inspect the entries on the show tables and vote for the entry they deem to be the best. The discs are subsequently counted and the winner identified.

Note ---

1.       Each entry must have the name of the exhibitor on a small card or slip of paper, placed face down to ensure anonymity for judging purposes. Also, if possible, a further card/slip of paper should give details about the entry e.g., variety of exhibit, name of bloom if unusual etc.

2.       For small/medium vegetables & and small fruit items, a minimum of three, preferably five, items must be submitted so that consistency can be assessed. For blooms, ideally, a minimum of three blooms is required, again, to show consistency. Small/medium are fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, peas, beans, carrots, parsnips, onions, etc.