Summer 2014

10 & 11 May		Seed Box Open Weekend and Plant Sale
10 May		FGA stall outside Tesco
14 June		FGA stall at the Carnival
22 June		Tour of Wrest Park garden
16 August		Annual Show
11 October		Autumn Show
30 October		FGA Quiz

The Flitwick Gardeners’ Association

We are an association run by members, for members. Our aim is to promote gardening in Flitwick and the surrounding villages.

We have a members’ shop ‘The Seed Box’ where we try to stock useful items including seeds, tools and chemicals at very competitive prices. There is a library and a small range of loan equipment.

We also run shows, organise an annual quiz and run the occasional trip to visit a garden.

How to find us

The Seed Box is situated behind the Flitwick Leisure Centre on Steppingley Road.

Seed Box Opening Hours

Tuesday	6.30pm to 7.30pm (Feb to the end of May only)
Friday	7.30pm to 9.00pm (Feb to Nov)
Saturday	2.00pm to 4.00pm (Feb to Nov)

Telephone

Outside of these hours you can always leave a message for us on the answering machine on 01525 717289

Email addresses

General enquiries etc.	enquiries@flitwickgardeners.co.uk
Newsletter	newsletter@flitwickgardeners.co.uk

Web site address

Web site

www.flitwickgardeners.co.uk

Annual General Meeting – 3 April 2014

17 members gathered at the Rufus Centre to hear from the Chairman, J-P Carter, that he was standing down after 15 years in the role. At a recent meeting of the Executive Committee J-P gave notice of his intention and asked if anyone wished to take on the role. Syd Pye, the previous secretary of the FGA, put himself forward and was duly elected.

J-P thanked everyone and his final Chit Chat is on page 5.

Syd thanked J-P for his work over 15 years as Chairman. He commented that he was pleased that J-P will continue as a member of the Exec and Show committees, and long may that continue. Syd’s first message as Chairman is on page 4.

The formalities of the AGM continued as usual. The reports of the Trading Secretary, Membership Secretary and Show Secretary appeared in the Spring issue of the magazine and were taken as read.

The 2013 unaudited accounts appear on pages 8 to 11 and the Financial Report from the Treasurer is on page 6.

If you wish to query any aspect of these reports, you may do so by speaking to a member of the Executive Committee at the Seed Box or by email. Your questions will be passed to the appropriate person.

The current officers were re-elected unopposed. The Executive and Show committees were elected unopposed. An auditor was not elected. The Treasurer needs to clarify whether the usual auditor is willing to continue.

The meeting decided to leave the FGA joining fee and renewal fee unchanged at £2 each and the surplus paid by members who receive the magazine by post remains unchanged at £3.

The Trading Secretary spoke about the Open Weekend and the plant stall, which is to be outside Tesco this year. There is more about this and our stall at Flitwick carnival in Trading Update on page 12.

Jonathan Wilde

Publications Officer

Syd’s Snippets

Welcome to my first column as your new Chairman. At the AGM my first role was to thank our previous chairman of some 15 years, J-P Carter, for his services to the Association during his tenure of the office. I am also pleased to report that he has agreed to continue on the Executive and Show committees and on your behalf I thanked him for his loyal service.

We have already put some changes into place and the first will be the venue for the annual plant stall. Instead of being on Barclays forecourt, we shall be in the vicinity of the new Timpson outlet at Tesco. In order not to try and compete with our new host, this will be mainly an opportunity for us to promote the FGA and its services. A range of bedding and basket plants will be available all weekend at the Seed Box. We will also offer the chance for you to make up your own baskets or, if you prefer, we can do it for you.

The Town Council are resurrecting the Carnival and the date will be 14 June. We shall be there and are currently planning what we shall have available.

We are always looking for assistance in various roles, whether it be weighing up of own packs, helping on the till or unloading lorries, so if anyone can help, please contact the Executive member on duty at the Seed Box. It need not take up a lot of your time but 2 – 3 days a year from a few would help us greatly.

Here’s to a great gardening year and I look forward to seeing you at the Seed Box or one of the above events.

Syd Pye

Chairman

A last Chit Chat from J-P

As some of you already know – those of you that were at the AGM – I have after the best part of 15 years in the Chair of the association stepped aside. The position has been filled by Syd Pye, a former Secretary of the FGA, and I ask that you all give him, as I do, all the support you can. The association does not run itself, it depends entirely on volunteers like Syd, myself and several others. Long may this continue.

As you can tell from the above, I am not severing all ties with the FGA, I was prior to the AGM asked to continue as a serving member of both the Executive and Show committees and am continuing to do so. If you wish to join me, please do. Ask at the Seed Box for the committee member on duty at the time. During my tenure as Chairman I have welcomed some new committee members and happily most of them are still with us, but time does not stand still for any of us, other commitments and events occur as in my case, and fresh blood is required.

Therefore all that remains is for me to say thanks for your support over the time and good luck to the new Chairman.

As ever, don’t forget to enter the shows that we stage and –

Enjoy you gardening

J-P. R. Carter

Deputy Chairman

Financial Report 2013

Poor trading conditions at times last year has resulted in a very slim trading profit of £299 leading to an overall loss for the year of £2,209.

We did not purchase as much stock as in previous years, hence the end of year stock is down. Due to poor trading, stock is not down by the same amount as the purchases. The big difference is in seeds where sales are down by as much as 20%, which is a considerable amount. Sales of plants and bulbs were down due to our planned scaling down of hanging baskets activity. Sales of bedding plants was also down due to the weather.

While the trading profit is much reduced it is still just in the black. Expenses are at the same level as last year leading to an overall loss.

Dave Pateman

Treasurer

2014 Photography Classes

Below are the photography classes for the 2014 Annual Show:

103 – Near

104 – Far

105 – High

106 – Low

For the children’s photography class the subject is ‘My Friend’.

Trophies

Did you win a trophy at last year’s Summer Show or do you still have any from earlier successes? If so, now is the time to start returning them please to the Seed Box, preferably in a reasonably clean condition, so that they can be made available again for this year’s Annual Summer Show. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Current Committee Members

Executive Committee
Syd Pie	Chairman
Colin Stennett	Secretary and Show Secretary
Dave Pateman	Treasurer
Jim Godden	Trading Secretary
J-P. R. Carter	Deputy Chairman and Show Committee
Laurie Arnold	Seeds and Deputy Trading Secretary
Cliff White	Show Committee
Sandra Ridgeway	Membership Secretary and Rota Co-ordinator
Jonathan Wilde	Publications Officer and Deputy Treasurer
Jane Fisher	Deputy Secretary and Show Committee

Show Committee
Dave Empson Kath Stennett Ian Holman

Honorary Life Members:
Dave Empson, John Farmer, John Lintern, Linda Pitts, Dougie Rees, Cliff White

Flitwick Gardeners' Association
Draft Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2013
2012	Expenditure £ £
24,653	Purchases	18,765
1,346	Plus Creditors 2013	1,407
(1,573)	Less Creditors 2012	(1,346)	18,826
(38,937)	Less Stock-Current Year		(36,916)
33,323	Plus Stock-Previous Year		38,937
18,812			20,847
441	Trading Expenses		713
20	Trading Assets-Depreciation		20
4,150	Trading Surplus for Year		299
23,423		TOTAL	21,879
Income & Expenditure Account
249	General Expenses		242
-	Memorial Garden @ Seed Box		-
1,128	Show & Social Expenses-see overleaf		1,401
17	Redecoration & Repairs		105
1,287	Rent (Inc. Amortisation) & Insurance		1,287
474	Magazines & Printing		535
251	Fire Protection/Alarm Contract		209
27	Affiliations		60
279	Telephone		277
-	Gratuities		-
40	Sponsorship & Advertising		40
697	Bank & PDQ Charges		669
65	Cash Differences on Till (nett)		66
2,010	Net Income to Accumulated Fund		(2,209)
6,524		TOTAL	2,682
Charity Account
-	Distribution During Year		-
535	Balance in Hand		565

535		TOTAL	565
Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2013
1,441	Creditors		1,466
33,374	Accumulated Fund B/F		35,384
2,010	From Income & Expenditure A/c		(2,209)
36,500	Development & Contingency Account B/F		36,500
535	Charity Account		565

73,860		TOTAL	71,706


2012	Income £ £
14,885	Sales-	~ General	14,557
2,776		~ Potatoes	2,888
3,478		~ Seeds	2,875
2,055		~ Plants	1,786
23,196				22,106
227	Plus Debtors-Current Year			-
-	Less Debtors-Previous Year			(227)
-	Plus Dividends & Discounts			-

23,423			TOTAL	21,879
Income & Expenditure Account
4,150	Trading Surplus			299
24	Stalls			70
996	Subscriptions			971
1,316	Show & Social Income (see overleaf)			1,333
8	Other Income	~ Bank Interest (less Tax)		7
30		~ Equipment Loans		2
-	Cash Differences on Till (nett)			-




6,524			TOTAL	2,682
Charity Account
-	Income for the Year			30
1	Bank Interest (Less Tax)			-
534	Balance Brought Forward			535
535			TOTAL	565
Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2013
2,625	Fixed Assets			2,098
38,937	Stock at Cost			36,916
227	Debtors			-
11,994	Cash at Bank	~ Current Account		13,526
18,136		~ Deposit Account		18,114
535		~ Charity Account		565
1,406	Cash in Hand			487
73,860			TOTAL	71,706

Breakdown of Assets and Depreciation - 2013

Show and Social Committee Assets and Depreciation

	Purchase Date	Cost	Yrs Dep	Previous Deprtn	Current Deprtn	Current Value
		£		£	£	£
Bikini Vases	18/07/11	226.20	5	91.20	45.00	90.00
Voice Amplifier	24/10/13	35.89	5	0	7.89	28.00
					52.89	118.00

Trading Committee Assets and Depreciation



Electronic Scales	20/08/10	99.99	5	59.99	20.00	20.00

					20.00	20.00


Seed Box Lease	Sep -98	9,800.00	20	7,350.00	490.00	1,960.00
(Lease to be amortized over its 20 year life)
Total Assets						2,098.00

The Show and Social Committee also hold in stock for use next year the following items: -

	Show Rosettes	430.00


Bank Reconciliation

	Current Account Statement	12,576.30
	Less uncleared cheques	189.00
	Plus Credits not yet entered	1,138.75
			13,526.05

High Interest Business Account - Trading and Charity			18,678.88

Show and Social Events

Event	Expenditure	Income
	£	£
Spring Show	9.54	66.85
Summer Show	124.14	246.80
Hyde Hall Trip	565.00	546.00
Autumn Show	15.18	120.50
Invitation Quiz Night	95.68	353.00
Village Hall Fees 2013	217.00
Rosettes	301.75
Show Vases – Depreciation	45.00
Voice Amplifier – Depreciation	7.89
Vases from Houghton Regis	20.00
Totals	1,401.18	1,333.15

Notes: No provision for tax liability has been made in these accounts.

D.J.Pateman 01.01.2014

Hon. Treasurer

Spring Show 2014

Based on what I saw on Saturday afternoon our members must have some beautiful gardens in bloom at the moment and eat wonderfully. The most flowers we’ve ever seen at a spring show and two greatly supported cookery classes resulted in 167 entries being on show in the Village Hall, over 30% higher than previous shows. If you then add in a glorious spring afternoon, some delicious homemade cakes and lots of people looking around, you’ve got an absolutely superb show that everyone should be proud of, exhibitors particularly.

We’ll try and run the cookery classes again next year but we’ll stage them at the other end of the hall – it’s totally unfair to make me sit in front of them for over an hour writing out entry cards without being offered a taste.

Thanks to all those that helped and especially those that exhibited. Now to work out what needs to be done for the Annual Show and go to the allotment to get things planted (it’s going to take a lot

more time for me to do anything spectacular in the kitchen based on my Bedfordshire Clanger effort).

Colin Stennett

Show Secretary

Annual Show – Novice Classes

In our Annual Show we have a number of classes that are described as novice classes which are free to enter. For someone to enter the novice vegetable classes they should not have previously won the Novice Vegetable Trophy nor won a vegetable class in Section A of the schedule. Similarly to enter the novice flower classes you should not have won any of the specified classes in Section D of the schedule.

Anyone entering the novice classes can of course still put entries into the main vegetable and flower classes increasing the number of chances you have of winning rosettes and trophies.

If you’ve never entered shows previously and are not certain what to do or how to display your entry, then bring them along to the Village Hall and talk to any of the committee or mention it when you’re checking in and we’ll get someone to offer advice.

Colin Stennett

Show Secretary

Trading Update

After our slow start to the year, March was a definite improvement. Compost sales are going well and we have got to this year’s New Horizon grow bags, hence a rise in their price. So far we have moved five pallets of compost in from our compound, great.

Less great than high compost sales, are sales of seed potatoes where we have a lot left. The reason for this is that when I ordered,

I assumed a relatively low level of 10 tuber pack sales, in reality this size of pack seems very popular. Obviously I will learn from this for next year, but this year we still have stocks of most varieties. By the time you read this they will be at half price, so if you have room come along for some bargains. We also have plenty of onions, shallots and garlic if you want any.

Whilst talking about shallots, I’d like to apologise for the number of Golden Gourmet shallots that were received damp and did not keep well once weighed out. We picked out what we found (about 15%) but they continued to deteriorate after weighing.

Last month I included a list of new items I hoped to have delivered, or already had. Unfortunately the Agralan Citrox greenhouse cleaner failed to arrive and so is not available. All the other items should now be available so ask if you cannot find them.

You will see mentioned elsewhere that we have an ‘Open Weekend’ over 10/11 May. This is our main weekend for buying in bedding, veg., etc for sale to members, so come and see what we can do for you. As last year, I will be taking orders for plants that we do not have in stock and will get them for you the following weekend if I possibly can. Just let me know what you want and I’ll do my best. I’ve also had a bit more time this year than usual and have grown on about 1,000 plants from mini plugs and more from seed, e.g. 6 summer cabbage £1, 12 bedding begonias £2, tomatoes 50p, plus many more. So come along before 10 May for some really good prices (I think). Hopefully this will give room in my greenhouse to bring on still more plants for sale through May and June. (If you have an excess of anything, FGA do sell member’s plants and make a contribution to charity to reflect these sales.)

Every year we have a trip to the horticultural auctions at Wisbech. This year this will be on 3 May so if you want an early purchasing opportunity come along that afternoon and see what we have for sale. If you have any specific wants, let us know, we guarantee nothing but you never know what we may be able to get.

On the Open Weekend we will not be outside Barclays Bank. However, we hope to become known to many more people from our morning stall outside Tesco. Our intention outside Tesco is more about awareness and recruiting than selling to members, so please visit us at the Seed Box if you want to buy.

We will also be at the Carnival on Saturday 14 June, so look for us there. We will be making hanging baskets and tubs for this, but if you would like either before then, please see me and we will see what we can do for you.

As we are nearing the time when they become active (May) can I remind everyone that the Leek Moth has now reached Bedfordshire and decimates leek crops. According to the RHS only a barrier is effective against them, fleece and Enviromesh specifically recommended. We have plenty of both at our normal reasonable prices. We have also received the leek moth pheromone traps. These work by attracting the male moths to a sticky paper. Agralan appear to recommend using them as a marker followed by a barrier, rather than a cure, I’ll be using both to see what happens.

Every year I get surprises as the gardening programmes and magazines push certain techniques and products. This year the big one is bonemeal with everyone seeming to recommend it for everything benefiting from a slow release fertiliser. Guess what, we’ve sold three years normal sales so far and run out, sorry. However, if you want to be organic why not try fish, blood & bone, also longer lasting than most general fertilisers. Hint, we have plenty in stock and it is virtually the same price as growmore. We also have chicken pellets and liquid seaweed, both of which have a high content of trace elements in addition to N-P-K.

Before I go, may I apologise not always being open for Tuesday trading. For several years this has been a case of Dave and Jim opening up. Now we have both retired, Jim is seldom available on Tuesday, Dave is also becoming increasingly busy and may not be available. So really this is very much best endeavours rather than every Tuesday. We do try to put up a notice if we will not be there, but are only human and sometimes forget.

See you soon (I hope) and happy gardening

Jim Godden

Trading Secretary

Tips for growing dahlias for the Show

Please note – the ‘Tahiti Sunrise’ dahlias provided for the specialist show class at the Annual Show are probably best treated as mediums and stopped at five or six pairs of leaves

· Stopping

Stopping is taking out the growing tip, by removing the central bud, thus buds along the stem are encouraged to grow on. Some later flowering varieties may need stopping earlier if they are to flower in time for the show. Usually giant and large dahlias should be stopped at four pairs of leaves from the bottom of the plant, mediums at five or six pairs, and smalls, miniatures and poms at six – eight pairs.

Ultimately you should end up with at least the number of blooms you need for the show. In the FGA show we have one bloom and three bloom classes only.

· Disbudding

As soon as shoots develop on leaf axils of stems with a bud at the top, normally around the second week in July, carefully remove the first two or three pairs of buds or growths below the terminal bud. This helps to produce long stemmed quality blooms. The number of growths retained influences the size of blooms.

If you are very keen, keep records of the progress of each plant to enable you to confidently make changes for the better next year.

Jim Godden

Trading Secretary

Visit to Wrest Park garden on Sunday 22 June

Would you like to go on a guided tour of the magnificent gardens at Wrest Park?

Would you like to know more about the great garden, the walled garden, the Italian garden, the French Parterre, the rose garden, and lots more?

If you would, read on…

We have booked guides to take 40 of us round the garden at 11.00am on Sunday 22 June. The tour will take up to 1½ hours.

The cost is £9.65, reduced to £8.89 if you are over 60 and down to £2 for members of English Heritage.

The plan is that we meet at Wrest Park, and then enjoy the tour. Afterwards we are free to revisit the garden, stop for lunch or enjoy a picnic. Unfortunately the state rooms in the house are closed from noon on the day of our visit. The Countesses Sitting room and the exhibition rooms within the mansion remain open.

The café is located in the visitor centre within the walled garden. Using as much local produce as possible, it provides a menu that changes with the seasons - ploughman's lunches, flans and salads in the summer. A special treat on the menu for FGA members will be the Bedfordshire Clanger. This delicious pasty, served hot with a side salad, has a savoury filling - meat or vegetarian - at one end and sweet puréed apple at the other.

Please note that you need to travel to Wrest Park yourself, there is no coach this year. We will meet to form a group at 10.30am at the edge of the car park.

Tickets will be on sale at the Seed Box from Friday 26 April.

Jonathan Wilde

Publications Officer