Summer (May) 2005

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

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
Magazine	newsletter@flitwickgardeners.co.uk
Show info and entries	fgashow@flitwickgardeners.co.uk

Web site address

Web site

www.flitwickgardeners.co.uk

Current Committee Members

Executive Committee
Syd Pye	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 Ridgway	Membership Secretary and Rota Co-ordinator
Jim Godden	Publications Officer and Deputy Treasurer (temp)
Jane Fisher	Show Committee
Ian Holman	Deputy Secretary

Show Committee
Dave Empson Kath Stennett

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

Syd’s Snippets :

Following the good start to the year with the Spring Show this was followed up by a well supported Summer Show with some very fine exhibits which impressed both the judges and public that attended. So lets follow this up with some large and fun items that you can display at the Autumn Show. I would also urge all of you to read the article “ The Seedbox needs you” and respond if you can as without additional help we will struggle to survive.

Meetings to discuss the future of the Seed Box (and Council tractor store) are ongoing, unfortunately there is no more than that to say so keep watching the magazine for updates.

Syd Pye

Chairman

Annual General Meeting – 23 April 2015

13 members gathered at the Rufus Centre and were welcomed to the AGM by the Chairman.

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 2014 unaudited accounts, which appear on pages 8 to 11 and the Financial Report from the Treasurer is on page 5 were presented to the meeting.

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.

In his Chairman's report Syd thanked all those people that had helped in the running of the Association. He also reported on the sad passing during the year of past FGA Chairman John Lintern and our Publicity and Publications officer Jonathan Wilde.

The current officers were re-elected unopposed. The Executive and Show committees were elected unopposed. David Dallman was elected as auditor.

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

A discussion took place on the future of the Seed box following the re-development of the current Leisure Centre site. This covered the possibility / requirements if we remain where we are currently situated and other potential sites. Our requirements / concerns will be discussed further in meetings with Central Bedfordshire Council and Flitwick Town Council and when further information is known it will be passed on to members.

There was also a discussion on the fact that due to availability of Executive members we are no longer able to open the Seed box on a Tuesday evening and whether we should look at opening on a Wednesday evening in 2016. The meeting agreed that this would be a good idea as more Executive members would be able to support this.

Colin Stennett

Secretary

Treasurers Report 2014

The trading turnover was almost the same as last year but trading profit was up, meaning that after all expenses there was an overall profit of £896.00.

This was due to much better sales of plants, in profit for the first time in at least 4 years. General sales were also up on the year. You will also note that the potato turnover seems dramatically low this has occurred because our two big orders from Toddington & Woburn Sands were paid on collection rather than order as in previous years.

Our overall expenses levels have kept even there is an increasing trend on the use of cards, now over 50% of turnover. We do try to keep costs down, but there is one way the members can help, although, we do not want to discourage spending at the Seedbox, I thought it was a good idea to inform the members that there is big difference between debit cards and credit cards, in charges levied by our bankers. Debit cards are cheaper for us on transactions over £10 because they are charged a set fee no matter what the amount. Whereas credit card transactions are charged at a fixed percentage rate, so the fee goes up as the sale total increases.

David Pateman

Treasurer.

The Seedbox needs you !

Over the past few years the number of members on the Executive committee has dwindled, for various reasons, from 17 when I first volunteered down to 9 at present. We have only just managed to avoid a situation of not being able to open the Seedbox on two Saturdays in October so additional help is required if you still want to be able to enjoy the current trading facilities. Please find under the roles where we are looking for help.

Executive Committee members : The role of this committee is to organise the running of the FGA on a day to day basis. This is done by use of sub-committees and it meets 10 times per year normally on a Monday evening.

Executive Committee Keyholders : These are required to unlock the building and to assist the till operators as and when required and to answer members queries and generally help to ensure the smooth running of the Seedbox. Dependant on numbers coming forward this could be a duty every 5-6 weeks on a Friday or Saturday from February to November.

Trading Secretary : After many years of sterling service Jim has decided not to seek re- election at the next AGM so we require a dedicated person to take on this demanding role which is to make sure we have all the various items in stock and place orders for the seasonal products in good time. It would also require regular attendance in order to ensure the smooth running of the Seedbox.

Deputy Treasurer : This role is to assist the treasurer and to stand in and cover when he is not available and could involve a couple of periods up to 5 weeks each during the year.

Newsletter Editor : This involves collating articles for our 4 – 5 publications per annum, editing, proof reading, submission to the printer and distribution to the various magazine distributors.

Seedbox Keyholders : These are required to unlock the building and to assist the till operators as required and to help members moving bags of compost from the store to their cars. To answer queries and generally help to ensure the smooth running of the Seedbox. Dependant on numbers coming forward this could be a duty every 5 – 6 weeks from February to November.

Seedbox volunteers : These are the smiling faces that greet you when you arrive, operate the till and assist in any queries you may have. Again given numbers coming forward would involve a Friday or Saturday apprx. every 6 weeks.

The Monday Mob : This is a behind the scenes team that weighs up the own packs, potatoes, onions, bulbs etc and ensures the shelves are topped up ready for the weekend trading. As the name suggests they meet at 2pm on a Monday for an hour or so depending on what has to be done.

Full training and support will be provided for anybody who can help. Without your response and support we may not be able to continue to provide the facilities currently available.

I am available to discuss any of the roles with anyone who can spare the time we need and can be contacted on 01525 716986 or my email address is sydpye@btinternet.com

Flitwick Gardeners' Association
DRAFT Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2014
2013	Expenditure	£			£
18,765	Purchases		18,755
1,487	Plus Creditors 2014		1,461
(1,346)	Less Creditors 2013		(1,487)	18,729
(36,916)	Less Stock-Current Year			(36,367)
38,937	Plus Stock-Previous Year			36,916
20,927				19,278
713	Trading Expenses			404
20	Trading Assets-Depreciation			20
219	Trading Surplus for Year			2,638
21,879			TOTAL	22,340
Income & Expenditure Account
242	General Expenses			221
-	Memorial Garden @ Seed Box			-
1,401	Show & Social Expenses			644
105	Redecoration & Repairs			113
1,287	Rent (Inc. Amortisation) & Insurance			1,300
535	Magazines & Printing			421
209	Fire Protection/Alarm Contract			216
60	Affiliations			60
277	Telephone			314
-	Gratuities			-
40	Sponsorship & Advertising			80
669	Bank & PDQ Charges			714
66	Cash Differences on Till (nett)			36
(2,289)	Net Income to Accumulated Fund			896
2,602			TOTAL	5,015
Charity Account
-	Distribution During Year			-
565	Balance in Hand			595
565			TOTAL	595
Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2014
1,546	Creditors			1,486
35,384	Accumulated Fund B/F			33,095
(2,289)	from Income & Expenditure Account			896
36,500	Development & Contingency Account B/F			36,500
565	Charity Account			595
71,706			TOTAL	72,572
Notes:	1. No provision for tax liability has been made in these accounts.

Flitwick Gardeners' Association
DRAFT Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2014
2013			Income		£			£
14,557	Sales-		~ General		15,430
2,888			~ Potatoes		1,933
2,875			~ Seeds		2,776
1,786			~ Plants		2,201
22,106								22,340
-	Plus Debtors-Current Year							-
(227)	Less Debtors-Previous Year							-
-	Plus Dividends & Discounts							-
21,879					TOTAL			22,340
Income & Expenditure Account
219	Trading Surplus							2,638
70	Stalls							386
971	Subscriptions							970
1,333	Show & Social Income (see overleaf)							936
7	Other Income			~ Bank Interest (less Tax)
2		~ Equipment Loans						8
-		~ Bank Compensation						7
-	Cash Differences on Till (nett)							60






2,602
Charity Account							TOTAL		5,015
30	Income for the Year
-	Bank Interest (Less Tax)							30
535	Balance Brought Forward
565								565
Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2014					TOTAL			595
2,098	Fixed Assets
36,916	Stock at Cost							1,536
-	Debtors							36,367
13,526	Cash at Bank		~ Current Account					-
18,114			~ Deposit Account					3,456
565			~ Charity Account					30,092
487	Cash in Hand							595
71,706								526
						TOTAL		72,572

Breakdown of Assets and Depreciation - 2014

Show and Social Committee Assets and Depreciation

Item	Purchase Date	Cost	Yrs Dep	Previous Dep	Current Dep	Current Value
Bikini Vases	7/18/2011	226	5	136	45	45
Voice Amplifier	10/24/2013	36	5	8	7	21

					52	66

Trading Committee Assets and Depreciation

Electronic Scales	8/20/2010	100	5	80	20	0
					20	0

Seed Box Lease	Sep-98	9,800	20	7,840	490	1,470
(Lease to be amortized over it's 20 year life)
				Total Assets		1,536

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

	Show Rosettes				380




Bank Reconciliation
	Current Account Statement				3,418
	Less Uncleared Cheques				0
	Plus Credits not yet entered				38
						3,456

High Interest Business Account - Trading & Charity						30,687

Show and Social Events

Event	Expenditure	Income

Spring Show	20		122
Summer Show	134		242
Wrest Park Trip	124		124
Autumn Show	23		136
Invitation Quiz Night	68		313
Village Hall Fees 2014			225
Show Vases - Depreciation			45
Voice Amplifier - Depreciation			7
Totals	644		936

D J Pateman 01.01.2015.
Hon.Treasurer.

Annual Show Report

After having a record number of exhibits at the Spring show and people telling me that they didn't have much to enter into the Annual show I wondered how well we'd do in the Annual show. I didn't to worry - on the hottest day of the year there were over 300 wonderful exhibits in all areas of the show, the third highest ever number of entries. Once again the judges had a difficult time selecting the best entries in a number of classes. It was also good to see a number of new people putting in entries to the show, and it would be nice to see even more people putting in exhibits (to quote what quite a few people have told me) -'it's a really nice and friendly show, run by an association that makes sure it's fun for everybody and we're always pleased to be here'. When we opened to the public after judging there were dozens of people looking around at all the exhibits and enjoying some really good homemade cakes.

My thanks to everyone that entered things into the show and to all those that helped in setting up and clearing down the hall, making and serving refreshments and selling raffle tickets.

I wonder what the Autumn show has in store for me.

Colin Stennett

Show Secretary

TRADING REPORT April 2015

It seems like a very long time since I wrote the last trading report but I’ve included several items intended for the Spring magazine here. However first I’d like to share some very good news with you, our potato and onion prices for 2016 are the same as this year making three years at the same price (can’t be bad). The order form is on the back of the magazine or available at the Seed Box (N.B. The form is not reproduced on the internet version. Please call at the Seedbox if you require one)

Most of you seem to be well aware of the possibility of development of the Seed Box site, see the update from Syd in this magazine. In anticipation of potentially moving to a new site I will be minimising the bulk order in December and through 2016 I anticipate running out of some sizes of some items and potentially offering ‘multipacks’ of smaller sizes to clear stock. I apologise in advance for issues this approach will cause but as I only order once a year this is my only chance to make such decisions. Rest assured if anything becomes critical I can order stock but will not get the very good prices we get for a December delivery, hence prices may have to rise slightly.

Many of you will hopefully have seen that autumn sown bulbs, onions and garlic are available at the Seed Box at very competitive prices. Based on comments received in the last couple of years I have reduced the bags of onions from 500g to 250g, unfortunately at slightly more than 50% of the cost, but hope this will give you plenty and save waste.

By the time you read this I also hope to have this years ‘own pack’ Aquadulce Claudia, broad bean, and green manures which will be on sale at excellent prices. I’ve written a short article for this magazine on using green manures to improve your soil when it is normally empty!

Sorry that we had to abandon Tuesday opening at fairly short notice. Dave Pateman has for several run this almost single handed as I have my model railway club night on Tuesday. Due to other commitments Dave was not able to guarantee his availability so we thought it best to not open rather than let members turn up only to find the Seed Box closed. We are seriously looking at Wednesday evening opening next year but watch the magazine and website for further information.

The few items that would have been in the Spring magazine:

· Armillatox now gone even as a cleaner few bottles left first come first served only

· New Own pack items

o Trench fert: special fertiliser for those growing to show.

o Flower & veg food, same formula as Q4 but much cheaper than Q4 and not trade marked.

o High N flower & veg, as above but higher nitrogen content

o Cutting compost, recommended by a member who has had great success with better than a 90% strike rate on ivy leaf geraniums using it.

· Slug and snail barrier gel and a wool slug/snail deterent which appears to be as organic as anything I can ever image. I’m not sure how it works but it is also suggested as mulch.

· Vitax Rat Bait Station and wax block companions.

· Pathclear moving to ‘tubes starting this year with 3 tube packs, more to follow?

· Whitefurze propagator bases and lids in half, full and double tray sizes, together the base a lid give the best priced propagators I’ve seen for some time.

You may spot elsewhere in this magazine that I’m not putting myself up for re-election as Trading Secretary in April. If you think you may be able to take on this role please have a word with me or any other Exec member as otherwise it is possible there will not be a trading element to the FGA going forward. Thanks to all those who have supported me over my 12 years and sorry to all those who have suffered from my sense of humour but I hope I have made your visits to the Seed Box a bit better than many shopping experiences. Now the bad news, I will still be around, hopefully less often, just not as Trading Secretary.

Happy Gardening

Jim Godden

FGA Trading Secretary

Protect and serve

A strange title for a gardening article but I’m sure the logic will become clear as you read this article on green manures.

First why consider green manures? It seems to be increasingly difficult and expensive to buy organic soil improvers in bulk. There have been issues of the quality of the organic matter provided as some have experienced with horse manure contaminated with selective week killers passing through the horse from treated grass. Finally if not applied at the wrong time much of the goodness can be washed out of the soil before we even plant our valuable seeds and plants.

So first protect: Using cover crops that are in the ground over winter will mean that their roots are holding water where we want it and not letting it leach the goodness out of the soil and into the sub-soil.

Then serve: Suitable crops will add nutrients and improve the structure of the soil.

Too good to be true I hear you say, of course, the drawback is that we would need to prepare the ‘seed bed’ for planting our manure (digging!), then when the manure is ready we have to incorporate it into the soil.

Assuming that most FGA members will fill their ground except in the winter I’ve purchased three alternative green manure seeds for sale to members:

· Winter Mix; Sow autumn/early winter and dig in before spring plantings. Contains Crimson and Red Clover and white Tilney Mustard. Gives cover, nitrogen and ‘mulch’ to the soil. Apply at 3grams/sq.m. (£1.50/100g)

· Forage Pea; Nitrogen fixer specifically for over winternid Sow Sept to Nov Dig in Mar/April. Apply at 8.75grams/sq.m. (£0.50/100g)

· General mix; Apply at any time dig in when ground is required, or before the Vetch flowers, also contains Rye and Pea. Sow at 3 grams/sq.m. (£1.50/100g)

By the time you read this all three should be available for sale at the Seed Box and I’ve included indicative prices above. I’m looking further into these soil improvers and may provide another article for a future magazine.

Jim Godden

AUTUMN SHOW SCHEDULE – Saturday 3rd October 2015 - FLITWICK VILLAGE HALL

SHOW RULES

The rules of the Annual show shall apply throughout the show, with the exception

of Rule 2.

An Exhibitor may show up to 2 entries per class in the Autumn show.

Entries to be made at the show.

Children may enter any class, where their entry will be judged as a

children’s class

Staging to be between 1 pm and 2 pm.

Judging to be between 2 pm and 3 pm.

Public admitted 3 pm – FREE

SCHEDULE

CLASS

HEAVIEST AND LONGEST

	1	Heaviest Marrow
	2	Heaviest Onion
	3	Heaviest Beetroot
	4	Heaviest Carrot
	5	Heaviest Cabbage
	6	Heaviest Potato
	7	Heaviest Tomato
	8	Longest Runner Bean
	9	Largest Sunflower Head
	10	Heaviest Parsnip
	11	Smallest Ripe Tomato
	12	Freak Vegetable

VEGETABLES

	13	Five Potatoes - White - One variety
	14	Five Potatoes - Other than white - One variety
	15	One Cauliflower
	16	Three Carrots
	17	Two Leeks
	18 19 20	Two Parsnips Five Tomatoes Any other Vegetable – 2 or more items

NSALG Trophy – Most points in Vegetable classes

FLOWERS


	21	Three stems of Spray Chrysanthemums
	22	Three Dahlias - Cactus or Semi-cactus
	23	Three Dahlias - Decorative
	24	Three Dahlias - Ball
	25	Three Dahlias - Pompon
	26	Three Roses – any variety
	27	One Pot Plant - Flower
	28	One Pot Plant - Foliage
	29	One Pot of Alpine
	30	One Vase of Flowering Shrub
	31	One Vase of a single variety of Annual, Biennial or Perennial
	32	One Vase of Mixed Annuals, Biennials or Perennials

Cliff White Trophy – Best exhibit in Flower classes

FRUIT

	33	Four Apples - Dessert
	34	Four Apples - Cooking
	35	Four Pears
	36	Nine Soft Fruit
	37	A Bunch of Grapes
	38	Any other fruit, including nuts, not mentioned above

PUMPKINS

	40	Heaviest Pumpkin
	41	Decorated / Carved Pumpkin - children

2016 Photography Classes

The photography classes for the 2015 Annual Show are:

103 - Flora

104 - Fauna

105 - People

106 - Buildings

For the Children's photography class the subject is ‘Flitwick’.

Free while stocks last!

This year we are again giving away daffodil bulbs (with a pot, bulb fibre and a set of growing instructions) to under 16s who are the children of members for growing on through the winter and early spring to be exhibited at the Spring Show next year. We are using the same variety as in the previous couple of years as they have proved to be very successful.

These bulbs are FREE so let’s encourage the next generation of gardeners. To claim, please collect from the Seed Box – provided the rush is not too great and they have not all gone – and don’t forget to bring them along to the Spring Show.

The children also proved to be very good at growing onions, there was a great display at the Annual Show. So we are definitely giving away onion sets for children to grow next year and will have them available for collection when members collect their own potato and onion orders, or from the Seed Box in February.

FGA WISLEY TRIP 23/8/15

Thursday 20/8/15 weather forecast for Sunday ‘rain all day some heavy’ ARGHHH! Friday 21/8/15 Sunday’s weather forecast is ‘clear early rain later and continuous and possibly heavy’ ARGhh!, Saturday 22/8/15 forecast ‘dry to about midday and then showers all afternoon some heavy’ argh!

Anne and I arrived at the (dry) car park at 8.00 nearly everyone was there raring to go. The only OOPS of the day was that I’d put 8.00am departure on the tickets and then booked the coach for 08.30, 08.20 the coach arrives we all board only for the coach driver to tell us that the M1 south bound was very congested so he was going to go down the A6 to junction 10, this worked brilliantly and we arrived at Wisley about 9.50.

So off to get tickets and brochures and return to those patiently waiting on the coach, give out the tickets and off we go. It was very interesting to see their borders in their late summer disguise, find out which roses look good this late, etc.

The cyclamen were already out under the trees, very early I thought. My favourite area, the veg. gardens, were in full productions with successional sowings very much in evidence, I was very pleased that several items on my allotments looked at least as good as the Wisley equivalents. The roses were well into second blossom glory and as impressive as in the summer, but where have all the scented roses gone? I only managed to find one with a strong scent.

Nearly forgot the weather, it was fine to about 11.55 and then a light shower started. By 12.10 we rushed to the shelter on the trial grounds and sat enjoying our picnic watching the heavy rain, what good timing. Finished our picnic put on our waterproofs and set off again.

Checked out the fruit areas, fascinating, looked at the show gardens moved to Wisley personally I was disappointed in most of them as they really need a bit of TLC. Take a quick trip to the main greenhouse, fantastic as always, especially the rain forest area which also provided welcome warmth.

Finally progress towards the sales areas a few interesting items for growing, a few more in the shop. Back to the coach and everyone arrives with the last just before 3.30, you were all so good! Leave on time, seemed like a slow trip around the M25 but still arrive back at the Seed Box just before 5.00. A good day seems to have been had by all. Oh! the weather, dry all afternoon the rain stopping just after we put on our waterproofs.

I’ve been looking at some options for FGA trips next year in the hope that setting a date early will get a better response.

· Visiting Anglesey Abbey for the snowdrops (January) has been suggested, I’m worried that it is a high risk and likely to cost about £30 each.

· Personally I thought that Hyde Hall (RHS garden in Essex) in mid September would be a good idea, so off we trotted on Sunday 30/08/15 we got some excellent ideas of plants to assist in our tired borders. However it is much smaller than Wisley and only the ‘craft fayre’ made it a full day. A similar event day may be a possibility.

· Wisley in the spring is a trip we have not done for several years, possibly March/early April.

If you would be interested in any of these or have other suggestions please let me know on my email jimgodden@hotmail.com.

Jim Godden