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Tomato Show at West Dean
The Totally Tomato Show at West Dean Gardens on 4–5 September 2010, is a real treat for the taste buds and guarantees handy hints and top growing tips for professional and amateur gardeners alike.
More than 150 varieties of tomatoes will be on show along with cookery demos, tastings, tomato-related produce for sale and not forgetting the tomato growing competitions.
Tomato competitions
Set in the stunning grounds of West Dean Gardens, the Totally Tomato Show offers a great day out for all tomato-lovers.
The tomato festival takes place at the start of September
Tomato growers will have the chance to enter their produce in the Tastiest Tomato Competition and, new for this year, the Heaviest Tomato Competition (run in conjunction with the British Tomato Growers' Association).
The competitions are open to anyone – can the amateur gardeners beat the professionals at their own game?
For the 2010 competition there will be three categories for different sizes of fruit, with the winner of each category receiving an engraved plaque together with an entry voucher to West Dean Gardens.
The winners will then be judged against each other to decide on the overall champion and recipient of the Len Summerton Cup.
Which? Gardening
From the eclectic mix of stall holders at this year’s show, Which? Gardening is a must for those in search of a taste sensation.
Richard Gianfrancesco from Which? Gardening, brings several varieties of tomatoes to the show each year to conduct tests and trials.
“The tomatoes are rated on yield and quality,” says Richard. “The show is full of real enthusiasts who are keen to taste our wares so it’s the perfect opportunity for us to get valuable feedback.”
This year Richard will be taking 18 varieties of cherry plum tomatoes to the show.
Organic gardening
For those of you in search of organic growing tips and produce, then head for the Chichester Organic Gardening Society stall.
Committee Member, Gina Carrington, says, “The show always has a great atmosphere and it’s a fantastic opportunity to give the public a chance to sample organic produce and learn how to grow organically.” Gina and other members will be running regular tasting sessions and will be on hand for any advice or tomato growing queries.
West Dean’s Totally Tomato Show is an unusual and fun day out with lots of food to taste and products to buy, growing advice and complimentary access to West Dean Gardens, Arboretum and Park and if you think you’ve got the tastiest and/or heaviest tomato then fill in an entry form and come on down!
Event details
Please note, only assistance dogs are allowed into events.
West Dean College is situated on the A286, six miles north of Chichester and six miles south of Midhurst.
Admission to the Totally Tomato Show is £7.50 for adults plus concessions. Fast-track tickets are available to purchase in advance at www.westdean.org.uk. The event is open between 10.30am and 5pm (last entry 4.30pm).
Competition entry forms
For more information please phone 01243 818210 or visit www.westdean.org.uk/gardens to download an entry form. Forms are also available on the British Tomato Growers' Association website.
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Organisations
August 10, 2010 by admin
Filed under Organisations
Rare Breed Organisations
Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association
Focusing on all aspects of breeding and raising Herdwick sheep
Rare Breeds Survival Trust
Dedicated to saving Britain's rare livestock breeds.
Plant heritage organisations
Heritage Seed Library
Garden Organic's Heritage Seed Library helps to conserve and reintroduce heritage varieties of vegetables and flowers.
Plant Heritage
The National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens
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Rare Breeds Survival Trust
In 1973 The Rare Breeds Survival Trust was founded to save the UK's native breeds and since then no breed has become extinct.
RBST is the UK’s only charity dedicated to conserving Britain’s native farm livestock.
Throughout the world, it is claimed that one breed of farm animal becomes extinct every month. RBST is working to make sure that this does not happen in the UK.
Between 1900 and 1973 the UK lost 26 native breeds of livestock, in addition to many varieties of poultry. Breeds with evocative names such as the Goonhilly ponies, Somerset Sheeted cattle, Lincolnshire Curly Coated pigs, and Limestone sheep, have all gone.
Rare Breeds Watch List
The Rare Breeds Trust Watchlist contains all native UK breeds of cattle, goats, horses, pigs, poultry and sheep. Conservation criteria determine into which category breeds are listed.
Rare Breeds at Risk Register
The EU places a responsibility on member countries to establish a list of holdings where animals are kept for the purposes related to the conservation of rare breeds, so that they may benefit from any special measures that may apply at the time of an FMD.
This applies to cattle, sheep, pigs and goats
Find out more about the Rare Breeds at Risk Register.
More information
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Seed search in Wales
July 18, 2010 by admin
Filed under Featured, Vegetables
Vegetable gardeners in Wales are being urged to preserve their heirloom varieties and make them more widely available.
The Dyfi Valley Seed Savers in Wales are looking to allotment and garden vegetable growers, to help trace all the home grown Welsh vegetable varieties they can find. They are especially interested in tomatoes resistant to blight, rocket that is slow to bolt and strong growing winter salads.
Tomato flower
Many varieties have been handed down through the generations and are not available on the open market. These seeds are invaluable to local growers as they have adapted over the years to the climate and soil of the region.
Funding from a rural development agency has been granted to Dyfi Valley Seed Savers, to trial the vegetables they find at 10 selected sites throughout Powys.
Seeds discovered through the scheme will be redistributed through local seed swaps and also through the Heritage Seed Library run by Garden Organic in Coventry.
If you think you have something they might be interested in, The Dyfi Valley Seed Savers would love to hear from you.
Please get in touch with any information about the vegetable's history, growing, taste and appearance characteristics, or contact them for more information by e.mailing; Claire@dyfivalleyseedsavers.org.uk
More information
GLASU - Supporting a sustainable future for the people of Powys
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Carlin Pea in Flower
July 1, 2010 by admin
Filed under Featured, Vegetables
Earlier in the year we published an article about Carlin peas and Audrey from Lancashire decided she would have a go at growing some.
Carlin pea in flower
Shortly after Easter she planted a few Carlins which she had purchased from the grocer to eat.
The peas were planted in spring, just the same way as one would plant any other pea. The resultant 6 foot pea plants have just bloomed in the last week of June.
The Carlin pea flower is small and delicate, typical of the pea family, with a pale, almost translucent lilac upper (banner) petals and a rich wine or burgundy wings and keel.
The opposing leaves of the Carlin plant are almost heart shaped, unlike the oval shape of cultivated peas.
Deep veining is prominent in both the flower and the leaves.
Much like sweet peas, the Carlin pea does require something to grow up, as these plants in Lancashire have currently reached around 6 feet or more.
Audrey is going to keep us posted on their progress
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Scotland’s New Heritage Orchard
Elmwood College, in partnership with The Forestry Commission have recently unveiled plans for a new orchard.
Elmwood college, Fife
Elmwood and The Forestry Commission identified the need for a "Model Orchard" to provide education and training in Orchard planting and management techniques. The Forestry Commison provided the initial set up costs and Elmwood hope to secure further funding from Scottish Executive Agriculture Department in due course.
The Orchard area is located on The Elmwood College Farm and has a total area of 0.73 hectares. It is fully organic and Soil Association certified and will be developed over three years. The first planting is complete and comprises 50 trees split between cider apples and desert apples. In addition a blackthorn/sloe hedge will surround the orchard, which was chosen for its biodiversity as well as the bumper crop of ‘Sloe's,’ which are expected to appear in a few years time. The perimeter of the Orchard is protected with a Deer/Rabbit proof fence.
Wayne Roberts, Section Leader for Greenkeeping & Horticulture, said, “The development of the orchard as a teaching resource for use by college students and the wider community is a fantastic opportunity to ensure that we can help to identify and preserve heritage varieties and develop new rootstocks for the future. As Scotland’s Centre for Production Horticulture, we can ensure that skills and knowledge associated with both fruit production and management help to support the national economy and assist to develop employability in the sector. The support and encouragement that we have received from partners and the industry have helped to identify that there is a strong need for this area of horticulture and we will ensure that we support industry as best we can.”
In the area not planted this year, Agriculture students at the College are about to sow a clover rich cover crop to increase the fertility of that portion for future year planting. The first fruit is expected in the Autumn of 2012, with major harvest from the Autumn of 2013. All trees have been chosen to be ripening into the College’s Autumn term to ensure the students are involved in the harvest.
More information
Forestry Commission - Scotland
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Preserving America’s Rose Heritage
Roses are often thought of as being quintessentially English but our friends in the USA also have cultivars dating back to the 1800's which they are doing their utmost to trace and record.
Thought to be native of Asia, the rose could have been in cultivation over 5000 years ago and fossil records show that they may be some 35 million years old.
Now there are over 30,000 species of Rose all over the world and an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer shows how "Rose Rustlers" are scouring their countryside for signs of heritage roses in need of preservation and propagation.
Many heritage rose varieties bloom for only a few weeks of the year and often have the most powerful perfumes but these have given way to the modern varieties which have larger blooms and longer flowering periods and although some still have tremendous fragrance, they usually struggle to meet that of their ancestral varieties.
Along with human colonisation of the Unites States came many varieties of plant, including the rose and the Heritage Rose Foundation aims to find as many of these as possible.
The Heritage Rose Foundation is a US nonprofit organization established in 1986, devoted to the preservation of old roses and their website has a wealth of Information, many images and even a database of public rose gardens around the world.
Goals of the Heritage Rose Foundation
- The collection of roses originating in the nineteenth century or earlier and roses with particular historic, educational, or genetic value (heritage roses).
- Establishment of one or more gardens wherein heritage roses may be grown and displayed.
- Advancement of research and investigations into heritage rose history, identification, genetics and breeding, propagation, diseases and pests, and suitability for landscape use.
- Publishing and dissemination of information about heritage roses, including any and all research that emanates from the foundation.
- Establishment and maintenance of a library of books, periodicals, research papers, manuscripts, catalogues, and other items to facilitate further research and investigation into heritage roses.
- Encouraging public knowledge and perception of heritage roses through seminars, meetings, forums, panels, lectures, tours and exhibits.
More information
The World Federation of Rose Societies
The Heritage Rose Foundation
Heritage Roses in Australia
The Thomas Jefferson Centre for Historic Plants
The Royal National Rose Society
Canadian Rose Society
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Apple Varieties for Shropshire
Karen from Shropshire contacted us requesting details of traditional apple varieties for the region.
Apple
Her school is taking part in the Learning Through Landscapes "Fruit-full Schools" project.
They are planning to establish a community orchard in the school grounds and would like to be able to grow old local varieties.
If anybody can help with information about varieties of apples that have traditionally been grown in shropshire, then please contact us via the comments section at the end of this post and we will forward the details.
More information
Learning from Landscapes believe passionately that children and young people who miss out on good school grounds miss out on the best start in life.
School grounds play a vital role in every child's learning and development. They are unique spaces, providing safe and diverse opportunities for understanding, achievement, healthy exercise and play.
Learning From Landscapes will help you;
* Identify how to make physical changes to your grounds, and find people who can help
* Deliver the curriculum in a stimulating and meaningful way
* Increase learning and play opportunities
* Improve the environment for children and staff, making a better, happier place to be and developing a positive, caring ethos.
* Provide a range of formal and informal opportunities for physical activity, improving health, well-being and motivation to learn.
* Create opportunities for genuine participation for all to be involved in this process.
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Carlin Peas
April 5, 2010 by admin
Filed under Vegetables
The Carlin pea is a traditional drying pea which seems to date way back in the English medieval monasteries and was certainly used in Elizabethan times.
Carlins are associated with the North and Especially North East of England where they often eaten on Passion Sunday. Legend has it, that they saved many Northumbrians from starvation during the Civil war of 1644.
Heritage Seed Library Carlin Seeds
Now classified as a heritage or Heirloom variety, Carlin or Maple Peas can still be obtained and grown from seed.
Planted and grown in much the same way as Sweet Peas, the plants can reach an average height of about six foot, bearing beautiful white and lilac flowers.
If given full sun and plenty of water, the crop quite prolifically. The seeds can be used fresh or allowed to ripen and dried for storage.
Many heritage varieties of seed are not available for public sale due to licencing leglisaltion but these seeds are available to members of the Heritage Seed Library.
or from seed exchange websites such as Garden Passion.
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Events
All around the UK there are events and shows dedicated to our heritage varieties and rare breeds.
We have put together a list of the events we are aware of but if you have an event or show and would like to be listed on this page, please complete the form at the bottom of this page.
April 2010
23rd April - 21st June - British Asparagus Festival
Featured by the Hairy Bikers and on The One Show, the British Asparagus festival in the Vale of Evesham, celebrating the growing, harvesting and eating of this sumptuous vegetable.
July 2010
31st July - 30th August - Pershore Plum Festival
A month of plum related events culminating in the Pershore Plum Fayre Day on August Bank Holiday Monday.
