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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.

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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Seed search in Wales

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.

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

Dyfi Valley Seed Savers

Heritage Seed Library

GLASU - Supporting a sustainable future for the people of Powys

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Carlin Pea in Flower

Earlier in the year we published an article about Carlin peas and Audrey from Lancashire decided she would have a go at growing some.

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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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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North Ronaldsay Sheep

The Orkney, North Ronaldsay sheep is small sheep belonging to the northern short-tailed group of breeds. Bones of similar animals have been found at Skara Brae dating from the Bronze Age and a recent genotype survey organised by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, demonstrated that the breed is still virtually unchanged from the original type.

These fine boned animals are primitive, having evolved in a specialised seashore environment on their native island but they have adapted well to mainland management including conservation grazing.

Confined to the shoreline for the majority of the year to conserve the limited grazing on the island, these sheep feed mainly on seaweed.

The colour of the face and legs can vary and the fine wool can be any colour from white through to black. The head is small and the ewe’s face has a "dished" appearance. Rams develop a mane and beard of coarse hair.

The tail is short and thin. Both rams and ewes can have the distinctive horns which curl around and up, around their face. However, occasionally they curl around backwards, slowly puncturing the sheeps' skull, so regular trimming is often done to avoid this.

The North Ronaldsay ewes which have a strong maternal instinct, lamb easily and frequently produce twins.

Maturing slowly and feeding off seaweed gives the meat a distinctive flavour, much prized by chefs.

According to the RBST, there are about 3700 sheep still on North Ronaldsay and about 807 over the rest of mainland Britain of which about 554 are adult breeding ewes plus 90 shearlings, putting them them on the endangered list.

The different coloured wools, for which they are mainly bred, are popular with hand spinners, felters, knitters and textile designers.

In more recent years colonies of the sheep have been established inland and on other islands to prevent the entire breed being wiped out through catastrophe (such as foot and mouth). A small number have also been exported as an exotic breed. It has been found that the sheep's digestive system can readjust to a non-seaweed-based diet within two generations.

The images used on this site have been reproduced with the kind permission of Trevor Thompson, who's travels took him to a working farm on the Islands of North Ronaldsay.

More information

North Ronaldsay Sheep fellowship

BBC Countryfile - Adam's farm animals - Adam has a number of North Ronaldsay Sheep on his rare breeds farm.

RBST - Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

Spirit of Orkney website - find out more about the enchanting Orkney islands

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New Garden Organic Seed Project

The latest initiative from Garden organic, "Sowing New Seeds", funded by the Big Lottery Local Food Fund, will directly enable many more gardeners in the East and West Midlands to grow non-traditional crops, while also documenting how to grow them based on the experiences of the region’s diverse communities.

Garden Organic, which also runs the UK’s famous Heritage Seed Library dedicated to conserving the genetic diversity of vegetables, hopes that the project will unearth lots of interesting edible plants.

Sally Cunningham of the Sowing New Seeds project, said,

“The UK's population has changed dramatically in the past 40 years and so have our eating habits. People from all over the world have settled here and grown vegetables from their native homes such as callaloo, white maize, Hamburg parsley, dudi, black-eye beans and water chestnuts.

Many of these plants originate from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America or the Caribbean, and may eventually become adapted successfully to local conditions here in the UK.”

Share your seeds and experience
To get the project off the ground, Garden Organic is calling for anyone that grows exotic vegetables to come forward to share seeds and information.

The project’s aim is to give many more people in the East and West Midlands the chance to access and grow exotic seeds that have been grown under local conditions. Some of the varieties will also enter Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library, to be safeguarded and conserved for future generations.

The project will also produce vital fact sheets on how to grow the non-traditional crops, as well as events to demonstrate crop cultivation, seed saving, storage and cooking.

Garden Organic will also set up a brand new exotic crop garden at its flagship site, Ryton Gardens in Warwickshire.

To find out more and to get involved, visit the Garden Organic website where all contact information is availabe.

Sowing New Seeds also works with the following project partners:

• Women’s Environmental Network (WEN),
• Black Environment Network (BEN)
• Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens,
• National Society of Allotments and Leisure Gardeners,
• Groundwork Midlands,
• Soil Association CSA programme

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Old Varieties v New

Over the last three years we have been growing heritage vegetables as well as more modern varieties and whilst we have not been conducting a scientific experiment, the outcome is interesting.

We trialled heritage varieties of Tomato (San Marzano Di Lampadina) and French Bean (Blauhilde).

Both varieties were grown under the same conditions as the modern varieties; Tomato (Gardener's delight) & French bean (Pantheon)

Firstly the French beans - The heritage variety (Blauhilde) really did struggle, with generally weaker plants succumbing very easily to slug damage and mildew.

Out of the total crop sown, around 70% succeeded to seedling stage but only 25% of the plants made it to cropping stage of which crops were generally poor.

Tomato San Marzano Di Lampadina did very well as seedlings (probably due to the lovely warm spring).

They produced quite strong plants with a fair crop of medium sized fruits.  However, the time taken to ripening seemed to exceed the amount of sunlight hours available in the North of England and fruits struggled to ripen.

A batch of Green tomato chutney put them to good use.

We have also grown other old varieties of vegetable including brassicas and shallots and in general, the results have been much the same with plants struggling through the wet summer and producing less yield with a constant fight against disease.

Although heritage varieties are worth growing for their different flavours and textures, we found that we have had to nurse them to production stage with a great deal of loss.

Worth mentioning, is the simple fact that our Cumbrian summers over the last three years have been rubbish, to say the least.  Extremely wet, dark and with very little strong sunlight.

We are interested to hear what other growers of heritage vegetables have experienced around Britain and we certainly still advocate growing the older varieties, although we do suggest researching the varieties well to see if they will be suited to prevailing conditions.

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Snakes Head Fritillaria

Fritillaria meleagris or Snake's Head Fritillary as it is more commonly known, is a native of Europe, found growing in damp grassland and near rivers.

Apart from it's original English name of Snake's Head fritillary, It has many local name variations such as Simple Fritillary, Checkered Daffodil, Frog-cup, Chess Flower, Guinea-hen Flower and Leper Lily,

The flowers are nodding, dainty, six petaled bells, hang from slender stems about 15 to 30cm in height.  They range from white to various shades of purple and bear a unique, chequered patterning which is quite obvious on the purple flowers but more of a feint "water mark" on the white flowers.

Fritillaria meleagris flowers from March to May from a small bulb, about 2 cm in diameter, commonly found growing in grasslands in damp soils and river meadows.

It is the only species of Fritillary native to Britain, but is now quite rare in the wild due to modern farming and land cultivation techniques.

Places to find Fritillaria meleagris in the wild:
The Meadow of Magdalen College, Oxford,
The village of Ducklington, Oxfordshire (which holds a Fritillary Sunday festival)
North Meadow National Nature Reserve, Wiltshire
Meadows in Kungsängen, just outside Uppsala, Sweden (also giving the flower its Swedish name, kungsängslilja).

Bulbs are available commercially and are extremely hardy.  Best placed in light shade and under deciduous trees and shrubs in free-draining soil, or naturalised in grass. Bulbs of the Fritilaria meleagris are poisonous.

Where to obtain the bulbs;
Thompson & Morgan - Plant, bulb and seed specialists
Fentongollan - Cornish bulb, plant and vegetable supplier
De Jager - Flower bulb specialists since 1868
The Wild Flower Shop - Specialists in British native flowers
Crocus - Plant and garden supplier

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Apple Day in Cumbria 2009

Counties all over the UK are preparing for their Apple Day events to be held throughout the month of October.

Britain has the largest apple heritage in the world, with only a handful of the varieties seen for sale today. Old varieties do exist all over the country with many special National Apple Day events taking place each year to promote these wonderful fruits.

The annual festival is aimed at raising awareness about the importance of preserving traditional apple varieties,

The 2009 Apple Day events in Cumbria will be held on:

28th September - 1st october 2009 - Sizergh Castle & Garden, Kendal, Cumbria.
Guided walks and apple identification. Juicing and tasting. (Identification of apples on Tuesday and Thursday).
Recipe cards and advice available.
Visit Sizergh Castle & Gardens website

Sunday 3rd October 2009 - Wordsworth House, Cockermouth, Cumbria.
Taste some of Cumbria's heritage apples such as the Keswick Codlin, Greenup Pippin and Carlisle Codlin.
Lots of apple games, baking and juicing demonstrations, fun and competitions.
Visit the Wordsworth House website.

Saturday 3rd October - Orchard Barn, 32 Briery Bank, Arnside.
Orchard walks, apple identification, cakes and jams, cookery demonstrations, story-telling, children’s games and much more. 10am - 4pm Organised by the Arnside and Silverdale AONB Partnership

Saturday October 17 &  Sunday 18th - Beetham Nurseries,  Pool Darkin Lane, Beetham CLA7 7AP
Meet Hilary Wilson ‘The Apple Lady’ on Saturday 17th October. Hilary’s  interest in apples, which began when she was a child, led her to research and source varieties suitable for the wet and cold conditions in this area, she is also an expert in the skill of grafting.
Hilary will be on hand to chat and answer your questions. She enjoys helping people to identify their apples.
Attractions to include: Wide selection of apple trees including some unusual varieties;  Enjoy apple tasting and delicious home made ‘fruity food’ in the Tea Room.
Expert advice on pollination, pruning, pests and diseases & tree selection; we will have many other types of fruit trees including: Peaches, Pears, Plums, Kiwis and Cherries. And on Sunday 18th October the Kendal Beekeepers’ Association will be present. They will bring along a glass observation hive with real bees, information on attracting bees into your garden, and a beehive containing photographs so people can see inside ‘safely’, and perhaps even honey to sell.
Visit Beetham Nurseries website.

Sunday 18th October 2009 - Acorn Bank, Temple Sowerby, Penrith, Cumbria.
Games and competitions, advice on growing apples, storytelling, Punch & Judy, Music, dance and pruning demonstrations with the Northern Fruit group, cookery demonstrations with Annette Gibbons. There will be a local food producers' market and country crafts.

Entertainment from Punch and Judy, Crook Morris, The Eden Valley Storytellers and The Eagle Bowmen.
A large number of different varieties of apple are available to buy and to sample, and you are welcome to bring your own apples to be identified (by prior arrangement).
Visit Acorn Bank website.

To find out about Apple Day events all over the country visit The Common ground website.

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Perry Pear – Blakeney Red

The Blakeney Red Perry Pear is named after the village of Blakeney in the Forest of Dean.  Also known as Red Pear, Circus Pear, Painted Lady, Painted Pear .

Known to have been in existence in 1600, some trees are over 300 years old and it is now the most common perry pear in the Gloucestershire and Herefordshire region.

The Blakeney Red is a greenish yellow perry pear with a red flush on the sunny side, an old favourite which was even considered a desert pear in the 1600's. which could also be stewed and used to dye soldiers' khaki uniforms.

This popular pear is renowned for perry making and is considered one of the best single perry varieties.

Many Cider companies still rely on this pear to produce quality cider.

A statuesque specimen can be found in the Acorn Bank Orchards at Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.

This tree towers above it's neighbouring Medlar's to some 40 or 50 feet.

A well shaped tree, the fruit glows red on the sunniest side and hangs in abundance, crammed onto the upward facing branches.

To find out more about Perry pears and Perry making visit the Three Counties Perry website.

You can find young trees at Cummins Nursery.

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