fruit – Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

March 2024: Down at the CABAHS Shed

We attempted something a bit different at this meeting! Our Chair Stella introduced the evening by asking the audience to imagine we were all sitting relaxing in the CABAHS garden shed surrounded by our gardening friends. She then introduced the “panel” and to start the conversation rolling, asked how they first became interested in gardening.

The four panellists, Ruth, Kathy, Lynda & Pat each had different but similar personal stories, and it was usually a parent or grandparent who first sparked their interest.

The next question was about the tastiest vegetable or fruit we had ever grown.

For Pat this was Sungold tomatoes. Lynda is known among members for growing Goji berry but she chose sweetcorn as the tastiest ever. Ruth thought figs from her allotment were amazing, especially as she had inherited them from the previous holder. For Kathy it was “Mr Green’s” (the previous owner of her garden) summer raspberries, which have been in the same bed for over 35 years.

Now on to the best Show flowers (topical as we have the Spring Show coming up next month). Stella put in her vote for Penstemon ‘Garnet’, certainly a very good do-er in the Walled Gardens at Charlton House.

Autumn Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Display 2023

The 2023 Autumn Show was held on Monday 18 September in the Old Library of Charlton House. We counted 74 attendees and there were nearly 100 wonderful entries across all the classes.

Judges Vija, Jason and Terry shared the task between them and explained the reasons for their choices of ‘Best in Class’ winners and ‘Highly Commended’ entries, as well as their final choice for Best in Show.

Some entries for Class 1: Vase of flowers (3 stems of 1 cultivar), including Mandy O's winning entry. Autumn Show 2023 — Some entries for Class 1: Vase of flowers (3 stems of 1 cultivar)

An entry for Class 2: Bowl of mixed flowers. Autumn Show 2023 — Some entries for Class 1: Vase of flowers (3 stems of 1 cultivar)

Classes and winners:

Vase of flowers, 3 stems of 1 cultivar: Mandy O
Bowl of mixed flowers (emphasis on quality of flowers, not arrangement): Jean R
Vase of shrubs or foliage, 3 or more stems, mixed varieties: Terry G
Display of ornamental seed heads: Terry G
Five Fuchsia blooms, single variety or mixed (flower heads only): Ruth Y
Ornamental pot plant (incl. cacti & succulents): Anna L
Display of fruit, any mixed: Kathy A
Display of vegetables, mixed: Annie H
Tomatoes (dish of 5): Ann F
Display of herbs: Ruth Y
Preserves – jam, jelly or marmalade, chutney or relish: Fran A
Baking – Apple cake: Carole F
Floral Arrangement – display in a tea cup, all flowers to be home grown (emphasis on floral arrangement): Viv P
Wildcard: Joe F
Competition – yield from one potato supplied in April: Pat T (1392g!)

Winner of Class 1: Vase of flowers (3 stems of 1 cultivar)(Mandy O). Autumn Show 2023 — Best in Class 1: 3 stems of one cultivar

Winner of Class 2: Bowl of mixed flowers (Jean R). Autumn Show 2023 — Best in Class 1: 3 stems of one cultivar

Trophies and awards:

Crystal Fuchsia bowl for Class 5 Five Fuchsia blooms: Ruth Y
Silver Spade for Class 8 Display of Vegetables: Annie H
CABAHS biro for Class 14 Wildcard: Joe F
and of course
Packet of crisps for Class 15 Potato competition: Pat T

Annie H and her trophy for winning Class 8: Display of vegetables, mixed. Autumn Show 2023 — Annie H – winning vegetable display

Joe receiving a coveted CABAHS pen for his 'Wildcard' entry, Autumn Show 2023 — Annie H – winning vegetable display

And finally:

The Best in Show award went to Pat K’s beautiful display of herbs.

Best in Show, Autumn 2023! Pat K's unusual display of (mainly) flowering herbs, in Class 10. — Best in Show, Autumn 2023! Pat K’s unusual display of (mainly) flowering herbs

Winners awarded and prizes given, it was time for everyone to sample the cakes!

Ali

Visit to Community Garden in Open Gardens Festival 2023

Given the hot weather for this year’s Festival and that this is our third, we focused on Gardens we haven’t seen before. So this afternoon we set off to Christchurch School Community Garden to see what was going on there. And we were pleased. It demonstrates what can be done with a pocket of land, off a busy main road, with some funding and lots of enthusiasm and knowledge – and effort. The description on the Festival brochure referred to raised beds for food crops, a community orchard, ornamental borders, a Forest School and a covered meeting hub. They also have a hugelkultur bed, a bee hive, a wildlife pond – and they were selling goji berry plants!

Autumn Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Display 2022

Our Autumn Show was held on Monday September 26^th in the Old Library of Charlton House, having been delayed a week for the Queen’s funeral. We counted 56 attendees and there were nearly 100 entries across all the classes, a marvellous effort!

Our guest judge, Joe Woodcock, had agreed to undertake this onerous task again this year. He made it clear how impressed he was with all the entries, providing an encouraging commentary on the horticultural skills demonstrated, and explained why he selected the winning entry in each class.

The classes and winners were as follows:
1. Vase of flowers, 3 stems – Nicholas B
2. Bowl of mixed flowers – Georgina P
3. Vase of shrubs or foliage, 3 stems – Liz K
4. Display of ornamental seed heads – Viv P
5. Five Fuchsia blooms – Viv P
6. Ornamental pot plant – Pat K
7. Display of fruit, mixed – Lynda F
8. Display of vegetables, mixed – Annie H
9. Tomatoes (dish of 5) – Karen S
10. A display of herbs – Maggie T
11. Preserves – Maggie T
12. Baking – Coconut cake – Kathy A
13. Floral arrangement in a teacup – Debbie W
14. Largest Sunflower – Ruth Y
15. Highest yield, Potato – Ann F

Joe presented trophies to Annie H for Class 8, to Viv P for Class 5 and to Georgina P for Best in Show for her bowl of mixed flowers in Class 2.

Autumn Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Display 2021

This was held on Monday 20 September in the Long Gallery of Charlton House. As one of many new members of the Society since meetings were forced to stop by COVID-19, it was my first indoor meeting!

It was a very impressive event with a total of 66 entries and I didn’t envy our guest judge, Joe Woodcock, his task. But Joe made it clear how impressed he was with all the entries, providing an encouraging commentary on the horticultural skills demonstrated, and explained why he selected the winning entry in each class.

The classes and winners were as follows:

1. Vase with single stem of any flowering plant – Viv P

2. Bowl of mixed flowers – Margaret T

3. Five Fuchsia blooms – Ruth Y

4. Ornamental pot plant – Pat K

5. A display of fruit and vegetables – Mandy & Brownie

6. A display of herbs – Ruth Y

7. Floral arrangement in a teacup – Anna L

8a. Potato Competition – Pam D

8b. Sunflower head competition – Annie H

Joe selected as Best in Show Margaret T’s wonderful display of varieties of dahlia in Class 2. Class 7 the Floral Arrangement was selected by popular vote (using buttons) and the Potato Competition was weighed by the trusty scales of Hugh P.

Joe was kind enough to answer a few gardening questions at the end of proceedings, and tea, coffee and biscuits were provided to round off the evening.

We counted 56 attendees. Everyone seemed to enjoy the event and be grateful to be able to meet up in person again. Long may that continue!

Lynda

Now is the quince season…

With apologies to Rod Liddle, writing in The Spectator!

I am sad that my Quince tree (the produce of which gave me the CABAHS “Best in Show” cup once upon a time!) has not managed to bring a single fruit to maturity this year. Squirrels and the dreaded brown rot have taken all.

Quinces were first grown in England by Edward I, the ‘Hammer of the Scots’, a man who would have made short work of Nicola Sturgeon. The fruit resembles a degenerate pear — a pear which has made bad choices in its life. Downy and squat. The tree from which it emerges is a delight, especially in early May when fecund with blossom, which is the time that famous perfume begins to emanate. That perfume stays with you — in the fruit bowl, when you are peeling it and, most of all, while it is being cooked.

Like all good food, the quince requires work, time and an appetite for deferred gratification. It is a beast to prepare. Peel and core a quince and you will find a swede can be sliced through like butter in comparison. The flesh of the quince is fibrously obstinate and the core intractable; be careful with that knife. When you have finished peeling and quartering, set the seeds aside in case someone you really don’t like comes over. They are rich in cyanide. Toast them and say to your adversary they are pumpkin seeds..

Anyway, cook those quarters gently. Either poach in a couple of inches of sugared water, a dash of honey and perhaps a strand of thyme in a saucepan on the stove top, or in a bath of the same in the oven. The recipe instructions vary as to how long you should do this — some suggest 40 minutes. Rubbish. You need at least two hours on a low heat. Only then will the quince reveal its magic — the gradual metamorphosis from a wan, pale yellow to a rich crimson, the anthocyanins doing their work. Add another hour or so if you’re making quince cheese from the pulp and then another six to rest, before straining and cooking again with added sugar. It will set just fine due to its natural load of pectin.

I prefer the quartered fruit to still have a little bite; five or six segments and the reserved cooking juice will transform your apple crumble with a gentle tartness. You can purée the red fruit into an accompaniment for duck, or simply serve as they are, with their gloriously red and sticky cooking juice, topped with cream. Either way, hurry: the quince season is nearly at an end.