Simply Gardening Next Meeting Dates

Now that the heat has subsided a bit we can all get back to the serious business of enjoying our gardens. The next few meetings have been structured to cover basics that we have touched on before, but never covered properly, and also to provide sociable fun as well as gardening knowledge.

Venue- Canadas del Romero Social Centre, NOT the Old School Hall. We are holding the general meetings under the covered area where the Sunday boot fairs are held, to give protection from the sun and it also gives us a means of securing tarpaulins should it rain.

The meetings will be held on saturday afternoons. After a great deal of consideration and consultation we have settled on this day as it doesn't clash with daytime classes or activities, and no matter what other day we choose, there are people who cant do it because of one course or another. We have also had the highest attendances in the past on the Saturdays we trialed.

We have decided that in order to help the meetings run more smoothly, we need to adopt 3 measures

Have a paid pair of hands to help with the meetings. We have been very grateful for the help to date, but as the helpers are all members, it is unfair and unrealistic to expect helpers to work throughout the meetings as they want to go and enjoy themselves, whereas to ensure everything runs smoothly, we need extra help. We will be paying for one helper , but would be very grateful if anyone would like to volunteer to help with the swaps table and tea table, and perhaps the clearing up afterwards. We could really do with some help with the organization of volunteer schemes and special things such as the organizing of the seed orders or competitions, as we cannot physically do it all on our own, and with over 250 members of the club, there must be somebody willing to do something. If you would like to volunteer for these, please contact us in advance, as by the time everyone arrives we have set it all up, so it would be useful should you come a few minutes beforehand if you've volunteered.

As 2 people on our own, and trying to run a full time (more than full time!) business as well, we are finding it impossible to cope with doing everything  We are organising a proper gardening club show in early May next year, with various competitions, and would be very grateful with assistance in running these. Many people have said it would be fun to have a best garden competition, or best volunteer scheme area, and yes, we really want to run these as part of the Gardening and outdoor living show, encouraging and promoting the great wave of gardening enthusiasm that is sweeping the area, so if you'd like to help in some way, please come forward. We really need some help with this.

 

Speed up the arrivals process. We are asking for your help to speed things up when you all arrive at the meeting. Please have your membership cards ready, and your 2 euros, in change ready, as it slows us up so badly having to hunt for change as everyone tries to pay with a 20 euro note. Show your card, pay the subs and carry on in. We will give you a raffle ticket number to avoid having to write names.

 

If you have not got your membership card, or are a guest, new member etc, go to the other table where we can deal with you individually. We will be charging three euros for non-members or partners of members to finance the extra help we need.

We only charge 5 euros  a year for membership per person. It takes a lot of time to enter members, prepare cards and deal with the endless queries we receive ,re-issue  lost cards, administer the forum, write copy and all the running around that it takes to organise the meetings, as well as a full day to load, unload, and clear up again, plus the day spent baking beforehand.

It seems unfair that those who do not wish to pay 5 euros to actually be a member, should come along and enjoy the meetings for the same price as members, so from now on, they will pay 3 euros a meeting, or put their hands in their pockets and pay for a years membership like everyone else.

 

No entrance until the doors open! Please be patient and understand that we are always very stressed out just before a meeting. Last meeting we tried to keep you all out of the room until we were ready to open the doors by barricading the entrance, but you came around the back and snuck in through the toilets!

If the tea urn hasn't been filled, or the compost for the workshops carried in from the car, it causes problems once you're all in, asking questions, asking where to put things and introducing us to your friend who is desperate to know whats wrong with her orange tree. We love it, and we love to have you all there asking us questions, but please hold back until we open the door.

 

Phone notifications.

Our whole system is built around internet communication, but we now have nearly 30 members without internet. We will publish dates in local magazines where possible, but cannot continue to phone everyone in person before each meeting. We will do it just this last time, but after September will stop calling, so please make sure you pick up a leaflet from the next meeting or the boot fair with the dates of the following events.

 

September 19^th

2pm, Canadas del Romero, Social Centre, entry 2 euros.

Talk topic , "Pruning and care of Hibiscus". All you need to know about why the leaves always fall off, when and how to prune, plus general maintenance advice.

 

Propagation workshop. Cannas. We have a big pile of cannas to share and divide. Come and get your hands dirty and take home some free plants . All materials provided. Bring a sharp knife or penknife if you have one.

 

Discount seed scheme and veg share . (See stories about veg). We will have the Suttons catalogue, and hope someone will come forward to organise the order. If you would like to volunteer to grow a particular plant to put in the pool, so we can get some different plantlets at the following meeting, bring along the seeds you've got and we can sort out who is growing what.

 

Experts corner.

Jonathon, our specialist tree surgeon will be on hand to answer your gardening queries. Don't be shy about bringing along problem plants.

 

Swaps table. Same rules as normal, one thing on, one thing off. You can swap anything, plants, seeds, containers, magazines, cuttings, eggs, produce, jam, chutney, oranges, lemons, bags of carobs, almonds, manure, cut flowers, bits of cactus pinched out of the neighbours garden,surplus chemicals, nice stones, anything you like. There's no reason for not bringing SOMETHING, other than that you can't be bothered, so if you don't bring something, then you can't take something away!

 

Tea and cakes.

As normal, drinks, cake and biscuits are included. If you would like to bring a cake, you don't pay entry subs, just wave the cake at the person on the desk and come in.

We'd be grateful for advance notification if you are planning to bring something, so we bake less.

Raffle. As normal, lots of lovely plants up for grabs, included in your subs !

 

 

Saturday October 24^th

2pm, Canadas del Romero Social Centre

Cactus and succulents day, the big swap.

Anyone involved in volunteer schemes should be planting and growing cactus and succulents.

The whole meeting revolves around propagating and sharing cuttings, and learning about these prickly friends. Bring along whatever you've got and lets share them out, get lots potted up and take home some new plants.

If you've not got any, pinch some bits off your neighbours and friends, don't come empty handed, and if you've got any crates, cardboard boxes or bags for the booty, bring them along, hopefully you'll need them to get all the cuttings home.

We'll be doing a series of short talks, followed by you doing some practical potting.

Compost and pots provided, but you're welcome to contribute if you feel generous.

 

Grow your own veg scheme. Hopefully participants will have some plantlets to swap and pool, we'll certainly be bringing some along ourselves.

Normal swaps table, cake stall, raffle and expert on hand.

 

November 21^st.

A change of venue to our finca in Tallante.

Special almond pruning workshop. Normal entry , 2 euros .

All normal club facilities will be on offer, tea and cakes, swaps, etc. Only difference is that the talk will be practically based, showing you how to prune almond trees, explaining the basic principles of almond care, and giving you the opportunity to get stuck in there and practice on some real trees.

We only have limited tools, so if you have a long handled pruning saw, hand pruning saw, long handled pruners, please bring them, and wear, practical shoes .

Those who don't wish to participate in the workshop can listen to the explanatory talk, and enjoy the normal club activities.

We will post details of how to get to us in advance of the meeting. For those driving from the camposol area, please consider car sharing. You can use the forum to arrange this. We have limited parking at home, and those with low slung cars may prefer to come with a friend, as some find the 3km of track off the main road a little daunting, but don't worry, we haven't lost a visitor yet!

 

December 19^th.

Canadas del Romero, Social Centre, 2pm.

Entry 5 euros/ 3 euros..

This is  a Christmas special meeting. We will be giving mulled wine and mince pies, plus making a special Christmas table decoration with a gardening theme to take home, with all materials included in the price.

If anyone wishes to come along just for the social, swaps table and raffle we will have to charge 3 euros entry, due to the cost of buying in the wine and pies.

ALL TICKETS for this meeting will have to be pre-paid, as materials will be purchased for the table decorations and mince pies ordered in. The tickets will be on sale at other club meetings.

 

Boot Fair and plant sales.

As many of you know, Laurence has to have a small surgical procedure this autumn and has been told not to lift heavy weights. Handling plants is physically quite demanding, and we have decided to discontinue the sales in the immediate future until this has all been sorted, although we will have a limited range of drought tolerant plants available to order . We'll post the prices and availability during the next few days.

We'll be at the Canadas del Romero boot fair once a month between 10 and 12  to answer queries on the following dates, and for non-internet members to collect leaflets etc.

13^th September

18^th October

15^th November

 

If possible, we'd be really grateful for approximate numbers intending to come to meetings, so we bake enough cake. We're really looking forward to seeing you all again and sharing gardening knowledge and pleasure with our fellow members. We hope to see you soon at the meetings.

Laurence and Zoe.

PS. Don't forget to bring egg boxes if you have any, plus unwanted carrier bags and flower pots, although you might like to keep hold of your bags for the rubbish now that the supermarkets are doing the right thing and discontinuing their issue - see News!

 

 

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