Medwyns Master Class 2024, venue The Royal Victoria Hotel, Llanberis
Please find the details of this weekend below. If you are interested , please contact Medwyn directly, thankyou.
Fri 1st November
16.00 - 18.30 arrive at The Royal Victoria Hotel to check in and relax before dinner.
18.30 - 19.50 A four course evening meal will be served (you may order wine at your table)
20.00 - 21.15 "Why we all need to love our bogs" by Professor Christian Dunn
Professor Christian Dunn is a wetland scientist and Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor at Bangor University. His research looks at how we can better manage, protect and use our wetland habitats to improve biodiversity, remove pollution and capture carbon. For 15-years he has been working on projects restoring peatland habitats in Canada, after they have been harvested for horticultural peat.
Prof. Dunn is an award-winning environmental campaigner and public speaker. He has given three TEDx talks, and regularly appears on national TV, radio and in press publications, as an environmental commentator. A former journalist, he has written extensively for a range of leading newspapers and magazines and has made documentaries for BBC Radio 4. Speaking about Prof. Dunn one BBC producer said: "I never thought anyone could make mud so interesting!”
Earlier this year Prof. Dunn was voted one of the top 100 UK environmental professionals who've made the greatest impact in the past two-years.
Professor Christian Dunn will be talking about why peat is the most important terrestrial store of carbon on the planet and why we need to find alternatives to using peat-based composts. However, he'll also ask - can peat harvesting ever be "sustainable"?
21.15 – 21.30 Question and Answer session.
21.30 - Time to relax after your long journey and perhaps share your gardening experiences with some of the speakers, fellow growers, and exhibitors. Why not even enjoy a night cap at the bar before retiring!
Saturday 2nd November
8.00 - 9.00 Cooked Breakfast.
9.00 – 10.15 ‘Our Growing Journey: Displaying Culinary herbs for Exhibition.
By Neil & Niamh Jones Kitchen Garden Plant Centre.
In 2015 Kitchen Garden Plant Centre was born. Neil having worked in Horticulture since the age of 13 set out to build his dream, with the help of Niamh. Neil has always loved propagating plants. One of his first jobs during the school year was grafting Acers. Niamhs love of good food is what led them to grow herbs and edible plants. Seeing vast fields of single crops and the pest and disease, and environmental challenges which these create changed their mindsets even further to support and encourage nature back to how it was intended without vast inputs of chemicals and resource.
Kitchen Garden Plant Centre are proud to have always grown without use of pesticides and such chemicals and are developing their own forest garden and food forest alongside their nursery. They attend RHS and other Flower Shows, Food Festivals and Markets as well as a growing Online business. They have over 12 Gold Medals to their name and are Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medallists for the last two years running.
10.30 - 10.45 Coffee / Tea Break
10.45 - 12.00 Growing high quality vegetables, to eat and exhibit, in a tiny garden space by Phil Burgess.
I began working life as a dairy farmer for 26 years. Just before having to give up, through ill health, my homebred dairy herd had won the best small dairy herd in the East Midlands. I was also a qualified judge on the Holstein UK’s judges panel. Part of being an official judge was having the ability to explain, over a microphone, the reasons for your placings to exhibitors and the general public- imagine veg judges doing that!
Then found a less physical job for 17 years working in Environmental Health department resolving/mediating neighbour fallouts! The public are certainly trickier than cows!!
I have been growing vegetables in my home garden for 9 years and i am a NVS judge and to date have won two classes at the National. I am most proud that I have accomplished this growing in a small space. Tiny garden space is typical of houses built over the last 40 years. So I am keen to show how much great tasty veg can be grown in a small area. I also enjoy passing on (what I’ve learnt from others) veg growing tips on my YouTube channel ‘Tiny Veg Plot’.
12.00 - 12.15 Question and Answer session
12.15 - 14.15 A buffet lunch after which you have an opportunity to take a walk around the grounds of the Royal Victoria Hotel or perhaps a walk down to the Snowdon Mountain Railway in the village of Llanberis.
14.15 - 15.30 “Who would be a National Society Vegetable Judge’! By Jim Williams FNVS Chairman of the NVS judges Panel.
Jim has attended this seminar for many years and has given a talk a couple of times. It’s a pleasure to have him with us once again to talk about what can sometimes be a rather controversial subject – Judging.
The talk will cover the history of the National Vegetable, Society Judges exam, why we need “qualified” judges, an outline of the theory and practical papers, practical problems encountered over the years, and a look at judges’ personalities, styles and straits
I have been informed by Jim that he’s been running the exam for over 25 years! So, there’s not a lot about judging vegetables that Jim doesn’t know about! This will be an interesting talk for those who may aspire to be judges and informative for those of us who are.
15.30 - 15.45 Question and Answer session.
15.45 - 16.00 Coffee / Tea Break
16.00 - 17.15 ‘Growing Dahlias for Exhibition’ by Ian Sutherland
Ian has been growing and showing Dahlias for exhibition for 27 years. During that time he has won many National Championships. Winning the National Dahlia individual Championship ‘The Terry Clarke’ on four occasions. Ian is a member of the NDS EC member and Northern Committee member as well as on the trials team who look after the exhibition Dahlia trials at Golden acre Leeds.
Over the years Ian and a small team of likeminded members have put on many Dahlia displays at the Southport Flower Show winning Large Gold medals and best in show awards on several occasions (never less than a large Gold) Ian is Chairman of judges at Harrogate show and responsible for putting the teams together and making sure the judging takes place as it should.
17.15 - 17.30 Question and Answer session.
17.30 - 18.15 Time to relax and do your own thing before your evening meal, you may even feel the need to enjoy a drink at the bar!
18.15 - 19.30 You can now indulge yourself in a four course evening meal. (you may order your wine at the table from the Victoria’s reasonably priced selection)
19.30 - 20.45 ‘Breaking Records with Organic Living Soil’ by Gareth Hopcroft
Join us for an insightful talk by Gareth, a veteran in hydroponics and indoor growing with over 20 years of experience. Since founding his company, Ecothrive, in 2013, Gareth has dedicated himself to offering top-notch organic products that enhance plant and soil health. Ecothrive’s latest innovation, biologically active ‘living soil,’ has turned some heads in the giant vegetable community.
In 2023, Gareth Griffin shattered the World Record for the heaviest onion using Ecothrive Eco-Life Living Soil. In his talk, Gareth will delve into living soil, its creation process, and the science and chemistry underpinning quality potting soil/compost. He will also share the techniques that led to the world record-breaking achievement. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from an expert in the field and discover the secrets behind living soil’s remarkable benefits.
20.45 - 21.00 Question and Answer session.
21.00 – I have a special treat for you tonight, a Welsh Male Voice Choir – Hogia’r Ddwylan, Roughly translated is ‘Boys from both shores’ meaning the choir is made up from members of both Anglesey and over from the mainland.
Sunday 3rd November
8.00 - 9.00 Cooked breakfast
9.00 - 9.15 Photo call, bring your camera along and take a group photo as a memento of the occasion.
9.15 - 10.45 ‘Growing Carrots for Exhibition’ By Paul Grimes.
Paul Started showing vegetables for the first time at a village show in 2013. The following year he entered Burwarton show which Is a very large one day agricultural show and won most points etc in the vegetable section. On that day he met the late Graham Wagstaff who suggested he joined the NV. In 2016 he entered Shrewsbury show for first time and won all 3 cups - Percy Thrower cup, Robert Sydnam veg cup and Silver Salver for the collection. He won the Shrewsbury veg cup for the following 4 times it was held.
In 2017 he had a go at some NVS classes at the Midland Branch Championships and Won with the stump carrots. The National Championships then followed with stump carrots at first attempt he also won with long carrots at first attempt in 2021 and stump carrots again that year. Paul won with long carrots at the National again in 2022 when at Malvern, also at Harrogate National carrot championships in 2023 for 3 long 3 stump carrots at first attempt. Paul is also pretty good at Parsnips winning at the National and got best in show for those. There is no doubt that he is an accomplished grower of roots and the talk will be enlightening.
10.45 - 11.00 Question and Answer session.
11.00 - 11.15 Coffee / Tea Break
11.15 - 12.30 ‘Gardeners Question time with the Speakers’. A roundup of the weekend. It doesn’t matter how well you listened to the talks, there’s always that gardening problem or question that you forgot to ask that may be still bothering you. It allows you the opportunity to ask the speakers further questions on vegetable growing that may not even be related to any subject discussed during the seminar – why not challenge them with a problem that’s been a source of worry to you for so long.
12.30 - Traditional Welsh Sunday Lunch before departing.
