NVS Society Celebrates Half Century

The National Vegetable Society is celebrating its 50^th year this year and is enjoying a busy year given the massive boost in interest in growing your own.

From humble beginnings of a handful of “like-minded growers” getting together to talk about vegetables the Society has now grown to around 2500 members spreading across the UK and Ireland.

The NVS is organised into 5 Branches and over 25 District Associations so members are never that far from a local group. There is an overall Executive Committee, chaired by our own Medwyn Williams, which meets quarterly and helps guide the Society towards achieving its charitable aims and objectives. Medwyn’s vegetable credentials are impeccable with 11 Chelsea Gold Medals and a host of other awards in addition to his own individual success on the show bench.

Our local District Associations are the lifeblood of the Society and is where all the real hard work is done, according to Medwyn. They provide local expertise and camaraderie and organise speakers, put on displays, advise new growers, arrange shows and a whole lot more, he says. The Branches also arrange spectacular competitions usually as part of bigger events through the summer months.

Flagship of the Society is the new quarterly magazine that each member receives, which replaced a much more specialised bulletin this year and contains something of interest for all our members . In line with the 50 years anniversary this was re-launched and is now a must-read for keen vegetable growers- men, women and children. The Society also reaches out to the world via its new upgraded website, which keeps everyone abreast of what’s happening and enables new members to join on-line.

This year’s prestigious national championships are being hosted by the Scottish Branch at the Dundee show over the 3-5 September. The quality of vegetables in the competition are expected to be world class and to celebrate the golden anniversary special classes have been introduced including competitive displays from all 5 Branches plus Ireland and Jersey.

The NVS works closely alongside the RHS and has twice-yearly liaison meetings, as there is much common ground between the two organisations. An example of this close working relationship are the Judge’s Guides produced by both societies to help the nation’s judges work to similar standards when judging vegetables at shows.