People Profile, Mrs Sherie Plumb.

David Allison, editor.

On a warm Saturday morning in mid-June, whilst staying for the week-end with our daughter in Colchester, I arranged to

visit Fred and Sherie Plumb at their home in Althorne, Essex, a 20 minute drive away.

By way of background, Althorne is on the Dengie peninsular , one of about 100 villages, situated between the Blackwater

and Crouch rivers, about 10 miles from the coast at Bradwell.

The nearest town is Maldon, a few miles away.

Fred, a builder by trade is not yet retired, but due to the economic recession is able to spend more time in the garden than

applying his trade, Sherie is a home economist. Their daughters Amy and Emily live with them.

Sherie and Fred are both Essex people, married in 1982 and originally lived in Burnham on Crouch a few miles from

where they live now. They moved to Hillside, their current home, a Victorian semi, 22 years ago in 1988, as they wanted a

bigger house and bigger garden to accommodate a growing family. They had difficulty finding the property, (as I did!) and

somewhat unusually, Hillside, as the name would suggest, is on a slight slope, whereas most of Essex is as flat as a pancake.

The garden was completely overgrown with thistles, brambles and nettles, extending to about ½ acre, of which just under

half is the veg patch and orchard.

They started growing veg 30 years ago, and have been members of Essex DA since its inception 14/15 years ago. They were

introduced to the NVS by Trevor Last, of Norwich, Norfolk, and Sherie is a committee member of the DA. Although Peter

Cranfield, the Southern Branch Vice Chairman lives in Herts, he is very much involved with Essex DA, under the

Chairmanship of Peter Morris. RHS Hyde Hall is only some 10 miles away, so it follows that Sherie and the Essex DA are

very much involved in “Grow your own week-ends” etc., putting on superb displays and promoting the NVS.

After the customary mug of coffee, we had a wander round the garden, and I am amazed at how much further forward

their crops are than up here in Yorkshire, even more remarkable when she advises me that they are at least 2 weeks behind

normal, due to the strange season we are having in 2012.

Pickling shallots had all been lifted as had 250 gm. (8 oz.) onions, the latter washed, dried and dusted with talcum powder,

and all drying off in their garage with an electric fan blowing air over them, whereas the cucumbers had only just been

planted out in one of the greenhouse borders.

They would normally be picking runner beans by this time of year, this year the earliest sowing were just coming into

flower, and still had wind protection round them.

At least 6 sowings are made, the last one in July to grow on in one of the greenhouses, to mature/crop in October,

hopefully to exhibit at the RHS Autumn show at Westminster.

The potatoes would also be cropping by now, grown on in 17 litre polypots, sat on heavily manured land. They took a

sample from their “early crop” a few days before my visit, and looking at the sample, needed another couple of weeks to

bulk up.

As well as crops grown for exhibition, a fair portion of the garden is used to grow veg for the kitchen, not a weed in sight,

with no problem is disposing of surplus veg, a stall is placed at the end of the drive to the house, with the veg, and an

“honesty box” for donations. With so many pots of potatoes (about 500) grown in peat based compost, surplus compost is

also disposed of in the same way, sold as a “soil improver”. Whilst they still have the barrels, they no longer grow long

carrots and parsnips for exhibition, but had two beds of stump carrots, of “Sweet Candle”, which were looking good.

A row of parsnips for the kitchen for winter use were growing away well, and peas starting to be trained up canes.

As well as a dozen leeks in one of the greenhouses of Pendle improved for exhibition, a number of rows of leeks for winter

had recently been planted out, and broad beans were being picked for the table.

Sherie started showing veg at National level some 14/15 years ago, having been encouraged to do so by Peter Morris of

Great Bardfield, Essex. He has a lot to answer for!! The rest, they say is history.

They are meticulous in their attention to detail, particularly record keeping, especially for potatoes and runner beans, the

former recording supplier, ( they use three suppliers for sets, ESP Derbyshire, JBA seed potatoes Scotland, and Peter

Guthrie of Castlemill seed potatoes, also Scotland), date planted, date harvested and recording weight/size of each tuber

lifted. No tubers are kept for seed from one year to the next, all are replaced each year, and rigorously re-selected when

received, discarding any with poor shapes or any evidence of scab.

With runner beans, the recording is so complicated I couldn’t begin to describe it, but the main purpose is to be able to

select the best beans for exhibition, and also for seed selection for the following year, with each individual been seed

having a code written on it to identify which plant from which row from which sowing it came from. If you have attended

one of Sherie’s lectures on runner beans you will know what I mean.

I enjoyed my hour with Sherie and Fred, they provide inspiration and encouragement to us all to grow better veg, and I

hope that these few notes and the pictures will convey that message to you.

David.

Fred keeping the hoe going.