Wantage Gardeners’ Association AGM – 7^th November 2024 – MINUTES

Brian declared the meeting open at 20.00

Attended: 18 current members including the committee.

Minutes from the AGM 2023 was circulated to members with the Agenda prior to the AGM.  No matters arising.

Chairman’s Report 

Brian mentioned the difficult weather conditions that we have had this year and the impact it has had on gardeners. It was cold and wet into May and we had record breaking rainfall in September and early October.

This did not deter our members from coming to the shop and the Association has had another successful year, with the shop busier than most years, membership levels up, keen volunteers and sales exceeding those of previous years.

Sales are now almost all paid for by credit card. The system currently in place works well.

Sales of compost remain the major part of our sales, with the Melcourt varieties being the most popular. We also sold Rocketgrow compost and growbags. Feedback from members seems somewhat variable for the Rocketgrow growbags. Some members have reported that their produce has grown extremely well whereas others have stated that growth has been very limited. The reason for this variability is unknown at present.

Deliveries to the shop

The main delivery of compost to the shop for this year, occurred after the shop had closed last year. Six pallets of Melcourt compost were collected on our behalf by Hiab lorry and delivered to the shop albeit via Springfield Road. The plan is to do the same for the coming year as it is one of the most cost-effective ways of purchasing the Melcourt composts.

As collecting from the Melcourt production site near Tetbury appears the most cost effective way of acquiring Melcourt compost, Mark and Brian collected a pallet’s worth of compost from the site and would like to thank Mike H, one of our members, for lending them his trailer.

The deliveries from Rocketgrow, for compost and growbags have been made by Palletline. In all cases bar one the drivers have been very helpful in getting the pallets as close to the shop entrance as possible.

Improvement to the shop

The ramp immediately inside the entrance doors was replaced prior to opening this year. The old ramp was a bit too steep and has been replaced with one that has a much reduced gradient. It is now safer to use and easier to move wheelbarrows in and out of the shop.

Plant sales and Grove Summer show

Two plant sales were organised at the shop in aid of the two charities charities we support, the Thames Valley Air Ambulance and Vale Community Impact. The sales proved successful in raising funds for the charities. Brian thanked the members who helped on those days.

We did not have a stall at either the Grove plant sale or the Grove Summer show this year. Very few plants were ready for the Spring plant sale due primarily to the weather. Brain attended Grove Summer show to look around and support the event. The number of exhibits was a little greater than last year but had not returned to levels seen prior to Covid.

Coach trip to RHS Wisley

As in previous years, a coach trip to RHS Wisley was organised, making use of our affiliation to the RHS. Our thanks to Alan M for organising another successful visit.

Talks/presentations

There have been two talks given by members to the Association during this past year.

The first by Alan M covering no-dig gardening.

The second by Colin covering the setting up and looking after composting processes.

Brian expressed thanks to both members for the effort and time they contributed to giving us interesting and informative presentations.

Finally, on behalf of Wantage Gardeners, Brian thanked all the members who gave up their time to help the Association:

The committee who put in a great deal of their own time to keep the Association operating;

The rota of helpers at the shop, a valuable contribution especially when the shop is busy; The members who helped with unloading of deliveries and move stock.

Secretary’s report

Liz did not have much to add to what has already been said.  But she wanted to thank the members for using the Association and contributing to its success.  She also commented on the cheerful, friendly atmosphere that seems to be appreciated by the members.

Treasurer’s report 

The Statement of Accounts was circulated to members with the Agenda before the AGM.  Colin clarified certain aspects of the expenses:

there is £10 000 in savings.  Any interest earned on them goes straight back into the account.

The Scouts gave us a small rebate for the work carried out by Brian and Mark.

The charitable donations have been split equally between TVAA and Vale Community Impact. They were rounded up to £415 each.  

Colin asked for suggestions on how to spend our surplus.  Ideas included freezing the cost of goods such as compost, buying a laptop and printer (Marks uses his own at the moment), buying a ladder and paying for speaker events.

we use a small amount of money to advertise locally and the subject of social media was brought up.  We have a Facebook page but need someone to run it.  WhatsApp groups are likely to breach GDPR guidelines.

Rota Secretary 

from the records of subscription there are 331 members – up from 273 I 2023.

Terry has 24 regular volunteers but is happy to accept more offers. 

Terry thanked the volunteers who helped unload the truck deliveries that seemed to arrive via the Springfield Road direction.

Terry used nextdoor.co.uk to spread the word.

Publicity/Website

most of what Mark needed to discuss has already been covered.  He reiterated the need possibly to use social media to spread the word. He sends publicity to the villages and smaller gardening clubs in the Spring and asked the members if they knew of any that we might not be aware of.

Trips

The Wisley trip on 15^th July went very well.  Barnes coaches are very accommodating 61 seats were booked and on the day, there were 53 seats taken, The WGA is an affiliate Member of the RHS which account for cheaper tickets. The staggered pick-up points proved popular. Feedback was very positive and Alan was thanked for organising it.

Last year’s trip to see snowdrops at Welford was very disappointing as the snowdrops were over by the time it took place.  The poor weather probably contributed to it.  There is a trip booked for 7^th February 2025 but numbers are low.

Alan has said he is happy to organise a Wisley trip for 2025, at a different time of the year so that members can appreciate the colours of the other seasons.

Garden Organic offer visits to Ryton but they are not suitable for groups.

Highgrove was mentioned, but it is very expensive and numbers are limited.

A number of members offered suggestions to a variety of arboretums, Colin mentioned a visit to the green waste processing plants.  They offer visits. Another suggestion was to team up with another Gardening Club to build up numbers for a another visit.

Election of officers

All members of the Committee were prepared to remain in their current posts.

their re-election was proposed by Alan M and seconded by Mike W and other members.

AOB

Alan mentioned Green Week on 7^th – 15^th June.  The Town Council is offering grants of £250 and WGA will take part, probably on 7^th and man a stall.

Alan also mentioned an article he read in the National Allotment Association magazine which led to a discussion on the shelf life of compost.  Silvagro compost now comes with a date of manufacture.  This then led to a discussion about the Rocket Growbags.  Members all had varying results from using them.

Cardboard – Colin mentioned rolls of cardboard that can be purchased for a mulch. 

However, the bike shop in Wantage is happy to provide cardboard from their deliveries so it was agreed that members would probably not buy it.

Potatoes – due to popular demand Mark announce that some potatoes will be sold in smaller quantities to allow for members who don’t have the room to grow large quantities of potatoes.

Faith asked if we were intending to offer repeat talks for members who missed the original date.

Attending members gave a vote of thanks to the Committee for the work they do.

The meeting closed at 20.30

Date of AGM meeting – Thursday 13^th November 2025 8.00 at the King Alfred’s Head.