Your friendly local Gardening supplies cooperative
WGA News and Updates
Shop opens 10-12 Saturday Mornings. We are now closed until February 26
AGM 2025 - Minutes
he AGM was held on 20th November 2025, Sadly, only 5 members were able to attend (with some members sending apologies too). Obviously, this is a little disappointing from a membership of around 250+ members. Next year’s date has been set for 12th November to give plenty of warning!
AGM Minutes
Brian declared the meeting open at 20.05
1. Attended :
4 members attended in person and one via Zoom.
2. Apologies:
8 members sent their apologies
Minutes from the AGM 2024 were circulated to members with the Agenda prior to the AGM. No matters arising.
3. Chairman’s Report – Brian
Brian welcomed the attendees, both those in person and online.
Brian then offered thanks to: the committee, the Saturday helpers, the team who unloaded deliveries, the members who helped with the clearing around the premises, including the alleyway and the vegetation leading to the shop.
The shop over the past year
Sales of compost remain the major part of our turnover, with the Melcourt varieties being the most popular. Rocketgrow compost and growbags sold well too.
Brain mentioned the weather conditions this year. The Winter and Spring were very wet and were followed by hot dry weather but despite this, the Association has had a successful year. Membership remains strong.
Plant sales and charity donations
Two plant sales were organised outside the shop in aid of : TV Air Ambulance, VCI, Root and Branch charity. Details of the donations can be found in the financial accounts that were circulated prior to the AGM.
An Ad-Hoc sale of plants donated by a member in aid of Cancer Research UK also raised £35.
Improvements and modifications
A padlocked gate has been installed on the entrance to the small alleyway between the shop and the garages. This proved useful for storing plants left over from plant sales during the week between shop opening times. Some work was done on clearing the alley to reduce the possible ingress of water to the shop. Since closing at the end of September Mark, Brian and Keith West cleared the major outgrowth of ivy in Icknield Lane. They filled six bulk bags.
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 MacPherson for organising another successful visit.
4.Treasurer’s Report – Colin
The Statement of Accounts was circulated to members with the Agenda before the AGM. Colin clarified certain aspects of the expenses:
There are £10,000 in savings. Any interest earned on them goes straight back into the account.
The charitable donations have been split between TVAA, Vale Community Impact and Root and Branch. We also donated bags of compost to Root and Branch.
A total of £1,843 was donated to charities.
Colin explained how he calculates the accounts. He commented on the lower profit made, suggesting that the stock take could be inaccurate.
There was mention of reviewing the price of the stock.
Colin will send a copy of the spreadsheet to anyone who asks for it.
5.Publicity/Website – Mark
Most of what Mark needed to discuss has already been covered.
Mark has been working on a new online system that simplifies how emails can be distributed more effectively. It also allows provides information on how many emails have been opened. If messages are unread, the member will be removed from the distribution list.
There are more members despite the lack of publicity.
Mark is suggesting creating a WhatsApp group for members who want to participate. This would simplify communication.
6.Rota Secretary – Terry
From the records of subscription there are 258 members. Terry uses Nextdoor.co.uk which reaches residents of the new builds and invites them to join the WGA.
Terry has 24 regular volunteers but is happy to accept more offers – the WhatsApp group created for the delivery unloaders is very successful.
7.Secretary Report – Liz
Liz had nothing to report that has not already been covered.
8.Trips – Alan
The Wisley trip on 1st September went very well as usual. The Wisley trips have been operating since 2022, each time in a different month. The coach is always full and there is always a waiting list. The WGA is a Member of the RHS which accounts for the cheaper cost. The staggered pick-up points have proved to be popular. Feedback was very positive and Alan was thanked for organising it.
The snowdrops visit to Welford was also successful.
Members were canvassed via the Newsletter about a number of other trips – BBC Gardener’s World, Savile Gardens as well as Wisley. Owing to the small number of responses it was suggested that members are canvassed at the start of the new season in February.
Alan has said he is happy to organise a Wisley trip for 2026.
9.Election of officers
All members of the Committee were prepared to remain in their current posts.
Their re-election was proposed by Juliet and seconded by Denise.
10.AOB
Alan M and attending members gave a vote of thanks to the Committee for the work they do.
The meeting closed at 20.50
Date of next AGM – Thursday 12th November 8.00 at the King Alfred’s Head.
Newsletter – September 25 – End of another successful season! |
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The shop closes for the year on Saturday 27th September – Seed and compost sale for 1 day only!!
If you need any supplies for the Winter period this is your last chance to purchase from us until next February.
We have plenty of stocks of compost, including Melcourt seed compost for anything you plan to start early.
As a thanks to the members, we will reduce the price of the 3 Melcourt composts by £1 for Saturday only so prices will be:
Seed compost – £5.50p – (about 15 in stock)
Multipurpose – £5.50p – (about 60 in stock)
With JI – £6.00p – (about 90 in stock)
Potatoes / Onions / Strawberries
We will be putting our order together for the seed potatoes for next year on 30/9 so please order via the online shop here if you want specific varieties and want to pay the pre-order price of £3-50p / 2Kg (for pots).
After this the price will increase to £4.00p/2 Kg bag.
We are also offering strawberry plants at £3.50p per 5 plants from Mooreberries. We bought these earlier this year and they have done very well based on member feedback. The pricing is reasonably competitive but the quality is professional seller level.
We have obtained a good discount versus their on line prices based on buying a reasonable volume so we hope there is a good take up to continue this.
If you are interested, please place an order – we wont be buying in extras of these to sell in in the shop due to their short lifespan when picked so you will need to pre-order.
Note – if you need other items at the same time, please put 2 orders in, one for pots/onion/shallots/strawberries and one for anything else. This keeps the ordering much simpler for us,
Currants and other Fruit bushes – 20% Discount from Mooreberries
Toby from Mooreberries has also offered us a 20% discount code on all his currents and gooseberries etc. To take advantage of this use code (contact news@wantagegardeners.org.uk for details) at checkout.
Again, the pricing looks to be comparable with other suppliers after the discount but he has a wide range of varieties, is likely to provide very good plants and is a small business we would like to support.
He does charge £6.50p delivery on orders of less than £45 so if you want to place a larger order, go ahead but if you want just one or two plants, send us an email and we will place an order from the Association in November (for delivery in December) and we will cover the postage.
Take a look at his web site here.
End Of Year Seed Sale!
We are offering (nearly) all our 50p ‘Bulk Seed’ packs for only 25p on Saturday 27th.
This apples to all stocks except Aquadulce broad beans which have only just been packed for next year.
Please don’t rely on our online inventory levels as these are not very accurate – come along to the hut to see what we have left , first come first served! Fill an allotment for £5!
As always, we are still offering 30% discount on Kings seeds if you sign up for an account using our link here. Their postage has increased to £2.25p and so if you want the odd packet we can order these in for you as part of the shop order in January to avoid the postage. Let us know what you need by email.
We now have 2026 catalogues available too if you prefer to browse a paper copy – they also provide a wealth of info. on planting times etc. so well worth a read.
AGM – 20/11/25 8PM
The date for the AGM has been set for Thursday 20th November at 8 PM in the upstairs room of the King Alfreds Head pub.
Please come along to offer any opinions or suggestions on the running of the Association.
We will endeavour to offer it online via Teams too – a link will be sent our closer to the time.
Garden Visits 2026
Our annual trip to Wisley went very well and was fully booked (thanks again to Alan for organising).
We are willing to organise more trips and members have indicated they would be interested even if they are at a higher price (we don’t pay entry to Wisley and so only need to cover the cost of the coach).
We proposed a trip to Thenford earlier in the year however and had very little interest.
Alan has proposed three further options for next year with a view to getting an idea of interest for these from members:
Wisley in June – likely to be £20-25 per head
BBC Gardeners World – Also in June, Probably about £45 per person with group ticket booking discounts.
Savill Garden Windsor Great Park – Around £40 per person,
If you would be interested in any of these then please let us know at events@wantagegardeners.org.uk and we can get firmer prices for the numbers involved.
We would also welcome any feedback on pricing etc. to get an indication of what members are interested in.
We hope you have successful harvests over the next few weeks and look forward to seeing you all at the AGM or when we reopen in February 2026!
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Newsletter - June 25
Visit to Wisley – 2025
We are proposing to run our annual trip to Wisley on Monday 1st September. The Flower show starts at Wisley on 2nd which prevents group visits for the rest of that week but we would expect they have got the gardens in excellent condition by then so hopefully will be able to see them at their best.
Coach prices have increased significantly over the last year, but we propose to maintain the price we had last year of £15 per person. We will need to fill the coach however to avoid incurring a significant loss on the visit.
Could members who would like to join us for the day please sign up as soon as possible and no later than Saturday 28th June and we will then see if we have adequate numbers to proceed. Please reply to Alan at events@wantagegardeners.org.uk with the number of tickets you would like. We will also have a sign-up sheet in the shop if you prefer that.
The £15 includes pick-up in Wantage or Grove, a modern coach with WC and entry to the gardens at Wisley. Note that entry alone is normally £19.50p on the gate!
If members would like a mobility scooter, please let Alan know in your email reply.
If you haven’t been before, there is lots to see – take a look at their web page here for more information.
Open Allotments – Dates TBA
We have had a lot of new members join the association who have recently taken on allotments this year and many of you in this category are keen to learn from more experienced growers.
To help with this Alan – Wantages ‘No Dig’ guru – has offered to host guided visits to his allotment at Grove Road (opposite MacDermid Autotype).
If you would be interested in this, whether new to growing or an old hand interested in no-dig methods, please let Alan know and he will offer some dates to find the most suitable for the majority either at weekends or weekday evenings.
Alan is organising Wisley too and so you can use the same email address of events@wantagegardeners.org.uk to reply but please make it clear what you are interested in!
Plant Sale
Thanks as always to all of you that supported our plant sale – we raised around £600 in total (including the teas and cakes for Macmillan) so a great morning.
We now have a bit of outside space at the side of the hut and so can keep donated plants in good condition from week to week.
We have previously had a follow up sale to find homes for these plants but we will now put them out each week for members to buy.
If you have any surplus plants you think could be used by others, please bring them along (as long as they have labels!) and we will pass them on for charity donations.
Newsletter - 25 April
New Trip Offer – Thenford Gardens and Arboretum – Friday 11th July.
As most of you will know, we have offered a visit to Wisley at various times of the year over recent years and these have been very well received.
We will aim to organise a visit to Wisley again later in the year and thought we would offer another destination for the Summer. Several members have commented what a great day out they have had at Thenford (nr Banbury) and so we have looked into this.
This visit will inevitably be more expensive than Wisley (as we are entitled to free entry there) but we will minimise costs as far as possible.
We will need to get enough people to fill a coach and so please reply to Theresa at thenford@wantagegardeners.org.uk if you are interested and we will confirm or cancel in a few of weeks depending on interest.
We plan to visit on Friday 11th July and the cost will be £40 including coach and garden entry. There will be pick ups in Grove and Wantage similar to with the Wisley trips. The coach will also be the same as we book for Wisley (with toilet facilities) and the journey should be about 1 hour.
Please take a look at their web site here for more information about the gardens, arboretum and woodlands. Let us know if you are interested.
Sheeps Wool Sale (Again)
The trailer of sheep’s wool fleeces we acquired a couple of weeks ago was very popular went quickly – due to its’ success we will have a smaller quantity available again this week (1 bulk bag) if anyone is still interested. We have run out of sacks to pack it into so you will need to provide a means of taking it home.
Plant Sale Season is here!
There are a number of plant sales coming up, details are below in date order.
Saturday 26th April 2 – 4:30 – Letcombe Regis Village Hall (Letcombes Gardening Club)
Plant Stalls, Advice and tips, Gardening Sundries, Tea and Cake.
Saturday 10th May – 11 – 2 – Outside Boars Head Ardington
Unusual tomatoes, herbs, annuals, perennials, houseplants and more!
Proceeds shared between Parkinsons.Me and The Mint House, Oxford Restorative Practice Centre
Sunday 11th May – 1 – 3:30 Root and Branch Westmill, Watchfield SN6 8TH
A range of grasses, herbs, annuals, perennials and vegetable plants. Rural crafts to buy and wood turning display.
Saturday 17th May – 10 – 1 WHGC Plant Trail, Uffington
A plant sale trail around Uffington, start at the Church for a map!
Sunday 18th May – Wantage Market Garden, Charlton, Wantage
Free entry, plants for sale, kids games, Free entry!
31st May – WGA Plant sale (saved the best for last 😉)
Our plant sale at the hut.
Newsletter - 28 March
RocketGro Composts back in stock!
We have now received our first pallets of Rocketgro multipurpose and supersized veg planters.
Prices remain as last year:
This has been very popular with members and remains our most competitively priced compost.
New Seed Lines and Strawberry Plants
We offered discounted strawberry plants a few weeks ago and these were very popular. We have a few extras bought to make up the numbers and will have these for sale at £4 / 5 on 29/3 only (the plants are bare rooted and need to be planted immediately).
They will be sold on first come/ first served basis at the shop only.
If you pre-ordered, you should have received an email confirming they are available for collection.
We have added (yellow) courgette ‘Atena Polka’ F1 to our now long list of 50p seed packs – for some reason these are very expensive as packets from Kings so we thought we would try them as bulk seeds.
We are also now stocking Phacelia – this is an amazing bee friendly plant / green manure / soil improver. More info here and here . Our 50p pack will cover 10m2. Sow from now through to the end of the season.
Our full list of ‘bulk’ seeds (all at 50p per packet) is below.
We also still have some Charlotte and Desiree potatoes available in ½ Kg bags @ £1.
Small Yew Trees for Sale
One of our members has around 45 small yew trees that he no longer requires and would like to sell on. He is asking around £200 for them but is open to offers. If you are interested, please contact us on news@wantagegardeners.org.uk and we will pass your email on.
Newsletter - 21st February
Potatoes / Onions / Shallots
We have now had out potatoes delivered and lots have been sold as pre-orders, we have mainly Charlotte and Desiree left with a few odds and ends.
Each year we also get requests for smaller quantities of tubers and so we are trying selling 500g packs (approximately 5 tubers) for just £1. We have lots of these left, hopefully they will be popular.
We also have lots of onions and shallots in stock – we have also halved the size of these packs as they were too big for most users (we have halved the price too!)
Our approximate stock levels are as below:
As you can see – not very much left, you can reserve your choice online or come along to the shop ASAP.
Following many requests for smaller packs of potatoes you can see we are also trying ½ Kg packs of the most popular varieties (Charlotte and Desiree) . Hopefully these will be popular.
We also still have a few of the 30L buckets to grow these in and lots of compost to fill these up with.
Composts
We have Melcourt composts in stock (Multipurpose / JI and Seed& cutting) and expect to re-stock with Rocketgro multipurpose and planters in the next week or so.
Seed and cutting compost is selling well and we wont be buying any more of this in this year – about 30 bags left today.
See you at the shop soon