Your friendly local Gardening supplies cooperative

WGA News and Updates

Shop opens 10-12 Saturday Mornings.

AGM – Thursday 12th November + ‘Growing in a Changing Climate’

We will be holding our AGM in the upstairs room of the King Alfred’s Head Pub on Thursday at 8:00.

We will attempt to set up a Teams call for those that can’t make it in person,

You should be able to click on the link and open in your web browser to join.

To add to the interest in the meeting, Alan has offered to give another of his excellent talks. This one is on ‘Growing in a Changing Climate’ with tips and tricks to manage your gardens in the hotter weather we are likely to face in the future.

AGM AGENDA

1. Attendees

2. Apologies

3. 2025 Minutes read and approved – matters arising

4. Chairman’s report – Brian Jones

5. Treasurer’s report – Colin Fox

6. Publicity/Website – Mark Davies

7. Rota Secretary – Terry Knight

8. Trips and events – Alan McPherson

9. Election of officers

10. AOB

– Constitution – See below

– Feedback on EquiGrow compost

– BHGS situation

– Alan M – Growing in a Changing Climate

The accounts will be available at the meeting, if any members would like a copy please email us requesting these in advance.

Constitution

It has been pointed out that we do not have any form of constitution. Although this doesn’t appear to have been an issue for the last 80 years or so, it seems prudent to have one in place.

The following is proposed:

Wantage Gardeners Association Constitution

1. Name: The Association will be known as Wantage Gardeners Association.

2. Purpose:

The aims of the Association are to promote gardening and to encourage members with the cultivation and enjoyment of their gardens by:

● the provision of gardening supplies at an affordable price (whilst still covering running costs);

● the organisation of visits to places and events of gardening and horticultural interest

● holding plant sales .

3. Membership:

● the Association is open to all who have fully paid the annual subscription;

● only members who have paid the annual subscription are entitled to purchase goods from the Association;

● the membership will run from 1st January to 31st December each calendar year or part thereof for new members ;

● subscriptions will be due by 1st February for the coming year;

● only members who have paid the current year’s subscription will be entitled to vote at any regular meeting, the AGM or any Extraordinary Meeting .

4. Management:

● the Association will be managed by a Committee comprising a minimum of three Officers of the Association (Chairperson, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer,) plus Honorary Membership Secretary and Honorary Publicity Secretary;

● the full Committee must stand for election at the Association’s AGM held in November of each year;

● the Committee will meet at least once a year, and at such times as may be considered necessary;

● a quorum of the Committee will be greater than 50% of its current number;

● matters requiring a vote in Committee will be decided by a simple majority of those Members present with the Chair having a casting vote in case of an equal vote .

5. Finance:

● the Treasurer will be responsible for all financial aspects of the Association and will bank all monies in the name of the Association;

● all payments issued on behalf of the Club must be authorised by the Treasurer or a designated member of the Committee;

● the Treasurer will provide a financial statement at each committee meeting and will report annually to the Association at its AGM.

6. Association Meetings:

The AGM will be held in November each year:

● for hearing, commenting and approving of the minutes of the previous AGM ;

● for receiving the Treasurer’s report;

● for hearing the Chairperson’s annual review of the past year’s performance and outlook for the coming year;

● for re-election of the Officers and Committee for the following year

Other meetings of the Association will be held as necessary to fulfil the aims set out in Section 2 above.

7. Dissolution of the Association

The Association may be dissolved at an AGM or Extraordinary General Meeting by agreement of two-thirds of the members present. On dissolution and after payment of all outstanding accounts the committee will arrange to discharge any assets amongst nominated charities or clubs.

8. The Constitution:

● no changes to the Constitution may be made except at an AGM or EGM called for the purpose, for which at least seven days’ notice must be given;

● any changes proposed must be agreed by vote at an AGM or EGM called for that purpose by a two-thirds majority of those Members attending.

9. Other Matters :

Any matter not covered by the above rules will be resolved by the Committee pending adoption at the next AGM or EGM called for that purpose.

We propose to allow members to vote to adopt this constitution at the AGM. If you have any views on this or would like to support it (as a paid member for 2026) and will not be at the AGM, please email you comments before the AGM.

BHGS / Potato Orders

We have had some sad news in that BHGS, the wholesaler we have been using since the start of the Association, have gone into liquidation and so are no longer trading.

This is obviously a problem for us as we will need to find alternative suppliers for all of our products including the potato order.

We believe we have found a suitable alternative supplier and placed an order with them a couple of weeks ago but it is clear that last Summer was poor for some varieties and presumable all of BHGS’s other customers are also looking for alternative suppliers

Consequently we are aware that some popular varieties are hard to come by and we are unsure whether our order will be delivered in full.

Thanks to the large number of members that have ordered in advance – if you haven’t put in an order in yet, we would strongly suggest you do so ASAP.

In the event of any shortages, orders will be fulfilled in order of when they were placed.

Orders should be placed via the web page or by emailing us with your requirements and paid for on collection in February 27.

Note – we have not paid for any goods in advance from BHGS and have no financial exposure to their closure.

Fruit Plant Orders – Orders Close 30th November

Toby from Mooreberries has given us access to trade prices again this year for their fruit plants and bushes. We anticipated that there may be less demand this year but we have very few orders so far and will probably not offer this again unless there is more interest.

As with the potatoes, please place any fruit orders via the web shop and pay on collection.

We only order what has been requested and so no stock will be available in the shop.

Please order by 30th November at the latest.

Strawberries (pack of 5 plants) - £4.00 (Normally £9.95)

Korona / Cambridge Favourite / Florence

Raspberry canes - £10 / 5 canes (Normal price £14.95)

Autumn bliss / Glen Prozen

Gooseberries - £6 per bush (Normal price £11.95)

Hino Red / Invicta

Currants - £5 per bush (Normal price £8.95)

JVT / White Versailles / Sarek / Hope

Newsletter – September 26

Potatoes / Onions / Shallots for 2027

We have now received the price list for the potatoes and, for the first time in a while, we can offer these at the same prices as last year.

This will be £3.50p per 2KG pack for orders placed before End of October (when we place our order with BHGS) or £4.00p for packs purchased form the shop next year.

Shallots and onions will also be available.

Please order in advance to take advantage of the reduced price and to ensure you get your chosen varieties. We will have minimal quantities of each variety extra to the pre-orders as this has worked very well over the last few years to minimise wasted stock.

Could we also ask that when you place an order, please only add potatoes, onions or shallots to this order (i.e. – please don’t add in compost / seeds etc. to the same order). This much simplifies the processing of the orders when they come in.

We will stocking the usual varieties as below.

Potatoes - £3.50p / 2Kg
1st Early	Foremost
1st Early	Pentland Javelin
1st Early	Rocket
2nd Early	Charlotte
2nd Early	Kestrel
Main	Cara
Main	Desiree
Main	Maris Piper
Main	Sarpo Mira
Onions - £1.50p / 250g
Onion	Sturon
Shallot	Yellow Moon

You can order in one of 3 ways:

Order on-line at Potatoes – WantageGardenersAssociation

Tell us what you require by email – reply to this one.

Come along to the shop and will in an order form and we will create an order for you.

Please pay on collection in February next year.

Strawberry Plants and Fruit Bushes

We have been in touch with Toby at Mooreberries to see if he is willing to offer us fruit plants again. If this works out we will let you know for pre-orders again.

Green Manures

Now is about the best time to sow green manures to protect your soil through the Winter. Green manures are the ideal way to protect yor soil over the winter period to reduce weeds, prevent nutrients washing out and adding nutrients into the soil and adding organic matter with minimal effort when dug in or cut down in the Spring.

We have a range of 50p packets of the following varieties:

Phacelia – Sow March to September

Crimson Clover – Sow March to August

Alfalfa – Sow March to August

Each packet has enough seeds to cover 10m2 or 6m2 so excellent value and an easy way to add organic matter to your plot.

More information can be found at the Garden Organic website here.

Autumn Sown Broad Beans

We also have broad bean seeds in stock for sowing in Autumn in 50p packets.

The packets contain approximately 30 seeds – if you require significantly more than this please email and we will pack what you require rather than clearing out the smaller packs.

Replacement Greenhouse Glass

We have a stock of greenhouse sized glass if you need to replace any in yours.

The size is 24″ x 18″ (610mm x 456mm), unfortunately we don’t have square sheets but these can be used creatively if you have 24″ panes as 3 of these can be used to replace 2 square sheets.

Sheets are 3mm thick, not toughened and need a clean before using.

We are selling these for £4 per sheet for our charities.

Charity Plant Sale – Saturday 30th May – 10:00

Our annual charity plant sale is on Saturday at 10:00. if you have any plants to donate to the sale we would be very grateful.

This is our main charity fundraising event for the year so every donation helps.

Donations will go to the Air ambulance and Vale Impact.

Plants can be dropped off from 9 and the sale starts (strictly!) at 10 – but you are welcome to queue beforehand.

There is usually a wide range of vegetable and flower plants as well as some unusual specimens.

We have a dedicated Chilli plant stand this year too due to popular demand.

The Girl Guides have agreed to do tea and coffee with cakes too if you want to make a morning of it.

The shop will also be open as normal.

May Newsletter

Wednesday Evening Opening – May Only

Several members have asked about opening on Wednesday evenings as we used to before Covid. We are happy to give it a go to see how popular it is.

We propose to open 6:30 – 8:00 on Wednesdays through May.

If you are able to volunteer for this slot then please let Terry know on shoprota@wantagegardeners.org.uk.

Very well Rotted Horse Manure Back In stock

We have about 40 bags of horse manure back in stock.

Bags are 40l and mostly clean and intact but if you want to purchase any it would be prudent to have some protection in your car in case of spillages

The price for these is £4.50p per bag.

BACS Payments for On Line orders Removed

We continue to have non-members ordering on-line from far flung places around the UK (a testament to our low prices!), paying on line and expecting free delivery.

To try to minimise this, we have removed this option and so we ask that you pay by card when collecting (as the vast majority of people do anyway).

Free Self Assembly Compost Bins (Pallets!!)

As mentioned recently, we have had a lot of compost delivered and so have a lot of pallets in the shop.

If you would like some, please ask and we will sort some out for you.

Note that they are 1m x 1.2m so great for a large compost bin but slightly too big for many car boots, maybe check first.

WGA Plant Sale – Saturday May 30th.

As always, our plant sale will be on the last Saturdays of May, this year on 30th, 4 weeks away.

Please think about is when you are sowing seeds and do a few extras for the sale – beans etc are always very popular along with most other veggies, please label though otherwise they are likely to end up on the compost after all the effort!

Wisley Trip – June 15th

We have a few seats left (around 6) if there are any last minute takers. £15 for a great day out.

Please contact Alan on events@wantagegardeners.org.uk if you are interested.

Also remember that we have a 30% off RHS entry card if you would like to visit separately and save some of the entrance fee.

April – Compost Update

Over the last week we have fully restocked with composts, including those we had been out of stock of for a while – particularly the seed compost which has proved very popular.

A list of the products we currently have in stock is below – prices were held for all except ericaceous which we haven’t bought in for some while, hence the price rise.

Thanks again to the helpers that unloaded the Melcourt delivery.

		Volume	Price
Melcourts	With John Innes	40l	£7.50
	Multipurpose	40l	£7.00
	Seed Compost	40l	£7.00
	Ericacous	40l	£7.50
	Ornamental Pine Bark	60l	£7.00

RocketGro	Multipurpose	50l	£6.50
RocketGro	Veg Planter	60l	£7.00

Strulch		13.5Kg	£12.00

Growmoor	John Innes Seed	25l	£4.50
	John Innes No. 1	25l	£4.50
	John Innes No. 2	25l	£4.50
	John Innes No. 3	25l	£4.50

Easter Newsletter

Easter Offers – We have a few items that might be of interest for Easter as alternatives to expensive Easter eggs!

Strawberry plants – we have a range strawberry plant varieties to cover the season. These are doing well and many have flowers and few early fruit.

They are ready for planting outside or in a pot indoors.

Plants are £1.50p each.

Pots in Pots – All of our 2Kg packs of potatoes have now sold but we still have 500g packs of Charlotte and Desiree, we also 30L pots in stock which make a great way to grow them without the need for an allotment etc..

This great video shows just how easy and effective it is and a great project for new gardeners – £4.50p plus some dirt for a potato kit!

Seeds – We have a large range of bulk seeds but a few varieties that might make good presents for young (impatient) gardeners – Cress / Sunflowers / Spring Onions / Radishes / Carrots for example. All 50p per packet.

Second hand Equipment – We would like to clear some of the second hand gardening equipment we have in stock.

Wisley Visit – 15th June

We have had lots of interest in the visit to Wisley and it will be going ahead. We still have about 8 places left on the coach if you would like to sign up.

Please contact Alan on events@wantagegardeners.org.uk if you would like to sign up – £15 pp.

Welcome to 2026!

The shop is now open as normal again – 10-12 on Saturday mornings.

Potatoes and Fruit Bushes/Plants

Thanks to those members who ordered the above, most orders have now been collected although there are several potato orders remaining. It would be helpful if these could be collected shortly – a separate email will be sent to those with orders remaining.

We have potatoes / onions and shallots in stock but relatively limited quantities as we aim to sell most by pre-order.

Potatoes are £4 per 2KG and onions and shallots are £1.50p / 250g bags.

Due to popular demand, we are also stocking smaller packs of Charlotte and Desiree varieties with 5 or 6 tubers per pack (£1/500g). We have limited supplies of these too.

These are suitable to be grown in our 30l potato post which have proved very successful for a number of members.

Composts for 2026

We have received our delivery form Melcourts and are stocking the same as last year with their standard multipurpose (£7/40l) and with John Innes (£7.50/40l).

We also have one pallet (60 bags left) of their new seed and cutting compost which was very popular last year (£7/40l).

When we have all the potatoes collected (and so have some room) we will also be buying more Rocketgro products.

Seeds

Our 30% off offer for Kings is still running (see here for details). Their prices continue to creep up but still offer very good value. We were offered a 50% off deal for Thompson and Morgan but a comparison showed these were still much more expensive than Kings when both discounts were applied and so we will stick with Kings. We have catalogues in the shop if anyone hasn’t been sent one by Kings.

Their postage has increased to £2.35 now but members are welcome to place small orders of one or two packets through the shop to avoid this – we will add these to the monthly shop orders.

We have also extended the range of ‘bulk’ seeds we offer at 50p to include more of the popular varieties we sold as packets from Kings to offer better value for members.

The full list of the varieties we will be stocking through the year is below:

WGA Events for 2026

Plant sale – last Saturday of May – 30th this year.

Annual Wisley trip – Probably in June, details to be sent out closer to the time.

AGM – Thursday 12th November

Volunteers

Our annual plea for members to give up a couple of hours on a Saturday morning every 2 years or so to help keep the club going! We mainly need people to help load up bags of compost etc. into members cars or help with the till.

Please contact Terry at shoprota@wantagegardeners.org.uk if you can help.

Thanks

Other events

White Horse Gardening Club

Wisley Visit – Saturday 18th April. £20 incl. Coach and entry.

Contact June – June@henville.net – for details and ticket availability

Next Talk – Thursday 5th March – 7:30, Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall

To dig or not to dig, that is the question By: Alan McPherson