Topic: Gardeners World Allotment- A4A's Views and synopsis

[allaboutliverpool]

I have added a page to my site collating the information from over one hundred postings.

I am delighted that there has been such interest in the programme.

If anyone wants their A4A name removed or feels that I have misrepresented them, then let me Know.

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments_GardenersWorld_allotment_Week_1.html

[Tee Gee]

Thanks for your synopsis.

Must admit I missed the programme but then again I purposely miss them all, so I am not in a position to comment really.

Just read all the replies and very interesting reading it made too....... well done to all who subscribed, I really enjoyed the read.

I now feel like  I have watched it

Reading between the lines Joe sounds like the bloke on the plot next to me, knows it all and knows nout!!

My neighbour has just ruined a perfectly good plot all because it was about two foot off the level.

What he has done is dug about a foot off the high end and put it on the low end in order to level it up.

Now this seems a logical move but!!!!;what he doesn't seem to know is; he is now down to subsoil at the excavated end and he has put the topsoil on top of the weeds rather than move them first.

(Sounds a bit like Joe and his Couch grass!!)

Now these weeds  include some of the most pernicious weeds imaginable e.g. Couch,Dandelion, Fat hen,Sow thistle, Mares tail and more, and as many people here might agree.... this is not good gardening practice.

To come back to the point; all the plot holders on our plots (as they always do to a newbie) have offered any help and advice to my neighbour, as I gather the ones on Joes site did, but he (my neighbour) and Joe have for what ever reason 'ignored' it.

I have spoken to a number of people since and they are of the same opinion as me (of my neighbour)..............leave him to his own resources.....perhaps in the fullness of time he will learn by his mistakes.................so all I would say about  the Gardener's World allotment just lets wait and see what happens then pass judgement, no point in getting all hot and bothered about it!

So once again let me  thank you all for the entertaining read, and let me say; it is nice to be associated with people like you who have opinions and are prepared to express them . TG

[allaboutliverpool]

I watch the BBC's iPlayer regularly and in answer to a lot of frustrated potential viewers, Fridays programme is not listed as an option.

Does the BBC know something that we all suspected?

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments1_homepage.html

[simon404]

Doc, (do you mind being called Doc?): You might also be interested in the opinions over at the BBC gardening board:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbgardening/F2759004?thread=5319431

[jjt]

Well i just looked on iPlayer and it's there for me.

[asbean]

I think i-player had problems on Friday (or was it Saturday), as did several other programmes.  Perhaps it's OK now.

[allaboutliverpool]

Thanks for the link Simon, I notice that you are a contributor to that site.

The comments are less supportive than A4A where the paths hardly get a mention although I did mention them in my posting on the Basics forum. There are also lots of suggestions that Glyphosate should be used, but not one on A4A who are obviously a lot more organic.

I am pleased to see that there are more postings on A4A about this than on the
GW site.

I really must get out of this habit of waking at 4am with vegetables in my brain!

PS Doc is OK!

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments1_homepage.html

[Chrissie]

so all I would say about  the Gardener's World allotment just lets wait and see what happens then pass judgement

Don't forget this is the BBC we're talking about, where "good television" is all and nothing is quite as it seems... witness the frighteningly realistic flying penguins on April 1st!

I'm not suggesting digital trickery will be used but come on, how credulous do they think we are? Can they swear 100% that no magical minions will be at work behind the scenes between programmes?? After all Joe is a very busy professional man...

No doubt there will be hiccups to give an air of realism but I would be AMAZED if the end result were not incredibly positive. Which I suppose is OK because potential allotmenteers need encouragement!

Just call me an old cynic  ;)

[PurpleHeather]

I could not get the gardeners world to play on BBCi either, some excuse about  some of the content being copy write. It is on view as if it can be viewed until you click on it to actually view.

These garden programmes have a lot to answer for. They show a bit of land and seconds later it is dug and ready to plant. Then they show the plants being put in and a few weeks later the produce appears.

People think that is how it works. They get a plot hire a rotovator put in plants (from the garden centre) and are so upset when, a few weeks later they go back to the allotment and find that weeds have overtaken everything.

[Plot69]

I could not get the gardeners world to play on BBCi either, some excuse about  some of the content being copy write. It is on view as if it can be viewed until you click on it to actually view.

I didn't see it on Friday but I had no trouble watching all 1 hour of it on BBCi.

[albacore1854]

Good to see it getting slated on the bbc board, for the absolute rubbish it was.

[ipt8]

I watched this and did not find it too bad. I was more interested in it than when Geoff Hamilton was making his artificial stones all those years ago.

I thought Joe came over as not knowing it all myself, contrary to the views shown here. I reckon with the fiew minutes given in the programme the actual work could hardly be shown in great depth, that would be for a full length programme.

I did wonder how he was going to fill the raised beds as he did not seem to have moved soil from the paths up onto them, r did I miss something?

I do believe it would encourage people to have a go which it is what it is all about. How about all those newbies on this site, where you interested in the content.

I did think the raised beds were not the most practical design, but he is a garden designer so just had to do it. Of course the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.....

[PurpleHeather]

I eventually got the gardeners world on BBCi then saw the next stage.

The guy is a typical new boy to the allotments.

Keen to get the shed, paths and beds laid out before doing any digging.

Of course he will have problems, don't we all?

It will be interesting to see the progress of a warts and all newbie instead of the know it alls with their perfect soil, perfect plants and a seemingly bottomless pit of resources.

I did not realise that you could transplant garlic. Now that was the best tip from the entire programme for me.

[Robert_Brenchley]

You can transplant alliums easily at this time of year, before they really start growing. Just be careful how you dig them up; they can go deeper than you realise, and it's easy to leave the bulb behind. Then the plant never catches up.

[growmore]

I thought the transplanting of  the garlic was spot the deliberate mistake .
On 2 counts.
Firstly  You can transplant garlic and alums that you have grown in pots, modules etc , taking care you disturb the roots as Little as possible and that they are planted at  the same depth  as they were in the  pot  . The way he did it I think he stands a good chance of the garlic growing as rounds= Not cloving or worse still he stands a good chance of it going  to seed...
More seriously to my mind. If I had a new pristine raised  bed of what looked like  a very well prepared growing medium, I wouldn't want to dig any garlic or onions of any kind with soil attached out of any one Else's allotment and set them in mine . This to my mind is a BIG NO NO..
White rot is so easy to catch  NOT AS EASY TO GET RID OF...   

[Deb P]

Just watched last night programme on catch up tv, I have to admit White Rot crossed my mind as well watching him transplant that garlic!

He was keen to emphasise how he was having to go over his beds several times to get the couch and marestail out, and that it took him 7 weeks to get to that point, the impression I got from last weeks programme was it all happened a lot quicker than that! I shall keep watching, it's still good to have something about allotments on the programme, but I do use the fast forward button a lot for the rest....

[saddad]

Missed it!  ;D

[Oldhippy]

Had it on - fell asleep - missed it. :-\

[simon404]

Brilliant! Here's to us old hippies  8)

[Robert_Brenchley]

I son't think the garlic he's planting now will clove, but I'd have thought the transplanted stuff probably will.