Make a date

I have given up on gardening programmes too. Not because I am stupid enough to believe that I know it all. There are just two sorts now:

1 The idiotic designer type with concrete, decking and instant planting

2 The Blue Peter style of "this is one I did earlier".

Stefan Buzzcocksy (or whatever his name is) is pretty scathing about them too.

 

same old same old!
the best bit for me was the robin,,
its because of programes like this, that we have people take on allotment plots, mostly they arrive dig a couple of rows of grass out, find its hard work, never to be seen again!
next year same thing.
they all expect the same thing after 30 mins.
(instant crops)
now we have a waiting list :rolleyes:

 

I have not given up on gardening programmes - whilst being selective of what I watch. I am strongly of the view that a lot of these programmes start an interest in some folks, that will often turn into the passion we all know.

How much of the one week allotment holders are d due to TV programmes, not many I think, much more to do with the current flavour of the month, organic and home grown - more to do with mags than the TV

So no I will not write them off as trash - and thoroughly enjoy some of them. If they interests some youngsters in that space outside their back doors then .

 

I have to agree- i thought the show was a bit of a let down. It was designed to help first time growers grow there own veg. but i think after that they wouldnt really have gained anything worthwile. The programme is too short, should be 1 hour long, too much irrelevant stuff was crammed in. How has artichoke chips got anything to do with growing veg? We didnt even see the soil being dug, manured and prepared-the basics.I thought we would have been told what to do in these dreary days of January but it started in March. Hopefully next weeks will be a lot better

 

Unfortunately gardening programmes now seem to concentrate more on the personality of the presenter than the subject. TV is now so obsessed with celebrity that I'm afraid that Carol klein is in danger of becoming another clone. It is a pity as she is a knowledgable plantswoman with plenty of enthusiasm for gardening.
A good gardening programme should show less of the presenter and more of what we all want to see - the plants!

 

think i agree with most of the comments here. ive more or less given up on gardening programmes .ive been gardening for a few years and am still very much a beginner but these shows dont appeal to me. most are just make over shows with presenters ive seen before hand presenting motoring shows etc. i think carol kleins a great presenter along with the rest of the gw crew but where are they?, except for repeats.didnt see carols show so cant offer any comment except maybe it was badly directed.? there was a show on a while back on sunday mornings about allotments which was very good. sadly though i only seen two episodes and that was that. :(

 

I wonder if there's any back-up stuff on-line about that programme, Tig. Which channel was it on? Do you remember?

 

BBC2 - the BBC usually do back up web pages. Also the RHS are doing something to do with this prog as well.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/
Of course it all comes with a nice tastefully designed book. Thats what its all about - selling the associated merchandise. :(
Now into grumply old man mode

 

The RHS bit of this is getting plenty of plugs, Geoff! see page 1!

I do agree about the merchandising!

 

heres a link to some info about the allotment programme mentioned above.if anyone somehow finds any episodes of it hidden away in archives somewhere please post here so we can all see
http://www.allotment.org.uk/articles/Big_Dig_Allotment_Televison_Programme.php

 

Hi All, I too was a little miffed. I was looking forward to seeing how you plan and make your bed etc but it appears to the BBC thought that you already knew that. Oh well maybe it will get better as the series progresses, If not i will read her book that someone kindly bought me

 

I caught Grow Your Own Veg from the late night repeat and enjoyed the bit with the 3 metre square veggie plot, will be following its progress as thats about the space I have in my garden for veggies so am relieved that I can do something with a small space. For me it had enough info to be able to follow and not too much to scare me off!

Even though Im a newbie to all this there are lots of gardening programmes that I just dont get. I think its awful when a lovely space is covered up with decking or a large seating area with gazebos. I agree with most of you that the programmes can be quite 'designer' and 'trendy' and not give you any practical info.

Some programmes did spark the interest with me and I finally started this gardening lark late last summer and love it, before that I used to think there were far too many gardening programmes on TV but now I find myself taping most of them! If I get 5 mins worth of valuable info from one programme then Im happy

 

Saw it this evening and was OKish but I loved the Prog Rock soundtrack, I wonder if that was her choice?