"Ed" ex@directory wrote in message
...
I was really looking forward to the present series of Gardeners World when
it was announced that they would be doing an allotment from scratch as I am
in a similar position and was hoping to learn from this.

But then, unaccountably, the BBC put Joe Swift in charge of this!!

First off, he hires a JCB to skim off all the surface grass and weeds.
Well, how practical is that for most allotmenteers? I can barely get a
wheelbarrow to my plot!!

Then he goes ahead and rotavates the whole place, chopping up and
multiplying all the perennial weed roots. Is that good practice?

Next he lays out triangular , and other odd-shaped, raised beds!! Where
is the sense in that? Regular oblong or square shaped beds must make for
easier sowing of crops in a straight line and for subsequent hoeing? And
how do you rotate crops if your beds are all of a different size?

And then it comes to planting out his onion sets!! And Joe Swift doesn't
know what to do and has to phone Monty Don on the mobile for advice!! I
thought Joe Swift should know how to do this?

I am utterly disappointed with this whole allotment thing. I am getting
no real practical advice from Joe Swift when I was expecting an expert
vegetable grower to be fronting this part of the program.

It seems to me that the BBC Gardeners World are just cashing in on the
current 'grow your own' theme at the moment without offering any real help
at all. Joe Swift is just the front guy. It's becoming like all those
cookery programs whose aim is to promote the Chef without actually
teaching anyone how to cook.

So does Joe Swift really know his onions? Has he lost the plot? Has he
gone to seed? Or is he simply a wannabe celebrity?

From now on, I won't worry a bit if I miss Gardeners World.

I think I can get proper expert advice from my fellow allomenteers who've
got years of experience and are real gardeners.

Ed

For 'real gardeners' there is always Gardeners' Question Time on radio 4


--
Rowdens Reservoir Allotments Association
www.rraa.moonfruit.com
Feed the soil, save the planet