On 30/05/08 10:42, Pam Moore wrote:
I was interested in Joe's new allotment. It was good that he did not
know too much about veg growing before. Many people who take on
allotments have not grown veg before, so he learns as he goes as
others do.

I was looking forward with great interest to the allotment feature on GW
as I have taken on a new plot myself. I was looking forward to getting
real practical advice from an expert!!

So, it is NOT good that Joe Swift is the frontman for this as vegetable
growing is not his expertise and he often seems to laugh and sneer at
his fellow allotment holders who have years of advice to offer him which
he seems to treat with disdain. It used to be the case that GW
presenters were experts in their fields!

GW has now degenerated beyond belief and has become just another
lifestyle program like all those cookery programs that teach you nothing.

Worse still, Joe Swift and GW are simply jumping aboard the 'grow your
own' theme that is very current in the UK. But they do not spell out the
reality of taking on an allotment. It is real hard work in the first
year to clear a plot properly and get it anywheres near ready for
cultivation in the second year. (It actually takes even longer.) But
they don't tell that to newbies; they pretend that most regular
allotment holders can simply clear their sites in just 6 weeks and are
ready to go. It is shocking to mislead people, with high hopes, in
the way that they are doing.

I think Joe Swift should be retired from being allotment frontman.
Better to have one of his more experienced neighbours explain the
process. Then maybe we all learn how to do it properly, including Joe.

And does anyone think Joe Swift will still be tending his allotment
after the current series of GW is finished?

Ed