"Ed" ex@directory wrote in message
...
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


Ed,
i think Joe will keep the plot, i find the best experience you can get is by
trying something for yourself and other growers, Joe is doing this. And he
is providing real practical advise .
SNIP
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.

I have not felt this at all so i do not know where you have ? If anything he
has had a bit of stick from a boring old fart who is stuck in his ways and
can only grow in rows .
I find it more frustrating when you cannot relate to a program, i.e
makeover programs when they use loads of mature plants that most cannot
compete with or gardens that are that huge it makes you pig sick with envy .

Monty has covered loads about veg growing so think Joe`s project should
inspire and help many people.Veg growing is possibly the easiest, most veg
you just chuck the seed in and away you grow.