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PLUMPUDDING
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How are you all enjoying the new hourly programme? I think it is much better with more presenters and the new ones focusing on growing in small spaces, which should draw a wider audience. It's also good for experts to have more time to explain things. So far I've enjoyed the new format.
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Primrose
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Yes I've found it more enjoyable too. Shortening it to a 30 minute slot meant that whatever was being discussed had to be truncated and bringing in other experts has meant that a wider range of interests, especially for amateur gardeners, can be catered for.

I suppose by the sheer slow nature of plant and vegetable growing, we will never see The Great British "Garden Off" replace the popular bakery programme but maybe there is now a vacancy in the schedule for an innovative horticulture programme of some kind that might encourage those generally interested in the topic to become a little more active and experimental in their own gardening activities.

A programme for the miserable winter Friday evening slots when growing has finished would be welcome !
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Geoff
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Some of it is OK but there is 40 minutes programme padded out to 60 with clips, repeats, pointless interludes and Monty musings that are a waste of space. There is almost as much content in 30 minutes of Beechgrove.
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Diane
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Agree with Primrose. It saddens me when GW finishes for the winter..Friday nights aren't the same. Showing me repeats of sumptuous gardens in Italy or Tuscany, with stupendously stunning fountains and floral borders half a mile long just doesn't do it for me. I like programmes that get down to the nitty gritty of gardening....i.e. slug bashing and snail slaughter and compost turning. :D
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PLUMPUDDING
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When is Beech grove on Geoff? I've never come across it. I don't put the telly on until the evening though.
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Geoff
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It is on BBC Two Scotland usually Thursdays at 7:30 but this week it is on tonight at the same time for some reason.
It is usually, though not quite always, repeated on BBC Two England on Sunday mornings.
I have a FreeSat box so I series record it on Channel 970, it will be on Sky somewhere as well but I don't know the channel number.
It is also available on iPlayer, it is actually called The Beechgrove Garden but it is listed under B on the A-Z.
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Primrose
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I suppose veggie growing and gardening is such a part of our daily routine, even if we only do it small scale, that not being active in Winter can leave us feeling a little displaced, so something on TV to counteract this feeling will be welcome. There must be all kinds of plant experimentation and species research going on in the RHS, Kew Gardens and rhe seed suppliers that would fill the winter gap to keep us interested and engaged. Perhaps the problem is that few of the TV schedule planners are sufficiently interested in horticulture and affiliated topics to appreciate the potential.
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Primrose
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I agree with Dianne. It's really the nitty gritty stuff which interests me. Exotic gardens are lovely to see but really it's the day to day problems on which we need insight and practical tips. Slugs, rats in compost heaps and perennial toxic weeds are the sort of problems which preoccupy most of us, not how to shelter tender banana and lemon trees from winter frosts in giant greenhouses which most of us don't have space for. Not saying that these arn't interesting issues to learn about , but Joe Bloggs probably needs something to which he can relate if he's to be encouraged to get out there with his spade and start growing for the first time.
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Pawty
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I usually watch it early Sunday mornings with a cup of tea. I hadn't realised it was an hour! How exciting.... I'll have to catch up on I player.

I know some people find it a bit fluffy (which it can be) but after a week at work I find monty's talks and seeing everyone else's lovely gardens are exactly what I need to get me motivated and get out there or start some seedlings off in the cold frame.

Agree - beech grove is also very good. I like the veg trials and working with new gardeners. Although their weather is a bit more challenging than we get in Hampshire.

I had a subscription to the gardeners world magazine a few years ago, but it didn't have enough about veg in it for me so I switched to KG magazine.

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I do prefer the longer episodes but can't say it is wonderful, but better than those instant garden shows & does cover veg!

My favourite gardening show ever was 'The Allotment'. It was made by ITV West and they just toured allotment sites for each episode & met folk from the site. I liked it so much I bought the box set, my only one. There was a bit of cooking as well & a detailed visit to one site showed a chap building a smoker & smoking a chicken for a Caribbean feast! Lots of hints & tips from 'proper' growers as well as some home remedies.

I now have a computer I can't show it on as no DVD facility but do have the TV! Mr Westi quite liked it first time round but not a repeat type of guy but will risk it over the winter months! Recommended & probably still available - & very cheap as it was several years ago.

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PLUMPUDDING
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Thanks Geoff I'll look for it on iPlayer or make an exception on Sunday morning.
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Tony Hague
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I preferred the half hour version. Endless visits to flower gardens puts me to sleep ... and I mean it literally !
PLUMPUDDING
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I was hoping that they would introduce a good range of experts and possibly be easing Monty Don towards his retirement. I do like looking at other gardens too whether large or small.
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Johnboy
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Until the BBC engages a person as the presenter who is fully trained in horticulture I'm afraid I wouldn't waste my time watching the programme. The presenter at this time is a total fraud!
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Geoff
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"easing Monty Don towards his retirement" there are perhaps encouraging signs that they may move to Adam Frost and his new property, though looking at the size of it they perhaps can't afford him. Not sure how practical a programme it would be but he was a Geoff Hamilton apprentice, as they keep emphasising.
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