Kitchen Garden Forum

The Kitchen Garden magazine got a mention in the RHS magazine this month as a publishing success story when other gardening mag's circulations are falling.
Also spotted it in my local Tesco's recently too!
So well done to Captain Carrot and his motley crew for all the care and effort you put in. It's evidently paying off.

Well said Jenny and heartily endorsed. Now we've all got to bang on at Sainsbury's to get them to stock it too.

Well i think they are very lucky to have our topic's to pinch, funny when a very good topic comes up, a similar ones appears a couple of months later in the magazine.
Really, i think they do a superb job.

Chantal, Sainbury's won't be able to resist your personal charm.

I think the magazine has improved since the takeover. Is it new eyes/new ideas? Was it getting a bit samey/predictable? I don't know, but I like a lot of the new things I see in it.

Yes - lot's more of the same improvements.....

Sainsbury's.

Waitroses's.

Other's.........."

I managed to persuade a local newsagent to start stocking a few copies each month. He now sells out and is thinking of ordering more!!! Explained that there are 2 allotment sites in the area and people with gardens who may be thinking about starting a veggie patch.

Worked out quite well

I was trying to pin down what it is about the mag that makes it so much better than other similar ones. For what it's worth, I came to the conclusion that others have far too many bitty pieces that don't study a subject in reasonable depth and then try to make up for the lack of proper content by having massive photos in close-up of pretty veg. The photos make it look good, but in the end you quickly find that there is little of enough use to justify keeping it, whereas I keep and file all my KG and often refer back to them.
I really appreciate the full-length of the KG articles, and the fact that photos are relevant and useful, plus a reasonable size, rather than massive art photos that actually tell you nothing.
I also really appreciate the cookery column, as when you have a surfeit of something it is highly useful to have other ideas for using them.
Alison

I agree and also think it's the authenticity of the writers that contributes to that effect. They can write a lot because they know what they're writing about and practise what they preach. It makes a hell of a difference to get advice from someone who knows what they're talking about and that's the feeling I get from reading the mag. I've often acted on things I've read in there.
Probably also words are more expensive than photos and the other mags are trying to be as cheap as possible.

I do agree that KG is a great publication and one that I have enjoyed on subscription for several years now.
In my humble opinion the quality and style outshines many of the well known National glossies.

If I had one small constructive criticism it is the choice of light coloured printing in some of the coloured blocks...my eyesight isn't as good as it should be and I can lose the text.

Well done

I particularly like the fact that the article writers freely admit to having had problems growing things. But they then back it up with practical advice of what they did to rectify the situation.

I've never seen that in any of the other publications. I like it really because it is down to earth and doesn't baffle you with science.

I think it "does what it says on the tin/cover"