Allotment Wars- BBC1 Tuesday 22nd January

An early warning -this looks like a bit of a lark

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01q9d8b

It was filmed over 7 months and tells of wars between plot holders

Tuesday10.35 pm -with regional variations

Wonder if our Deano will be on there!!

Bill and Ben (in the sample clip) were quite cute.

10.35pm is a strange time to show a gardening program. A mid-afternoon slot would have seemed more appropriate. Maybe there is violence and bad language.

I suspect it's going to be more about social gossip, rather than growing plants.

The Horticultural Channel were inviting people to take part in this show last Spring. Their advert lists the sort of things they were looking for (and presumably what the show will be about)...

http://thehorticulturalchannel.info/2012/03/bbc-allotments-show-needs-you/

The BIg Dig went out mid afternoon and everyone complained that anyone interested in allotments was either at their allotment or collecting their kids from school so an evening slot seems eminently reasonable to me.

On their alloments in this weather? Blimey.

This is exactly the time of year when gardeners could welcome some daytime programs.

I had always thought that gardeners got on fairly well with each other; it's the people who don't garden, whose weed seeds smother the surrounding gardens who are generally loathed. So this programme should be interesting.

Where you are growing veg for a show,which has cash prizes ( as max B would say " for BIG MONEY ")  then you are generally going to get problems.At the WMC in my town they have a leek show,and it has been running for over 30 years.In the later 80s the 1st prize was £1200 for a pair of good, big, unifromed leeks,you also usually find that the "best leek in show "was won by same person.There was about 40 members of said leek club (father in law being 1), and eveybody got a prize.( last place was £400.).There were many incidents which required sleeping out to protect leeks ,or involving the police.As artjak says "So this programme should be interesting..one not to miss.

With iPlayer what does it matter what time it goes out if it's any good?

andrewj, please tell me you are joking about people sleeping with their leeks?

No ,serious.Father in law had to spend a few nights beside his plot ,on the week before the show,on several occasions.He wasnt the only one.As i said when u mix, big sums of money within the working mans community ,people will try any trick to get themselves in the top ten of that leek show.The members travel all over the north for the perfect strain of leek to grow for the following season.For some its an obsession,and u also normally find that once youve made the top 3 ,you will always do well for the next few years,which makes u a target.Several years ago they reduced the prize money ,due to the above.Before it got physical i guess.

There was the case of the allotment holder who was so fed up with having his prize vegetables stolen that he decided to spend the night on the plot

It was a frosty night and he got so cold that he snuggled up to his biggest specimen

He was found the next morning-dead-frozen to the marrow.

Sounds interesting will have a look

Did you know they made a film," The thirty nine sprouts "

Allotments are serious business

When I took over mine they was an old chap there then who 92 years old who during the growing season turned up most mornings about 6oc  and went home for his breakfast about 8.30!

He would also turn up later in the day for another go!

At that time a lot of the plots were badly overgrown, he told me that during the war, every single inch of soil was cultivated and as there were no fences for boundries if anyone encroached on anothers patch then there were angry words and fallouts.

He was a good gardener and did not give up untill he was in his late 90s, though his "elderly" son in law did all the heavy work by then!

He was very interesting to talk to!

I quite liked the Harry Potted books, and Enid Blighted of course was a great favourite when I was young.