The Great British Rakeoff

[mrgrower]

Ok has anyone seen an article in the paper recently about a new show starting sometime next year about 4 contestants who will be doing the equivilant of the great British bake off but set on allotments??? what are peoples ideas on this and do you think it will set off a new treand for allotments???

[WendyC]

Yes there was a thread on here a while back inviting people to join. I've yet to be convinced by gardening competitively but with little other gardening on tv at that time of year it might be better than nothing.

[Bren In Pots]

Here's the thread :-

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...nge_75426.html

then this program was mentioned earlier wonder if its the same one :-

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ies_70296.html

[veggiechicken]

Here's one of the articles about it
Grow, Make, Eat: Will the BBC’s 'Rake Off’ bear fruit? - Telegraph

[Bill HH]

Not sure how it will work anyway because gardeners do not have a level playing field with each other, poor soil, damp soil, shade etc. Lots of variables.

[veggiechicken]

I think they're all growing on the same site

[WendyC]

I think the idea was to give each team equal plots on the same site. I expect the links will clarify.

[Bill HH]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh I see. Then does that mean they will put them up in a hotel for months on end? Contestants from far flung regions wont want to travel a thousand miles daily just to water a lettuce will they. (You can tell I'm a cup half empty kind of a guy)

[Bren In Pots]

I'd like the program better if no one was judged off each week, that way you'd have a program with ordinary folks working their plots a bit like Sean's allotment garden on youtube.

[CDave]

Well my cup is half full. I'm not bothered about the fact that the programme will inevitably be "staged" (loads of takes for a two minute segment) or whether the contestants live in a hotel - or a caravan, for me, its a TV programme about a subject that has to be more interesting than the current obsession that we seem to have for TV programmes about "celebs". There's a distinct lack of gardening programmes on TV. Its something to help pass the dark nights away - so bring it on!

[mrgrower]

I don't watch tv so if I saw this it would be via the net. What I would like to know is if they will only give the nicer side of having an allotment or will they start with the worst soil conditions ever as most of us tend to have and then judge on inginuity too. Also will this spawn a new craze of idiots who sit on thier backsides untill they see a staged series think I can do that then take up growing land do nothing with it because a new fad comes along or they realise whats actually involved and some poor sod who wants a plot can't get one. Cup half empty here for me on this at the moment.

[Bill HH]

Last year i watched a series where people (couples) competed doing various farming tasks with the prize being a farm tenency. I quite enjoyed it. Maybe this will be on similar lines, each couplke was put up in a caravan for 3 months i think and did such tasks as working sheep dogs, fencing, planning, selling etc. I wonder what tasks these allotmenteers would have to do?

Slug lobbing
Head butting the night time intruder
Urinating on the compost
Holding down a "fly away" in a wind tunnel
Ignoring neighbours advice
Conrolling 10 rats in a sealed small greenhouse
Catching a chicken in a 20 acre field

Any ideas?