A question about 'GYO wants your advice'

[Protea]

There's recently been a lot of sticky's on various boards from GYO asking for hints and tips on various subjects for a forthcoming edition of the mag.....it says that the best tips might be used and you may even get a name mention.

Now - as these threads are always interesting i read them and or add to them if i have any view/relevant experience to share, and there has been some extremely helpful advice given by various vine members.

When my GYO mag arrived last week i immediately skipped to the salads feature as that was one of the 'GYO wants your advice' threads recently....only to find not a mention of the vine anywhere!

While i give my info and advice freely to anyone and everyone (as i'm sure everyone else does), if there are relevant tips that come from the vine and appear in the articles, surely the author of those tips could be given credit - or at least a 'from the forum' section....? I seem to remember the green manures article was one of the first 'wants your advice' threads and there was a little box with comments from vine members in the report - i thought this was a good way to do it, but have rarely if ever seen it since.

Surely the grapevine isn't being used to replace good 'ole fashioned investigative journalism??
(it's my sceptical mind you see! )

i should just add that i haven't had any good tips recently so its got nothing to do with me

[Lesley Jay]

I will pass this post over to the editor.

[Nicos]

It's the first thing I did too!
Maybe we're more useless than we thought??

[Mrs Dobby]

I dont know if they always use the advice, or whather after finishing the writing they find that they havent enough room for the quotes, or whether we are all giving such poor advice that they dont want to print it (joking!), Bu I do know I was mentioned in the Strawberry Item a couple of issues back, it really made my day to open the mag and see Mrs Dobby quoted there! Keep posting the advice tho folks, even if it doesnt make it into the mag, its still useful for us all to read!

[Lesley Jay]

I quite agree Mrs D.! Spot on advice!!

[pigletwillie]

Having had a couple of articles accepted by gardening magazines (I got paid too) I know only too well that its the magazines layout and indeed space (or lack of it) that cause items like the "GYO Wants" to be pushed to one side to make room for more topical or in depth articles.

Little segments like the "GYO Wants" are ideal space fillers and we may well find our hints and tips used in future editions. Dont forget the Editor and the team are not just working on next months magazine but have probably roughed out their requirements for the next 6-7 editions. Keep on posting, there is always something in them for us to learn from or bear in mind for the future. Also I am sure that the Editorial team are mindful of our contributions and wish to use them where possible.

[Protea]

oh absolutely - please don't think i was having a dig - just a ponder really.

I know all the GYO team do a fab job with the mag and i love it. I'll keep posting advice (or lack of it!!) regardless i love talking about growing, particularly veggies - so much so that my friends have learnt to 'switch off' when i go off on one about my pottoes chitting, or how much manure i need this year

[Hazel at the Hill]

Has GYO considered a dedicated feature about the vine? I love to see the integration between the magazine and its readership (letters/queries etc) and this would be an extension of that... ?

Perhaps a selection of our threads (which may not be STRICTLY on topic)?
A note about our reach, and relevence of growing in the WHOLE UK and other areas?
Our global reach?

Just a thought.......?

[Lesley Jay]

I have nagged all three editors of GYO to involve the Grapevine more in the magazine. Craig is doing an excellent job.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Craig is doing an excellent job.

I know that! So much to squash into so little space!

[green fingers]

Hi I'm new to the grapevine and its facinating reading - when I should be doing my work!!

[beefy]

I have nagged all three editors of GYO to involve the Grapevine more in the magazine. Craig is doing an excellent job.

Can we assume that the other two will soon be introduced to your peastick LJ?
After all LJ gets what LJ wants

[SueA]

Takes all sorts though L.J.
I wondered why only a few tips were mentioned on one subject the other month & none on the others we'd been asked about but I supposed it was down to space & timing. I was once asked by another gardening mag. to expand on an idea about keeping cats off your plants & they sent a photographer round to snap me demonstrating various methods all round the garden. He was here ages & was lovely but I was a bit disappointed when only one pic. was used from the dozens he took!(And I didn't get paid Piglet!)

[Silverfox]

Lack of space my A**s.

Don’t get me wrong I love GYO and will continue to buy the mags but why cant you reduce the picture sizes from a full page to a half page picture (I appreciate that you can not do this on the advertising pages as you are paid to have them in their but do we really need to see a full page picture of a carrot when we can still see it just a clear in a half page picture).

It would free up half a page to do whatever you want with. More information and advise is great after all isn’t that what we buy the mag for in the first place?

Simple things that you always find people ask for on the grapevine like a season chart (when you should grow things), or a chart on what seeds need what temps, or a chart on the yields of each crop.

I know that the mags are always a month ahead but so are people who come on the vine most of the time. If you notice lots of the questions are always about what they need to do for the future.

Sorry for my rant but I sometimes hate paying a lot of money (and it is a lot of money out of my budget) to see wasted space on a picture When I know that image will go in and out where as info will go in and I can use it to my advantage.

[Pottypotter]

I was so excited on Wednesday after weeks of trying to buy gyo for the first time I found one, looked through it twice trying to find a mention of grapevine and highlights of some of the best threads, couldn't find anything. Is there anything I missed? Don't want to read it thoroughly until April when the growing articles what to plant etc will be more relevant.