It wasnt long ago when Monty said never try to grow anything that doesnt belong in this country. Whats the point in groinv stuff that you know grows in hot dry countries, and there he is doing exactly that.
I lovd Monty, dont get me wrong, but sometimes I cringe at the things he does, and newbie gardeners will do just that and it wont work.
Saying that, he and Carol have been my greatest insprirations, just need to read between the lines a bit.
He is right about the water though, a lot of people come unstuck watering veg plots, if you cant stand with the hose sprinkling for hours, then best left.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
But at least, with the melons, he says he's trying different methods out as a sort of experiment, he doesn't expect them all (if any) to work. Some people are just a bit more stubborn/determined/tenacious/pig-headed than others.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
As stonemasons, we always say not to take stone out of it home, marble is to be kept in hot dry countries, even in Britain, sandstone and limestone are best left where they form naturally. Same with plants.
Did you see the photos Dove?
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Monty for me in his own way deliberately way tries things that may work or not, it is saying the new gardeners try, it may work for you though we have all made huge mistakes and learned from them. The wild flower meadow? He did admit to failure, over the years other presenters have not. Hot boxes being brought up with them and knowing how they work methinks that will be fail too, hot boxes need time to heat up, ours would be assembled in February and the melon amongst everything else would go on in late May here in the NE. Dad's motto if you cannot eat it or sell it do not bother. Watering he is right my way for the large pots is a full can once a week, smaller pots half a can twice a week and little pots daily, I push a finger in, if it comes out dry water, also look at the leaves they show if they are stressed then water. The hose fills cans, four buckets and anything else I can find. Putting the water exactly where needed is better than a general sprinkle that barely wets the soil. I like Monty though as with all so called experts a pinch of salt is oft needed.
Frank, with respect, I don't think that's a message Mr D should be sending to new or experienced gardeners......he's done this hot-bed thingy before at Berryfields and it just vanished without trace or mention.
The way he was showing it recently at Longmeadow was (and I feel you know it) was totally incorrect.
Re experimenting. If I understood it correctly, he was trialling an new outdoor variety that he was not to optimistic about.
Hi David, that with respect would not be with tongue in cheek I hope? Reading so many posts from new gardeners who plant with the hope of success and then fail breaks my heart, we have all been there though many of us came up through years of the old style gardening they did not. Years of decks grass playing fields for the children and those stupid garden make overs in a day gave the wrong impression. How do you tell someone that their new build lawn six inches of soil on a solid clay pan with thin rolls of grass will never be a bowling green. How can they know that GC's will sell them plants that need tender loving care to survive, time lots of young working house holders do not have. You will notice my posts are few and far apart now because they do not want to hear of the back break and the heart break gardening can bring before we reach the top. The gardening programmes do good though some jump on any bandwagon passing making it look easy when we old hands know it is not. Monty probably knows he will fail with some projects, that is gardening, I have a few failures, part of the process, the art is to learn from it, for new gardeners, it is not easy, there are no short cuts. My motto do it right, do it once.
Surely the art of a gardening programme such as GW is to show us what is possible, what is good practice and what to do now and why so that we all learn, or have reminders or new info on techniques and plants, whatever our abilities, budget and level of experience.
I find Monty's approach baffling at times. He'll say something like sow your own foxgloves and get 100 plants for £2.50 packet of seed but then feature great hulking expensive purple bananas that the average gardener can't hope to protect in their average sized plots and sheds and greenhouses.
He'll say things like right plant, right place and know its origins to get it right then mess about growing these bananas or planting melons in a dodgy hot bed when many of us are having a job just to get squash and pumpkins to cope with the cold, dry weather this year.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Posts
It wasnt long ago when Monty said never try to grow anything that doesnt belong in this country. Whats the point in groinv stuff that you know grows in hot dry countries, and there he is doing exactly that.
I lovd Monty, dont get me wrong, but sometimes I cringe at the things he does, and newbie gardeners will do just that and it wont work.
Saying that, he and Carol have been my greatest insprirations, just need to read between the lines a bit.
He is right about the water though, a lot of people come unstuck watering veg plots, if you cant stand with the hose sprinkling for hours, then best left.
But at least, with the melons, he says he's trying different methods out as a sort of experiment, he doesn't expect them all (if any) to work. Some people are just a bit more stubborn/determined/tenacious/pig-headed than others.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
As stonemasons, we always say not to take stone out of it home, marble is to be kept in hot dry countries, even in Britain, sandstone and limestone are best left where they form naturally. Same with plants.
Did you see the photos Dove?
I just like to hear from people are competent in their profession.
Us or Monty David?
Whoops! Never anticipated that potential misunderstanding, Lyn.
I'm always in awe of the knowledge base of this forum. 
PS. Having said that, I wouldn't consider posting on this forum a 'profession'.
Monty for me in his own way deliberately way tries things that may work or not, it is saying the new gardeners try, it may work for you though we have all made huge mistakes and learned from them. The wild flower meadow? He did admit to failure, over the years other presenters have not. Hot boxes being brought up with them and knowing how they work methinks that will be fail too, hot boxes need time to heat up, ours would be assembled in February and the melon amongst everything else would go on in late May here in the NE. Dad's motto if you cannot eat it or sell it do not bother. Watering he is right my way for the large pots is a full can once a week, smaller pots half a can twice a week and little pots daily, I push a finger in, if it comes out dry water, also look at the leaves they show if they are stressed then water. The hose fills cans, four buckets and anything else I can find. Putting the water exactly where needed is better than a general sprinkle that barely wets the soil. I like Monty though as with all so called experts a pinch of salt is oft needed.
Frank
Frank, with respect, I don't think that's a message Mr D should be sending to new or experienced gardeners......he's done this hot-bed thingy before at Berryfields and it just vanished without trace or mention.
The way he was showing it recently at Longmeadow was (and I feel you know it) was totally incorrect.
Re experimenting. If I understood it correctly, he was trialling an new outdoor variety that he was not to optimistic about.
Hi David, that with respect would not be with tongue in cheek I hope? Reading so many posts from new gardeners who plant with the hope of success and then fail breaks my heart, we have all been there though many of us came up through years of the old style gardening they did not. Years of decks grass playing fields for the children and those stupid garden make overs in a day gave the wrong impression. How do you tell someone that their new build lawn six inches of soil on a solid clay pan with thin rolls of grass will never be a bowling green. How can they know that GC's will sell them plants that need tender loving care to survive, time lots of young working house holders do not have. You will notice my posts are few and far apart now because they do not want to hear of the back break and the heart break gardening can bring before we reach the top. The gardening programmes do good though some jump on any bandwagon passing making it look easy when we old hands know it is not. Monty probably knows he will fail with some projects, that is gardening, I have a few failures, part of the process, the art is to learn from it, for new gardeners, it is not easy, there are no short cuts. My motto do it right, do it once.
Frank
Surely the art of a gardening programme such as GW is to show us what is possible, what is good practice and what to do now and why so that we all learn, or have reminders or new info on techniques and plants, whatever our abilities, budget and level of experience.
I find Monty's approach baffling at times. He'll say something like sow your own foxgloves and get 100 plants for £2.50 packet of seed but then feature great hulking expensive purple bananas that the average gardener can't hope to protect in their average sized plots and sheds and greenhouses.
He'll say things like right plant, right place and know its origins to get it right then mess about growing these bananas or planting melons in a dodgy hot bed when many of us are having a job just to get squash and pumpkins to cope with the cold, dry weather this year.