Hertfordshire
Gardeners' Question Time
BBC
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 6 March 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, the GQT team are in North Hertfordshire, where Peter Gibbs is joined by Bunny Guinness, Juliet Sargeant and Bob Flowerdew to tackle a fresh crop of horticultural conundrums. The panellists delve into the challenges of taming coarse grasses in would‑be meadows, ponder why one listener’s tomatoes are thriving better outdoors than under glass, and offer practical approaches to managing soil health and watering, to keep a community allotment productive with less labour.
They also discuss the secrets behind successfully rehoming family rhubarb from the Yorkshire Triangle, explore how to rejuvenate a towering Mahonia, and end the show with novel ways to encourage members to join the local gardening society. Also, Matthew Biggs celebrates the spring magic of our native bluebells, and advises us on the careful stewardship of these beautiful but delicate plants.
Producer: Matthew Smith Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Hello, I've just nipped in before your BBC podcast starts to tell you all about |
| 0:09.4 | You're Dead to Me. We're the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Also from the BBC |
| 0:13.9 | and presented by me, Greg Jenner. I should have told you that at the beginning. Sorry. |
| 0:17.9 | Anyway, like many other BBC podcasts, such as Desert Island Discs, Evil Genius, or In Our Time, your dead to me is available first on BBC Sounds, |
| 0:26.3 | a whole month earlier than anywhere else, in fact. So if you can't wait another day to hear |
| 0:31.2 | the very latest in history and loads of other good stuff, then listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.6 | Hello and welcome to Gardner's question time with me, Peter Gibbs. |
| 0:40.3 | This week we're in North Hertfordshire, an area with a longstanding agricultural heritage |
| 0:45.8 | shaped by rolling chalk hills, fertile clay valleys, an open arable farmland producing fodder |
| 0:52.5 | crops for livestock, as well as wheat, barley, |
| 0:55.3 | oilseed rape and beans which go into food chains across the country. |
| 0:59.5 | Well, feeding the nation has always been a priority in North Hertfordshire, with its fertile soils, |
| 1:04.3 | strong agricultural roots, allotments became increasingly important during the 19th century. |
| 1:10.1 | Demand surged during both World Wars |
| 1:12.2 | when food shortages and rationing turned gardens and allotments into vital sources of fresh |
| 1:18.1 | produce. Under the Dig for Victory campaign, land across Hitchin, Baldock and Letchworth was brought |
| 1:24.5 | into cultivation, growing staples such as potatoes, brassicas and soft fruit. |
| 1:30.4 | And many of today's allotment sites date from this period, leaving a lasting legacy of community |
| 1:36.2 | food growing that continues to thrive in the area today. |
| 1:40.3 | And it's very much in that same spirit that we're joined by a truly distinguished panel, |
| 1:44.8 | gardeners who've each made their own lasting mark on British horticulture. |
... |
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