Postbag Edition: Ninewells Community Garden
Gardeners' Question Time
BBC
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Kathy Clugston and GQT team have packed their wellies for a trip to the Ninewells Community Garden in Dundee.
Kathy is joined by Matthew Pottage, Neil Porteous and Kirsty Wilson to explore the grounds whilst delving into the GQT Postbag together.
Among todays questions, the panellists break down which leaves are better to compost than others, tackle a listener’s battle against tomatoes with tough skins, and debate the long‑term impact of weed‑suppressing membranes on soil health.
They also explore the ins and outs of olive tree care, suggest the perfect daisies to plant in a pair of cherished old police boots, and consider which dramatic grasses can bring structure and movement to a no‑mow lawn rooted in very sandy soil. Later in the show, Garden Facilitator at Ninewells Community Garden, Mary Colvin, leads the team on a tour of the vibrant community garden, sharing how gardening and green spaces can boost wellbeing, support recovery, and promote a holistic approach to health.
Producer: Dan Cocker Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | I'm no longer ravenous. I'll no longer eat until I fall asleep. |
| 0:11.0 | The Hunger Game, a new five-part series exploring the meteoric rise of weight loss drugs. |
| 0:16.0 | It's been an incredible story with these drugs. |
| 0:18.1 | The uptake, the amount of product that's been sold, the amounts of money |
| 0:21.2 | is cost. What the drugs do, how they work, and the knock-on effects of their widespread use. |
| 0:26.5 | We'll be sitting here in three years' time going, oh, it caused problems that we're now going to have to fix. |
| 0:32.3 | The Hunger Game with me, Professor Gilesio. Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:39.6 | Hello and welcome to Gardner's Question Time with me, Cathy Clugston. We have a postbag edition today. |
| 0:45.5 | We're at Nine Wells Community Garden in the grounds of Nine Wells Hospital, a large teaching hospital in Dundee. |
| 0:52.1 | The garden is known as the NCG and it's not just a pretty outdoor space |
| 0:56.5 | for patients and staff to enjoy. It's got a much more important mission to promote physical |
| 1:01.0 | activity and good health. It's also open to the local community to host gardening activities |
| 1:06.5 | for all ages and abilities right up our street. Well there's been a garden here for more than 15 years. |
| 1:12.7 | It's maintained by a dedicated team of volunteers. |
| 1:15.7 | And one of the staff who helps look after the site is Mary Cove. |
| 1:18.9 | And Mary, welcome to GQT. |
| 1:20.3 | Hi, good morning, Cathy. |
| 1:21.6 | Thanks for coming. |
| 1:22.6 | Well, now, we know we talk a lot these days about how gardening and green space is so good for us. |
| 1:27.2 | But back when the garden started in 2009, were people having those conversations? |
| 1:32.3 | Yes, indeed there were. |
... |
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