Episode 1 The Big Allotment Challenge

There are over 350,000 allotments in Britain

where people love to grow their own,

producing prize winning fruits and vegetables,

beautiful flowers and delicious preserves.

Now, we have brought nine pairs of the most talented allotmenteers

in the country together to compete to find Britain's best growers.

In early spring, they were each given an empty allotment

and a list of 33 different fruits, vegetables and flowers to grow.

For 15 weeks, through rain and shine, they nurtured their patches.

Ommmmmm.

I think Harshani's omming has worked well on the sweet peas.

Each week the allotmenteers will face three challenges

set by our experts. Former royal gardener, Jim Buttress.

You're not going to please all the people all the time.

You can only be honest and you have to judge what you see.

Floral designer, Jonathan Moseley.

I want the gardeners to really push the boundaries,

because it's always that design that's got the edge that stands out.

And preserves expert, Thane Prince.

I'm not out to find fault.

I'm out to find the best preserves.

Over the next six weeks,

they will be judged not only on what they have grown...

We want a show carrot.

We've GOT a show carrot.

..but what they can make with it.

It's big, it's bold, it's bountiful, it's beautiful.

Without meaning any offence, it really is quite horrid.

Where would you want the carex?

I don't know. Maybe shooting out the sides.

Who will dig their way to victory and be named the winners of

the Big Allotment Challenge?

THEY GASP

Welcome. Over the next six weeks

we will be celebrating our love of gardening

within the four walls of this beautiful garden.

This Victorian walled garden in Mapledurham, Oxfordshire

is home to our nine purpose-built allotments,

but this garden of Eden hasn't always been teeming with life.

Its story began 15 weeks ago

when nine pairs of Britain's best allotmenteers

left their own gardens at home and came here.

-Oh, my goodness!

-Oh, look at the signs!

I know!

Oh, wow! It's big.

Look! It's exciting, isn't it?

We're here!

It's quite daunting.

RUPERT LAUGHS

Oh, it's so beautiful.

Where we going to start?

-That mine?

-Yeah.

The gardeners have been given a patch of earth,

a greenhouse and a list of fruits, flowers and vegetables

to grow for the competition.

-Beetroot.

-Can't believe it, look.

Row of gherkins! Oh, my word!

But how best to plan their plot and grow their plants

has been left entirely for them to decide.

-I can see it in my mind's eye how I want it to look.

-Mm.

It's just fitting everything in.

I need to open your head to look in.

Flip-top head.

The decisions they make now will be crucial when it comes to show day.

Don't be putting it on me plan!

-Sorry.

-Oh!

-Sorry.

-A third, is it, for the spring onions?

-Yeah, yeah.

And maybe just squeeze the fennel in up here.

DIMI: Rupert is the head gardener. I follow his instructions.

The devil's in the detail

and hopefully we've done enough planning and preparation.

With plans in place, it's time to get their hands dirty.

You need to have the ground

absolutely as clean as you possibly can before you start planting.

Kind of like the harder work that you've to do in preparation.

HE GRUNTS

Soil preparation is key to producing bumper crops,

and our gardeners have been allowed

to bring in their own soil improvers.

We have two llamas and they do produce

a wheelbarrow full of poo a week, which we use on everything, really.

Yeah.

Teacher Kate and retired lecturer Eleanor live in Hampshire

and have been friends for 30 years.

They not only share a love for gardening, but their pet llamas too.

And the great thing is you can use it straight from the animal,

because it's not very high in any particular nutrients

so you can literally catch it in a bucket and shove it in the hole

and shove your plant on top.

Cor!

Got a nice allotment with new top soil,

but as we dug it over, what we realised was

there is very few worms there.

So we decided that we probably would like to introduce some worms.

We hope that's going to make a significant difference.

Come on, boys, you've work to do.

-Everybody ready for dinner?

-Great.

-Wow!

Retired conference manager Alex

and Ed, who teaches children with special educational needs,

are family friends.

The soil goes in one end of a worm and out the other end,

hopefully in a better state than it started in.

We're going to put a worm watch on, I think.

-It's the only way out of this.

-Yeah.

Each worm has been individually bar-coded and tattooed.

We'll be checking other people's worms as and when they appear.

The hard work has only just begun

and it's a long road to show day,

when the allotmenteers will find out if all their efforts will end

in blossoming success or shrivelled failure.

Without wishing your life away you're thinking,

"I wonder what it'll look like in six months' time..."

-It's going to look amazing.

-Going to be great. It'll look fantastic.

Once everything starts to grow and blossom,

then that's when people will be competitive,

when you can see what's going on. Definitely.

I will be.

After 15 weeks, the day of reckoning has come.

It's show day and the gardeners are ready

for their first challenge.

Welcome, gardeners!

Every week, you will be presented with three challenges.

Grow, Make and Eat.

And the first challenge is Grow.

Now, the expert on Grow is Jim Buttress, here,

and the challenge this morning is to pick three

perfectly matching radishes that you reckon could win best in show.

Are you ready, gardeners? Off you go.

-Ooh, it's tough.

-Challenge is on now, isn't it?

-It is. The challenge is on.

-No pressure.

-No pressure.

All three radishes must be of uniform size and shape

with well-coloured roots, and free from blemishes.

If they've sown them too early, then they'll be as tough as old boots.

If we had too much sun earlier on, they bolt and they go woody.

Radishes are easy to grow, but difficult to perfect.

11 weeks ago, the perfect prize-winning radish

was just a seed at the bottom of a packet.

There are very few varieties of radishes

available at the supermarket,

but if you grow your own from seed the choice is huge.

This is called a mooli.

It's a long...like, carrot-shaped, almost, radish

and it needs free draining, stone free soil

otherwise you're going to just get blemishes.

These are Chinese ones.

They're red on the middle and white on the outside.

These are slower growing, aren't they?

They are slightly slower growing.

And I've got some regular ones, red on the outside, white on the inside.

We've got jutrzenka... Unpronounceable radishes.

Jo and Avril are allotment neighbours from Redditch.

They have never grown together before,

but hope their individual skills

will prove to be a winning combination.

From what I've gathered from people,

if you leave 'em too long, as well, they go woody.

Read the instructions and see what it says.

Right. Sow seed thinly direct outside or in containers 13mm deep.

Mother and daughter Shirley and Victoria live in Banbury,

Oxfordshire with Shirley's husband, John, and Victoria's three sisters.

It doesn't say thin to...eight inches apart, four inches apart,

or so many millimetres apart?

-It doesn't say anything like that.

-Doesn't say?

-No.

-Ugh!

Usually radishes are grown in full sun,

but Gary and Pete have other ideas.

So, the idea of growing radish in here...

is cos if they were left in full sun, they'll just go to seed.

But if we plant them in here,

they'll be in shade from the peas and beans.

Beekeeping Brightonians Gary and Pete have been friends for 15 years

and if you can't find them in the allotment, they'll be in the pub.

Rhubarb for you. Freshly picked.

More rhubarb!

So, I'm doing half a row and then half a row in two weeks' time.

-OK. What did you do?

-These are poloneza radish.

I'll do poloneza in here and I'll do the other one in there

and then we've got the mooli as well.

Perfect radishes need exactly the right amount of water.

Too little and your radishes could be woody and too hot to taste.

Too much and you'll create lush, leafy growth

but poor root development.

It's a delicate balance,

but sister-in-laws Sally and Michelle aren't worried.

No, there's no reason why we shouldn't get decent radishes.

You put the seeds in, you allow them to grow,

you thin them out and you leave them.

They're pretty simple, really.

-Yeah, there's not a lot involved with radishes.

-Mm.

The more people who want to just chuck it in the ground

and let it go, the better for us!

People can take that attitude to their radishes,

we will take a slightly different attitude to ours.

With some varieties of radish only taking four weeks to grow,

the allotmenteers have planted early and sown successionally.

This involves several smaller plantings at timed intervals

giving them the chance to perfect their growing techniques

before show day.

We sowed last week. We're sowing this week.

We're going to sow again next week,

and hopefully, we've got our bases covered, then,

for the first challenge.

But as spring turns to summer and the crops being to germinate,

some of the gardeners are starting to realise

growing radishes isn't that easy.

-Ooh, well, these ones have definitely bolted.

-Yes.

Bolting is when a crop produces a long, leggy stem

and prematurely flowers prior to harvesting

in an attempt to produce seed.

A bolted radish is past its best and will taste bitter.

Let's have a look at a bolted one, shall we?

Yes. Look.

Oh!

Boo.

Work colleagues from Manchester Shaun and Liz

are hoping that her organisational skills and his passion for growing

will prove to be a successful formula.

Radishes actually look a bit like me.

What's coming out of your head?!

My last remaining hair!

But Shaun and Liz aren't alone.

As show day gets nearer

and the summer turns into one of the hottest in years,

it's bad news for the radishes.

These look like they've gone over and they're full of leaf beetle.

No way are they going to be ready.

They're supposed to be simple to grow, radish.

-Yeah.

-Nightmare.

I am disappointingly not that confident about the radishes.

We would never have known

that the weather was going to be so hot,

that everything was going to come along much quicker

than we anticipated.

Oh, I'm worried about... I've got general radish worries.

Some of them do absolutely race ahead

of even the same variety in the same row.

Definitely a more tricky challenge than we gave it credit for.

Still don't want to come unstuck on radishes.

Have we been a bit complacent?

After 15 weeks of careful cultivation,

it's judgment day for the radishes.

Overseeing proceedings is Jim Buttress,

holder of the Victoria Medal of Honour,

the highest accolade awarded in gardening.

I was the superintendent of the Royal Parks,

and I had the honour of being in charge of Clarence House

and Buckingham Palace.

Gardening's been my life.

I've never wanted to do anything else.

I've never done anything else. I am a gardener.

-The ones we're going to show are mooli.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

And they're a white Japanese radish.

This is one you use in stir-fries as well, is it?

-Yes, it is.

-Yeah.

-That's right.

It's quite punchy, quite peppery.

Breathe into that beautiful openness.

Yoga teacher Harshani and sales manager Edd

live in Northamptonshire and have been married for five years.

I know that you've made it slightly harder for yourself

by planting to the phases of the moon as well,

the biodynamic planting.

-Yeah. There are certain days that you sow things...

-Yeah.

..so all of our radishes in here went in on a root day.

That's a day when all rooting kind of crops and that go in.

It's to do with the phase of the moon,

-so it's about pulling moisture...

-And it's the light levels...

-Ah!

-..and when the soil's right.

-Oh, like the tide.

-..with the gravity.

-Be careful of the roots.

-Yeah.

-It mustn't be broken.

The longer the better, because those you've already broken.

-Can you see, Victoria?

-Yeah.

We want all the way up.

Look at the size of that one.

If I was a judge, I'd be unhappy if someone showed me that.

It's a little bit damaged on the skin.

What are you doing under here?

Getting our radishes out, if there are any.

Radishes planted under the sweet peas?

-Yeah.

-Why?

To protect them from the sun, so they didn't bolt.

-The trouble is, they're in the shade...

-Mm.

..so what's going to happen, they're going to make a lot of leaf,

but they're not going to make the big, fat bulb that we want.

-That one's a bit squiffy, isn't it?

-Mm.

With the radishes picked, it's time to get them ready

for the vegetable equivalent of the catwalk.

The show bench.

In some ways this is a nicer skin, but it's irregular shaped.

-And he has a slight ding on it, as well.

-Yeah.

-Just there.

Well, I think we try cleaning these three up, don't we?

I think so, yeah.

The gardeners have to present three radishes

of uniform size, shape and colouring.

They need to be fresh, free from blemishes

with well-coloured, intact roots

and the foliage trimmed to approximately 40mm.

Right, which ones are we actually going to use?

Come here. If you work with me...

-You work with me.

-OK.

-Here. I measure, you cut.

No, it looks wrong.

We'll take the middle one out.

Let's take another look and see if there's any more we can work with.

I don't think there are.

-I think they look nice.

-Yeah.

-We haven't got losers.

-We haven't.

We haven't got losers.

Right, gardeners!

Ready or not, bring your radishes ready to be judged!

Joining Jim at the show bench

is preserves expert Thane Prince and floral expert Jonathan Moseley.

First of all, please, Rupert and Dimi to step forward.

-Yours is the first selection here.

-Right.

You know, these are...

These two, certainly, are very uniform.

That's slightly bigger, but they're good radishes.

You always turn 'em over, because it won't happen here,

but occasionally the blemish is underneath and you haven't seen it.

So you have a good look at it.

It's a good start.

I think the ladies might've trimmed the root.

-Did you trim it?

-We did trim them.

They're lovely big radishes.

If you remember one of the criteria...

-uniformity.

-Mm.

-I was wondering about that.

-Yes.

And the variety - what variety is it?

-Amethyst.

-Amethyst, yeah. So...

-You see the blemish in there?

-The blemish is there, yeah.

-Yeah, they've got a blemish there.

-Yeah.

-And it's just starting to go...

-Yes.

-..colouring down there.

And this shows signs, let's have a go...

it might be getting a little woody.

Is that quite hard to cut, Jim?

Yeah.

I'm not acting.

It IS a bit woody, lads.

-Yeah, never mind.

-Never mind?

-No, it's all right.

-You can still pull something out of the bag.

-Of course we can.

-Good. OK.

-Yeah, just not radishes.

Our most glamorous gardeners.

Aren't they just?

-Tried to pick our sort of smaller, more tender...

-OK.

So let's have a look at 'em.

I can't see any blemishes on them.

No, none at all and the leaves are good.

-They're good, yeah.

-They're very dainty, aren't they?

Very dainty.

Now, you see, it's just showing some signs here.

-See a bit of a blemish coming there?

-Yes.

As they get a bit older, they start to lose their shine.

-They look very uniform, though.

-They do indeed.

-And you see, look here, they've a nice...

-Yes.

..red stem to the root.

Blemish free.

Very happy. Thank you very much. Well done.

And did you have many problems like the other contestants

here, growing them?

Every week we sowed them, so we had about...

-500.

-..500...

-Yeah.

-..to pick today.

-Yeah.

-Gosh!

-So, out of that we had four the same.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

But that succession of sowing's paid off,

-because you've got three really uniform radishes.

-Absolutely.

-OK. Now look at the roots, there.

-It's really long, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Absolutely all level and the red vein...

-This is good.

That's a perfect one, cos it's really round, isn't it?

-Exactly.

-But nicely trimmed up.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Well presented.

-Exactly.

Good.

It's time for Jim to award best in show.

I've looked at them all.

I've seen different things that I liked.

I've seen one or two things that are not quite right for it.

So, best in show goes to...

..Shirley and Victoria.

-Wow!

-Oh!

The reason I picked Shirley and Victoria's was

because at the end of the day,

these are the ones that I thought just stood out

that little bit better than the others.

-You're getting tearful!

-I am!

You never thought you'd cry over a radish, would you?

-Amazed, I think and shocked.

-Yeah, we were absolutely shocked.

Never, never, ever thought that we would win.

I knew we hadn't reached perfection,

but we were hoping we were close enough to pull it off.

I thought one of the better ones definitely won

and I don't think you could say any fairer than that.

They were the worst radishes on the bench. They were awful.

Well, it can only get better, can't it?

It can't get much worse.

Only two challenges remain before the experts must decide

which team will have to leave the allotment for good.

In this next challenge, the gardeners will be judged

on how well they can grow flowers and arrange them.

So, now, here we are - the second challenge.

This one is called Make.

First of all,

we want to see how well you can produce the perfect specimen bloom.

This is going to be judged by our Grow expert, Jim,

and it is to cut seven spikes of the most perfect sweet peas

you have grown.

The second part of the challenge, you don't know about.

This is to gather all the most beautiful blooms you have

and create a hand-tied bouquet.

Now, our floral expert is Jonathan.

What I'd like you to produce

is a good, balanced, rounded dome-shaped bouquet,

-with a nice, firm binding point.

-They're writing! They're writing!

-They're making notes of all this.

-Firm hand-tied binding point.

And if you think about the delicate nature of sweet peas,

you're picking flowers and foliage to complement

that delicate flower structure.

So pick carefully, but pick enough to be successful.

Aha! Are you all ready and is it all clear?

Get started.

-FERN CHUCKLES

-They're all a bit nonplussed,

-aren't they?

-It's quite a challenge, isn't it?

I know. I mean, partially you'd think, "Yeah, OK."

-"Where do you start?" Yeah.

-Yeah, I would do.

Yeah, but then you go to your allotment and you think,

"What shall I pick? What shall I cut? What's suitable?"

The seven spikes of sweet peas

should have an equal number of well-spaced blooms,

long, straight stems, in proportion to the size of the flowers,

and be free from damage.

I think it's a good challenge,

because everybody loves growing sweet peas.

They're a real fashionable garden plant

and they've got to select the very best, because they quickly fade

and they'll start to droop and we don't want to see droopy sweet peas.

There are over 1,000 varieties of sweet peas to choose from

and since day one our allotmenteers have been nurturing

their chosen variety in the warmth of their greenhouses.

Deciding on when to plant them outside to face the elements

will be key to their success.

Sudden exposure to cold temperatures can stress the plants

and stunt their growth.

To prevent this, some of the gardeners have opted for a method

called hardening off.

You can't put them straight into the garden,

cos you'll either kill them or they'll stop dead in their tracks.

So the idea is that you keep them in the cold frame.

They're outside during the day when it's relatively warm.

At night-time you put a cover over and that should keep the frost off.

But, as the weeks pass,

the whole country is hit by the coldest spring in 50 years.

The weather! My goodness.

You cannot get worse weather than this.

We've had hailstones, almost like sleet sort of weather.

Oh, it's just horrible cold rainy, windy, everything.

But work needs to be done, so we're going to get it done.

There's a job to be done.

In the wake of the cold snap,

the gardeners who put their sweet peas out too early

have paid the price.

-These are knackered. That one's knackered.

-Yeah.

It looks as though the frost has got them.

Is there no life in it?

Hey! Look!

-No.

-No!

They're dead, like a dodo!

-We'll try, try and try again.

-Yeah.

Once the seeds have been sown and the seedlings nurtured,

the next choice is how to support the sweet peas.

-You can't do this at all, can you?

-I'm rubbish at it.

Just tie the first one off, yeah.

Many of the gardeners on the allotment

are following the conventional bush method.

This allows their sweet peas

to scramble up a wigwam of canes naturally.

Quite used to having one tall gardener and one short.

I do the low stuff and Eleanor does the high.

Yes, it's very useful.

But others have opted for the more time-consuming

but professional approach called the cordon method.

For a competition it's good to do them the proper way.

Certainly not the end of the world...

I'm not going to be phased by such a thing.

Well, you grow them up a cane and you lay only one stem to grow

of each plant and you strictly take off all the tendrils

and you take out any side shoots and that's called the cordon system.

This is new to us, this method of doing it

and it is the competition way of doing sweet peas.

It allows much more space in the ground for each of the sweet peas

and it allows the sweet pea to put all of its energy

into one stem that's growing up.

With everything in place and the first signs of summer

hitting the allotment, the sweet peas finally start to come to life.

To ensure their sweet peas flower all through the summer,

the gardeners need to keep picking them, otherwise they'll go to seed.

All these little ones at the bottom are just getting totally crushed.

Doesn't matter. They'll come on when they're ready.

Don't know about that.

These have had more care

and attention than any sweet peas in the world.

As the first show day draws closer, it's vital

that our allotmenteers keep cutting their blooms

to ensure the plant is putting its energy into new flower production

and not the formation of seed pods.

I really don't like sweet peas.

You either like 'em or you don't.

And I don't. They're just constant maintenance.

They probably could've done with a little bit more love.

But Edd and Harshani take a very different approach.

Ommmm.

You listening?

You have to sing to them if you feed them.

No, I won't! Singing's your department.

With just one week till show day,

the gardeners are keenly aware of the competition.

It's quite funny this morning.

I went round and did a sort of formal scoring

of where I thought everybody was.

HE CHUCKLES

I think Dimi and Rupert are probably a point in front of us.

Yeah.

Their sweet peas look quite good, actually.

Look at these ones.

Their stems are not quite as long as ours, though.

No. Well, they've got a few.

-I mean, that's a very good one there, that white one.

-Yeah.

-They are the other contenders.

-Yeah, OK.

DRUM AND BASS MUSIC PLAYS

Drum and bass enthusiasts Rupert and Dimi

have been married for three years and live in Surrey.

No worries about sweet peas.

No, I think sweet peas are pretty strong

and I'm not concerned about them at all.

Today's Make challenge isn't just about impressing Jim

with perfect flower specimens.

Floral expert Jonathan Moseley has also set the tough task

of incorporating sweet peas into a hand-tied bouquet.

I've worked with flowers for over 20 years,

and, really, flowers are my life.

From Chelsea to Chatsworth,

I've arranged flowers at some of the most fabulous venues.

Flowers, as a gift, are always welcome,

but creating a hand-tied bouquet

from flowers you've grown yourself is so much more rewarding.

Firstly, remove all the lower foliage from the stems

and lay the flowers and twine out in front of you ready to begin.

Start by crossing the stems in your hand diagonally,

one over the other.

Hold the bouquet at one firm binding point.

Once you're two-thirds into the design,

you should have a clean spiral developing.

Finish with a border of foliage.

This helps secure everything in place.

Secure the bouquet with twine or string...

..cutting all stems off at a level.

Practise this technique a few times

and you'll soon be making the perfect bouquet.

The gardeners must now decide which flowers to pick for their bouquet.

We've got to be quick.

I know. I'm going as quick as I can.

Along with their specimen flowers, they have also chosen to grow

a wide variety of other flowers for the Make challenges.

Forget the pink ones.

-Have you got cornflowers?

-No.

So heavy!

Yeah, I know.

There's nothing else you want?

No, I think we'll be OK.

Once they have all they need,

the allotmenteers enter the greenhouse for the very first time.

You have 60 minutes.

Your time starts...now!

Let it fall.

No, that looks all right. Yeah, that's fine.

So, that's three.

The first job for the allotmenteers

is to choose their seven best spikes of sweet peas for Jim to judge.

They're all right, they're just no long enough.

Are there any bugs on that?

Not on that one. I've cleaned that one off.

Oh, look at the state of that.

Jim will reject this one just on length of spike.

-I think so.

-I'd say, for the time being,

they're the sweet peas that we'll use.

It leaves you these to play with.

Yeah, that's plenty then, isn't it?

You know what? We're pushing seven.

Once the spikes have been chosen,

attentions turn to Jonathan's hand-tied bouquet.

So what is this that's going in? Cos that's lovely.

-It's a weed.

-It's a weed. They just look pretty, don't they?

-They do.

-Yeah.

So, what's your inspiration for this bouquet?

-Flowers.

-Flowers, no.

-We're actually doing a "blokequet".

-Blokequet!

-A blokequet.

-Not a bouquet.

-So this could be a new concept that's developing.

Potentially.

Trying to do what he said

about passing it from one hand to the other.

My thinking here was starting it with the Dahlias

-to try and get a bit of solidity to it.

-Yeah.

-Got a bug there?

-Yeah.

And that'll give us something to build around.

I think that'll be really nice.

Do you want, I don't know, ammi?

I'd be inclined to think we want ammi, but maybe we don't.

-Maybe...

-Let's try an ammi.

What do you want now?

-You want to be all down here.

-Yeah.

Sweet peas bruise notoriously easily.

To avoid over handling and damaging the flowers,

the bouquet needs to be held at one firm binding point throughout.

I don't think we're building this right, you know.

We desperately need some thinner flowers

-that are more substantial.

-Mm.

That's interesting. What are you doing?

I've put some oasis in the middle just to try and spread it out.

I've never done it before,

but I suddenly thought I quite fancy a bit of space in the middle.

Could you not have achieved that by just doing it in your hand?

I probably could, but I think when I get enthusiastic and tie things up

at the end and it all goes "schloop!" like that.

-It's fun.

-Everybody's different.

-It's fun.

-Absolutely.

-It's different.

-Sometimes different pays off, who knows?

-Yeah.

Would you like some lavender, dear heart?

Oh, thank you. I'll have some lavender.

Right, where do you want it?

Right, now, what I need you to do is,

you stand back and I hold that...

Right, now you've gotta say where it looks good.

-Right, OK.

-OK?

-Teamwork is interesting, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

Watching Shaun and Liz working over there.

I'm a little bit surprised at some of the plant choices.

When you think we're working with sweet peas,

sweet peas are delicate and fragile,

so that would really, sort of, encourage me

to choose equally delicate, fragile flowers to work in with those.

-Right, we need carex.

-Where would you want the carex?

I don't know, maybe shooting out the sides.

What do you think about that?

Do we need more frothiness, foaminess?

Well, you need a border round the edge.

The border of foliage gives the bouquet its round shape

and helps support the sweet peas.

I'm quite intrigued by some of your plant material selection,

especially this lobelia.

It's fabulous, though.

-Yeah, well, we wanted a foliage skirt that was different.

-Yeah.

It's very summery and frothy and whimsical and romantic.

Sally and Michelle are sisters-in-law from Kent

and they rely on their allotments at home to feed their families.

Go back. Split it at that point.

Ten minutes, gardeners! Just ten minutes left!

Would've liked more flowers on there,

-but we're running out of time, so does that look...?

-OK.

That's no good. It's too short.

Too short. I need something longer.

Right, can you just hold that bottom? Hold the bottom.

-Yeah.

-And we can put a ribbon round it. What do you think?

-I don't know what to finish it off with. I've no idea.

-Neither do I.

I don't like it, do you? No, less is more.

We'll put it back in.

-You happy with it?

-Yeah.

Gardeners, your time is up.

Stop doing what you're doing, get it ready to be judged.

Ah, beautiful.

Move away from the flower. Move away from the flower.

There are two best in show awards up for grabs in the Make challenge.

For their seven spikes of sweet peas,

Jim will be looking for an equal number of well-spaced blooms,

long straight stems in proportion to the size of the flowers,

which are free from damage.

For the hand-tied bouquet,

Jonathan will be looking for a good, balanced shape

with a creative use of sweet peas and complementary flowers.

Jim, what do you make of those spikes?

You're going to tell me

these are the only seven you had left.

Yeah!

There are seven spikes there.

There's some good colour in there, so - well done.

I asked you to include sweet peas in the bouquet

and I can see you've got some sweet peas in here.

But, can I ask you why you used this yew

as a foliage to edge off the bouquet?

It kind of just kept that softness of the...

-that lightness to it, really.

-OK.

Yeah, I agree it's light, but I do feel, possibly,

-it gives it that spiky, rather harsh feel.

-OK.

They're a little bit on the small side, lads.

But you see that...is perfect.

Good binding point there, nice and secure,

and we can start to see some spiralling of the stems.

I do think that's a really good attempt.

I like this.

There's no question of it, it's what I'm looking for.

Good, erect stems, plenty of flowers showing,

no blemishes in it at all.

They're looking at it, and they're smiling.

As I touch this,

it's really feeling well-constructed.

Look at that contrast between that plain, smooth green leaf

and all that busyness of the flowers.

You know the green is the rest, it's the pause.

It's like anything in a garden, a background of shrubs.

It shows off your flowers.

Just the same with a floral arrangement.

Jo and Avril's length of spikes were a disappointment to Jim.

Oh, perhaps I shouldn't have picked that one up, girls.

While Jonathan felt their bouquet

was too small for a sumptuous hand-tie.

Had the criteria been for a bridesmaid's posy

then, yeah, you're well on the way there.

Shirley and Victoria fared better, impressing Jim...

A nice mixture of colours. The thing that we're looking for,

the nice straight stems, they've got them.

..and Jonathan.

What is lovely there is each flower can be seen

without that tight, squashed cluttered feel to it.

Sally and Michelle's sweat peas didn't hit the mark for Jim.

-And tell me, are they a miniature variety?

-Oh, yes.

-They are?

-Yes.

-That's what I thought they were, yes.

-We done that on purpose.

And their unusual binding baffled Jonathan.

Why did you bind it in lobelia?

We were trying to be different and it just epically failed.

Well, yeah, I agree really.

Jim, first of all,

the spikes of the sweat peas.

Nice evenness, no blemishes in there

and there's some good, straight stems in there.

I learnt a lot watching you.

Something I've never seen being done before with a bouquet.

The feature of a bouquet is it's done in the hand, this is your container.

Using this as a container. To use floral foam is a cop-out.

The stems are good.

There's colour on there and, I think I'm right

-you used the cordon system, didn't you?

-We did, yeah.

-And have you done it before?

-No.

-Never done it before?

-No.

Well, it's a cracking effort.

There's so much in here that I want to look at and it really does

absolutely pay dividends to your allotment out there.

But it looks a little bit like it's been caught in an elevator

and, you know, the doors are closing and become a bit squashed.

The growing of the sweat peas,

was this the first attempt or you've grown them before?

-You've grown them before.

-I've grown them before.

-Yes.

-And it worked for you?

-No.

They are a very small pea in the kindest possible way.

Well, what can I say? Sweet peas are hidden.

They're, like, under a huge big basking umbrella

of big blousy blooms of lilies and the sunflowers.

And they're saying, "I am in here, but you're never going to see me."

It's a real mish-mush of flowers to be quite frank

and it's not really fulfilled its criteria in this instance.

Please award best in show for the sweat peas.

I will indeed.

Now, I've gotta be honest, there is only two that are fighting for it.

Very, very difficult,

because they are two exceptionally good vases of sweet peas.

So I'm looking between the two of them

and which way am I going to go?

-Sorry, I'm going to come down here.

-Yes!

-Well done, lads.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Well done, Alex and Edd!

Brilliant!

Oh, Jonathan, would you please like to award

the best in show for the hand-tied bouquet.

Everybody has made a bouquet,

but some bouquets were very loosely a bouquet.

And it's hard to spell out what is creativity,

but when it's there, it absolutely shines out and it shouts to us,

so I think the best example is Rupert and Dimi. Congratulations.

Well, congratulations to you, Rupert and Dimi, and Alex and Ed.

And every single one of you!

You need to go and get some rest, ready for the next challenge.

-Very good.

-Yes, we're really pleased to have won that.

-I'm really pleased.

-Liked to have got the sweat peas as well.

-So close.

Very pleased to get the bouquet. It's very good.

-Hey, well done.

-Thank you.

-Very pleased.

-Yeah, we're very PEAS-ed with ourselves.

We really let ourselves down with the floral display

and the sweet peas were just a disaster.

Just one final challenge remains

before our experts decide who will be going home.

-We don't want to be thrown out today.

-No, we've worked too hard.

We've had too much commitment to the allotment to want to leave it now.

I genuinely do love gardening and to go after week one,

having got everything ready, would be absolutely gutting for me.

I'm really excited about the next challenge.

Calm and confident. Two words.

The Eat Challenge

sees the allotmenteers' freshly picked produce

being brought into the kitchen

where their preserving skills will be put to the test.

Today's challenge is presided over by our expert, Thane Prince,

and the challenge that she's set you today

is to make a fruit jam and a fruit curd.

You will have an hour and 45 minutes

once you get to the greenhouse with all your picked produce.

So are you ready? Get started!

Oh, I'm looking forward to this.

Is it possible to make a jam and a curd in one hour, 45 minutes?

Absolutely, but they're going to have to really know their stuff

and they're going to have to work as a team.

For this challenge, the gardeners can use any produce they've grown

on their allotment...

together with items from the pantry, such as eggs and sugar,

to make their fruit jam and fruit curd.

Look at that! Oh, look, it's a monster one.

There's more on that side as well.

Jam is a preserve which will keep for months in your larder,

but can also be eaten straightaway.

A fruit curd is a spread or topping that you keep in the fridge

and should be eaten whilst it's fresh.

Overseeing the Eat Challenge

is cookery writer and queen of preserves, Thane Prince.

The Eat Challenge is the perfect culmination

of the whole allotment challenge.

They've grown it, they've picked it, but the point of vegetables

and fruit is that you're going to eat it.

Oh, that's lovely. Look at that.

-Have a little weigh, just so we've got an idea on...

-OK.

..how many more we've gotta pick.

-28 grams, Jo, so.

-OK.

Well, a few more yet.

Nice amount these.

I'm glad that we're doing tomato,

-rather than doing one of the berries.

-Yeah, I am.

-I think berries are pretty boring to be honest.

-Mmm.

I think doing a tomato, it's a bit different, it's a bit unusual.

Now the allotmenteers have picked their ingredients

from their patches, it's into the greenhouse to start preserving.

Gardeners, now you've got all your produce,

you have an hour and 45 minutes. Are you ready? Off you go!

Jo and Avril have decided to start with their mixed berry and rum jam.

Had to add some blueberries, cos I didn't have enough strawberries.

They just didn't grow on the plant, so it's a last minute tweak.

People might be scared and think that is difficult,

-but there is a foolproof method to good jam?

-Absolutely.

Choose very good fruit, slightly under ripe, weigh it carefully,

add the equal amount of sugar,

check whether your fruit's got any pectin,

if it hasn't, you'll need to add some pectin.

Pectin is a natural gelling agent

which is found in differing quantities in most acidic fruits.

When the right proportions of pectin and sugar are cooked with fruit,

the jam will set.

I'm checking the jam temperature.

Ideally, you roll boil it at 105 Celsius, so it's not quite there.

I always find it a little bit confusing,

cos if you stir, sometimes the temperature drops.

Of course it does, cos that's one of the great tricks

when you're making jams or chutneys. If it gets too hot,

you stir it vigorously, air goes in and the temperature drops.

Oh, how interesting...cos I'd want to get it up to heat rapidly

-and then think that's fine.

-Well, sometimes you can.

Depends what you're cooking, depends on the thickness of your bottom.

Fair enough.

Too short a rolling boil and the jam won't set.

Too long and its consistency will become too thick.

I'm thinking that might need a little longer boil.

Sally and Michelle are making a rhubarb, basil and strawberry jam.

Definitely darkening up, it's just getting it at the right consistency.

Until it's in a jar, cooled, in front of a judge,

you're like..."Will it be OK?" So...

A little bit stressful.

Don't panic, we're fine, we're on time. Don't worry.

Gary and Pete's jam recipe

not only includes fruit from their allotment, but also flowers.

Tell me about your jam, what are you making?

Strawberry and rose petal jam.

So you keep that whole...

And pull the petals off and cut the pointy bits off the bottom

cos they don't taste nice. You can feel them on your teeth.

Mother and daughter, Shirley and Victoria,

are making blackcurrant jam.

-Been in for ten minutes.

-It's too much.

It'll be perfect.

All the other gardeners are making traditional fruit jams,

but not Shaun and Liz.

-Tomato jam?!

-Yes.

I just wondered if you used all one variety of tomato

or are you using different varieties?

We use Money-makers and a couple of Alicantes.

-Just whatever was ripe at the time really.

-Perfect.

The trick for testing when your jam has reached setting point

is the wrinkle test.

This is when a small amount of jam is put onto a cold plate

and pushed with a fingertip.

If it wrinkles, then a set has been achieved.

Harshani is attempting to simultaneously cook up

a strawberry, blackcurrant and blueberry jam

and a rhubarb and custard curd

with the help of her husband, and sous chef, Edd.

If you want to put the blueberries in, I'll get it on a slow simmer.

-Are you running two recipes in your head?

-I am.

If you can put the rest of the water in, so I need another 50ml of water.

The jug.

Edd, you are cooking the jam...

Do you want to put that on for three minutes, please?

Did you put the rest of the water in, the 50ml?

-Is she like this at home?

-Yes. We don't cook together at home!

We keep a kitchen apart.

45 minutes left. You've got 45 minutes left.

-Right, you've done five minutes now.

-Is that all?

Rupert and Dimi have made their strawberry, mint and basil jam

and now they're focusing on their curd which has a magic ingredient.

It's a blueberry curd,

but we've flavoured it with a little bit of coriander seed,

which sounds bizarre,

but there's a chemical compound in the coriander

which is the same compound in blueberries.

It brings out the flavour of the blueberries.

-Am I going to taste coriander?

-No.

-I'm just going to taste super blueberry?

-Hopefully, yes.

-Excellent.

-Where did you learn that from?

Rupert did graduate with a biology degree, so he does quite like the more technical side of things.

A fruit curd must have a smooth consistency.

Once the fruit is softened,

it is then sieved to remove the skins and seeds.

The puree is then re-heated with butter, using a bain-marie.

The critical moment, when making curd, is mixing in the eggs.

If the cooked fruit hasn't cooled enough and not regularly stirred,

the mixture will curdle and will resemble scrambled eggs.

This is blackcurrant curd.

I'm quite interested, because I don't whisk mine.

It will be very interesting to see whether it affects the texture.

It's fear that keeps me whisking!

-Good!

-Cos I don't want it to curdle.

I don't know which is a proper way of making curd.

The traditional way is to put it over a bain-marie.

First time I tried that at home, it didn't work for me at all.

So I thought, "Oh, I'll use some cornflour instead...

"..and hopefully, it'll thicken up."

Like Avril, Shaun has also chosen to use cornflour to thicken his curd.

It looks like scrambled eggs, what you've just done there!

Oh, this is a disaster.

We had a few problems with the curd.

Why? What do you think's wrong with it?

Well, cos I used cornflour and I've been tasting it, I can taste...

-The cornflour in it?

-Tastes a bit floury.

-I feel I've let Jo down.

I feel so passionate about it, for Jo.

-She put a lot of hard work into it.

-What's that about?!

-I feel I've let her down.

-Don't.

Have a swig of rum, you'll be fine.

Five minutes, everybody! Just five minutes left.

We're going to have to just put it in.

We're fine! We're fine! We're fine!

We need the cold saucer now...

That's not big enough, is it?

Do you want to get the labels out for me?

-Finishing touches...

-The pen...

Have to trim it a bit cos it looks so silly.

Can you hold that down while I tie...?

That's it, everybody, time's up!

Well done!

To be awarded best in show,

the jam should be set, not runny or sticky

and the fruit should be evenly distributed throughout.

The curd should be thick and spreadable

and the flavour fresh and well balanced.

First up is Alex and Ed's

old time strawberry jam,

and rhubarb and custard curd.

Right, we're going to start with the jam.

Ooh, nice.

-Oh, I can see that on a scone.

-So can I.

I'm just wondering if perhaps it was cooked a second or two too long.

The sugar just begins to caramelise a bit and it's just a second over.

Right, this is your rhubarb and custard curd.

To my mind, it's not quite thick enough.

-That's delicious. I love it. Absolutely love it.

-Thank you.

Sally and Michelle have made

rhubarb, basil and strawberry jam

and a curdilicious blueberry curd.

It won't come out!

You have got quite a set here, I have to say!

Your rhubarb is still very identifiable,

it's not quite tender enough.

Now, then, your curd.

MUFFLED SPEECH

I mean, I think you can see this is probably not quite thick enough.

Very nice. I think a little sweet.

Next up is Shaun and Liz's

sweet tomato jam and rhubarb and custard curd.

Right, we're starting with the jam.

Oh...

It's obviously too thick.

We said it had to be characteristic of the fruit

and I wouldn't know this was a tomato.

Right, the curd. The curd.

Now this is a thing of great beauty.

Ohh! And a pop!

Next time, leave out the cornflour.

On your palate, a curd should be like velvet.

This has just got that slight texture you get

when you've got some starch in something.

Shirley and Victoria have made

a blackcurrant jam and strawberry curd.

Very nice.

Here we go. That's lovely. Really lovely.

What I really admire is you've chosen one fruit

and you've just made two classic examples.

Rupert and Dimi have made

a strawberry, mint and basil Wimbledon jam and a blueberry curd.

Here we go. A good curd texture.

I can taste the blueberries in this.

A little rich, but you couldn't taste the coriander.

You're right, it did just enhance the flavour of the blueberries,

so I think a good effort. And two rather attractive looking...

So thank you very much.

Kate and Eleanor have created

a strawberry, mint and thyme jam

with a purple passion blackcurrant curd.

You were whisking.

And I was really worried that it would be moussey,

but no, it's lovely.

Next up is Edd and Harshani

with a strawberry, blackcurrant and blueberry jam

and a rhubarb and custard curd.

I like the jam. I think that the strawberries,

when you pick them out individually, you could taste.

I possibly wouldn't have put them in with bullies like blackcurrants.

Jo and Avril have made

a mixed berry and rum drunken jam

with rhubarb and vanilla curd.

Oh, that looks lovely! Doesn't it?

Really good. And a nice set. Very nice set.

Simple, tasty. A nice jar of jam.

It's got much too much cornflour in.

It just doesn't work for me as a curd.

Finally, Gary and Pete have created

a strawberry and rose petal jam

with a blueberry, blackcurrant and purple basil curd.

Oh, it is moving a little bit.

Not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Very nice colour of the jam and the fruit's really nicely distributed.

I think that's a decent pot of jam.

Looking like a good set, this.

Oh, yes, look.

I think you've done a very good job.

Those are two very good examples of what I asked you to produce.

Now Thane has tasted all the jams and curds,

she must decide who will get best in show.

Based on the fact that I was judging two things

and I wanted the best curd and the best jam...

..the best in show goes to Gary and Pete.

Now it's up to Thane and Jim and Jonathan on who stays

and which couple we're going to be saying goodbye to tonight.

Would you all please go back to your gardens while the experts decide?

I think if we didn't pull that off,

then we probably would've been going home.

I really don't believe it's the right week for me and Liz to go.

We've got some fantastic ideas

for the other challenges that are coming up.

We could be facing going home today, you don't know.

If we're back next week, we've got to raise the game.

This is the bit I don't like. And it can only get worse.

-But someone's got to go.

-I know.

Jo and Avril have been worrying me a bit.

The curd was a disaster. I can't even pretend it wasn't.

It was awful.

I was equally, sort of, surprised at the horrific jam Shaun and Liz made.

I'm sorry, it didn't fit the brief and it didn't taste nice.

And the bouquet was just frightening really.

It was one of the most horrific bouquets I've ever seen.

I'm going to throw another couple of names in the mix here,

Sally and Michelle.

Another opportunity, I think they're going to come through.

They didn't deliver on the jam or the curd.

And the sweet peas were pathetic.

Gardeners. Thank you so much for all your hard work,

but, as you know, one team has to leave.

The experts here have made their decision

and the team who will be hanging up their wellies tonight is...

..Shaun and Liz.

I'm so sorry.

I'm gutted.

I'm upset because we're going

and because we've done 15 weeks of hard work

and I've absolutely loved every last second of it.

Gardening in this country can produce amazing results

so it has been really nice to be able to spend that amount of time, out,

digging away at our own allotment.

Next time, the allotmenteers will be judged on their runner beans...

If you'd have told me this time last year

I'd be laying beans out on a board and trying to straighten them...

Seriously!

I don't think that's long and straight.

..roses...

-That's our rose.

-Winner.

-You have a look.

-I'm trying.

Keep going.

..and relishes.

-More lemon juice?

-Maybe a bit more.