Episode 2 The Big Allotment Challenge

The Big Allotment Challenge is back,

celebrating Britain's love of gardening.

Whether it's in window boxes, back gardens or allotments,

we love to grow our own.

These nine handpicked individuals

think they have what it takes to be crowned this year's champion.

Beautiful!

In early spring, they were each given a plot of bare earth

and a list of 22 different vegetables,

fruit and flowers to grow.

That's the sound of someone else's peas being gobbled.

For 12 weeks, they've been raking, staking

and cultivating their patch of our beautiful walled garden.

Last week, they faced the experts for the first time.

I am searching for something nice to say about this

and I'm not finding anything.

Jo Jo reigned supreme in Jim's Grow challenge.

The tickling paid off. Well done, Jo Jo!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

In the Make challenge, Rob impressed Jonathan.

These wonderful scented geraniums.

Rob, you are Best in Show.

APPLAUSE

And finally, in Eat, Thane was wowed by Lena's sauces.

It's a really nice mustard. I enjoyed it.

And so, Lena, Best in Show.

APPLAUSE

But Matt failed to shine...

The criteria was for a zinnia flower, and that isn't there.

..and left the allotment for good.

This week, it's high-summer favourite, cucumber.

I'm just perfecting my rather large cucumbers.

A bound bouquet containing larkspur.

I have no vision, I have no plan.

I'm going straight off the cuff.

And lollies and syrups.

I've got a little bit of glamour for Thane. Edible glitter.

Who will impress the experts?

I've got to say, you produced two crackers.

And whose time in the competition is up?

He doesn't know what it is. Neither do I.

Welcome back to the Big Allotment Challenge.

Our walled garden here in Mapledurham

certainly looks lush and green now, in the height of summer,

but getting it to this point has meant

weeks of hard work from our dedicated gardeners.

So far, we've all really been kind of,

pottering along as friends, gardening,

and it's suddenly really hit us that this is a competition

and the judges are really looking for,

you know, the best quality produce.

It was brilliant getting Best in Show for the flowers last week,

but now you've got it, it makes you want to get it for everything.

I want to win all of them!

Good morning, gardeners.

Each week, as you know, you face three challenges.

Grow, Make and Eat.

The first one is always Grow,

and it's your chance to impress Jim Buttress.

This week, it is ridge cucumbers.

So, Jim would like you to present two ridge cucumbers

grown from seed to put on his Show Bench.

All understood? Get picking.

Happy cucumber fondling.

I've asked the gardeners to grow ridge cucumbers

because they can be tricky little monkeys to get started.

The seed can take a long time to germinate.

Here's Jim's guide to growing cucumbers.

Ridge cucumbers are best grown from seed and started inside,

even if you don't have a greenhouse.

Fill a pot with seed-sowing compost

and sow the seeds on their sides to stop them rotting.

Once the seeds have germinated and have filled the pot with roots,

they must be hardened off for 10 days before planting them outside.

They're called ridge cucumbers

because the traditional way to grow them is on a ridge.

Make sure you put some manure into the soil

and then make a ridge on the surface

to help water drain away from the plant.

Once the plants have developed seven leaves, pinch out the growing tip.

Inspect the plants regularly for aphids and remove them.

Little bugs like aphids can carry the dreaded cucumber mosaic virus,

which is a disaster if you get it.

Once the fruit has formed, give them room to breathe

by making sure nothing obstructs their growth,

or they won't be straight for the Show Bench.

When little cucumbers appear,

feed the plants once a week with a liquid tomato food.

The size of the cucumber depends on the variety being grown,

but don't let them get too big, or they'll become too bitter to eat.

13 weeks ago, the first decision the gardeners had to make

was to pick their cucumber varieties and sow their seeds.

For marketing director Alan, it's a simple choice.

I grow cucumbers every year, so I'm pretty confident about this one.

I've got two different types of cucumbers on the go.

Marketmore, which we'll be able to plant in the ground,

they'll just spread around and they'll just fruit

and they'll be absolutely fine.

And then we've got the Tokyo slicer, a little bit more fussy.

One is called marketmore cucumber

and the other one is burpless...

burpless...

Sorry! It's called burpless tasty green.

Flight attendant Rob is the only gardener

gambling on a rare heritage variety.

Instead of being a normal cucumber, like a normal green, long cucumber,

they're also rugby-ball shaped, like, oval.

But they're yellow.

Nine weeks to Show Day

and former teacher Tony is potting on his cucumber plants.

They're ready to fly the nest, really,

because they're looking quite lush, but getting quite tall.

These have done well in the greenhouse. Quite happy with them.

And I'm going to move them outside.

Hopefully, they'll grow on lovely now.

26-year-old Classics scholar Alexandra

is the youngest gardener left on the patch.

I'm doing two sowings just so I have plants at staggered intervals.

It's just a sort of, an insurance policy, really.

So if something is ready too early,

it at least means that I've got a backup,

which I can then hopefully bring on in some way.

Painter/decorator Lena has spotted a potential problem

with her cucumber plants.

So I've just come in here to have a look

and I've just noticed this on the top of the leaf.

And then I've just looked underneath.

I didn't know if this was the mosaic virus.

And if it is the mosaic virus,

you've got to destroy them because it can spread.

Mosaic virus is spread by aphids

and can lead to a dramatic reduction

in the number of cucumbers that develop.

Any that do are likely to be misshapen,

which is a disaster when growing for the Show Bench.

-I'm getting paranoid on that thing, look.

-What's this? What?

I looked at that and thought, "Oh!"

You were thinking you might have some insect?

-No, I was thinking about that virus thing.

-This thing, yeah.

That, to me, looks like...

Actually, it does look like the mosaic virus, actually.

-Oh, God!

-That one actually does.

All right. God! Sorry to disturb your food. Sorry.

Oh, that's it now. That's game over. I'm walking. I'm going.

They said it's maybe the mosaic virus,

so these have got to go, ain't they? You know what I mean? Let's be fair.

Company director Rekha's come up with

a novel way to water her plants.

The roots need to go down to the water and not the plant.

Plants shouldn't touch water.

I've just cut a bottle open

and I've made some holes in the lid.

It's going to be a funnel. I'm just going to dig that in.

It's just going to be a drip feed,

rather than a lot of water in one time.

It's eight weeks since the gardeners first met.

And word has got round the patch that it's Rob's birthday.

-Give me an R!

-ALL: R!

-Give me an O!

-ALL: O!

-Give me a B!

-ALL: B!

-Put them together, what have we got?

-ALL: Rob!

Happy birthday!

Oh, thank you!

The suspense!

De-de-de-de-de-de-de-de-de!

LAUGHTER

-A paint-your-own gnome!

-Get painting!

-That's nice!

-Thank you very much.

You won't be going out tonight, you'll be painting, won't you?

Having lost one batch of her cucumber plants to mosaic virus,

Lena thinks she's come up with a solution

to keep her remaining ones disease-free.

Just made this structure.

It's going to climb up here, hopefully.

I've done that so they can grow up there

and hopefully the air will get around it

and it won't get any diseases. Hopefully.

I'm cutting off some of these excess growth for the cucumbers.

I did some the other day and I'm just doing a bit more now.

Because I need them to fatten up a bit.

On Show Day, the gardeners must present

two cucumbers of equal length

and they must be perfectly straight.

Cucumbers are looking really, really healthy.

Really healthy.

They might be a bit too big.

LAUGHTER

That's a bit too big, though.

They're the right, length, aren't they?

-The length is fine.

-The girth is too big.

-LAUGHTER

-Yeah, the girth is too big!

I was hoping that I could rely on gravity to pull them straight,

however, the ground got in the way of the gravity

and they started to curl around.

I am just improvising some cucumber straighteners.

Since I couldn't afford the fabulous

and slightly-obscene Victorian one that I wanted,

I thought I'd have a go with some bottles.

And there it is.

It's not terribly straight, but it certainly has grown.

LAUGHTER

Look at that. That looks like some green dog has laid it.

That's really horrible. That can come off.

Look at that, that's horrible.

Tony is struggling with the size of his cucumbers.

Got one there which is still a bit too small.

I've got one here that's a bit small.

And I've got one or two others that are even smaller.

I'm not saying they're rubbish.

Potentially, they're not ready. That's the trouble.

They're a week too early.

After 13 weeks of growing their cucumbers, it's Show Day.

Let's have a look, see what we've got here.

-LAUGHTER

-It's not ideal, is it?

I was hoping to use my smaller ones, which are a better size,

but unfortunately, there's some damage on one of them,

so I think I'm going to have to put my big ones out.

Everyone else has gone for really big, green cucumbers,

whereas I've gone for, sort of, a rare, wacky one

that's, like, a yellow, strange shape.

Uniformity is essential for the Show Bench, as it demonstrates

the gardeners have been consistent with their growing methods.

My main worry is not the length, it's the circumference of these.

To me, they look too fat.

# Two little joggers Da-da-da-da-da. #

I'm just perfecting my rather large cucumbers.

I don't know. I think I'll probably go with those two.

They're not matched, but...

I know Alan's not terribly happy with his.

I think he's had some size issues.

Um...but...

(I'm sorry.)

LAUGHTER

Sorry!

The gardeners must present two ridge cucumbers of equal length,

with short stems, free from blemishes, disease and pest damage.

They must be fresh and firm and of uniform thickness.

Gardeners, bring your cucumbers to the bench.

It's time for the judging.

It's time to find out now what Jim makes of your cucumbers.

Lena, would you like to come forward first?

Now, the characteristic of this particular cucumber

is to be long and slender

and also to have these stripes running through them.

-It's a very good start.

-Oh, thank you very much.

-Well done.

-Well done, Lena.

This is burpless, and so is this.

And I think you can see for yourself there is a difference.

It really hasn't developed properly.

And, er...dare I say it,

it's a little bit bent.

The size of them slightly worries me.

Because for a show cucumber, it needs to be 10-12 inches.

It's way over that.

What does that tell me?

I think this is going to be too tough.

This variety should be between six and eight inches.

A yellow cucumber, as opposed to the green.

They're definitely a fatter cucumber than some of the other ridges

and they're two perfect cucumbers

for what you'd expect from this variety.

I've got to say, you've produced two crackers.

Thank you.

I think truthfully, Rekha, you've given them too much TLC

and too much water.

-I think they've gobbled up as much as you can give them.

-OK.

Hence the reason why they're very big and fat.

They need to be uniform.

If you had another one like that, we're in with a fighting chance.

But in due respects, this is the little baby

-compared with the big one.

-Yeah.

That is a good-looking cucumber,

but unfortunately, its little mate has let you down.

-Marketmore is a straight, very green cucumber.

-Mm.

And a typical characteristic of all exhibitors up and down the country

is to hide any blemishes underneath,

hoping that the judge isn't going to notice them.

You spotted that!

And there, you can see quite clearly, blemishes of some sort.

-Tony, I'm going to be very honest with you.

-I thought you might be.

When I judge up and down the country,

you'll have a whole load of cucumbers,

whatever veg you've got there.

And my first job is to walk up and down

and see the ones you're going to concentrate in detail

and the ones that possibly you're not going to worry about.

Well done, everybody, for presenting your cucumbers for the Show Bench.

Now, Jim, who's going to get your Best in Show?

It came down to two sets.

Lena and Rob.

When I look at Lena's,

they are very characteristic of that particular variety.

So then I have a look at Rob's.

Equal, very characteristic

of what you would expect to see for this particular variety.

And finally, if you look at this here,

that one's a little smaller than that.

So, Rob, Best in Show.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The little old heritage cucumber won the show, didn't he?

My gamble for the cucumbers definitely paid off.

Jim seemed to appreciate something a little bit different.

I was expecting to get, sort of, a real hammering on the cucumbers

because they were really below par.

I've got a big hill to climb.

In this next challenge, the gardeners will be judged

on their ability to grow flowers,

as well as what they can make with them.

Now, gardeners, we are on to our second challenge, which is Make,

and it's presided over by Jonathan Moseley, our floral expert.

So today, Jonathan will want you to present larkspur

and also to make a bound bouquet.

Gardeners, I'm looking for three stems of larkspur

which are nice and straight.

So no bend or crook in the stem.

The flowers need to be blemish-free and nice and papery

and soft to the touch. Good luck.

You have 45 minutes for this challenge and the clock will start

as soon as you all get into the greenhouse with everything you need.

All understood? Get picking.

They're off.

Here is Jonathan's guide to growing Show-Bench quality larkspur.

To grow the perfect larkspur, you need to prepare your soil.

You've got to rake the soil to a fine consistency

before sowing the larkspur seed

as they can be a little bit tricky to germinate.

So it's advisable to give them a week in a freezer

to give the seeds a period of cold first.

To achieve the best results, seeds should then be sown

directly into the open ground

and covered with a thin layer of soil.

Once the seedlings appear, thin them carefully

until the plants are about 30 centimetres apart.

Pinch out the tips when they're around 15 centimetres tall

to encourage the plants to bush out.

Feed them with tomato food every now and then to encourage growth.

Larkspur should have tall, straight stems,

so it's essential to support them as they grow,

otherwise, you'll end up with droopy larkspur.

Once flowers start to appear,

pick and feed the plants regularly

to make sure they keep flowering all summer.

13 weeks ago, the gardeners began growing their larkspur,

with some of them sowing their seeds directly into the ground.

I haven't had a great experience of growing larkspur,

but according to the seed packet,

they're fairly straightforward.

They don't tend, it seems, to do well

if they start off as seeds in a tray and then you transplant them.

So I'm going to put them straight in the ground.

My experience of growing flowers to date has always been that

once you get them going, your problems are over, really.

Um...but getting them going, getting them germinated

can be where it can all go terribly wrong.

Rob has chosen to sow his indoors in pots.

I'm going to try and put some inside first.

I'm not going to put any lids on them or anything else like that,

just so it's more like a really warm, spring day in here.

I'm going to put these in the fridge to try and cool them off,

like, sort of, imitate a winter.

Because the seeds need to be cold before,

then when they start to warm up, they think,

"Oh, I'll start growing now, it's warm."

So what I had to do was freeze the larkspur seeds for a week

because larkspur seeds need a cold spell before they can germinate.

I went on the internet

and it says you can start them off in the freezer.

I'm not 100% sure why,

but I think I'm going to give that a go.

Maybe no-one else knows about this,

so crossed fingers, you never now.

Hey-ho, give it a go.

After a few weeks, the larkspur

have started to show early signs of growth.

Got one, wahey!

That's a weed, isn't it?

One larkspur for the Show Bench. Will that do?

So I can see...some signs of them, but very slow.

But I think this is what it's like with seeds sometimes.

You don't see anything for ages

and then suddenly they all start popping up.

At the halfway point,

there's still little growth for some of the gardeners.

I think other people have got larkspur a lot better than these,

but...there's loads of time for them to grow.

They just don't seem to be growing very quick.

The packet says that they're very easy to grow,

but none of the ones in the greenhouse have come up.

If everybody else had beautiful trays full,

then I'd definitely be panicking,

but I think we're all, sort of in the same boat with these.

But not everyone is.

Sandra has more than 30 years' experience of gardening,

and having frozen her seeds

before sowing them directly into the ground,

she's ready to thin out her plants.

I'm making room for these to grow.

I've dug a great big chunk of soil out with it.

Hope I haven't broken any of the roots off.

I'm just going to give the larkspur its final spacing that they need.

So I'm just going to keep roughly 12 inches between some of them.

Really nice, healthy plants.

No, I think they'll be all right.

Look, they've got loads of leaves on the top,

they've got other leaves there.

They've really come on in the last week.

With just four weeks until Show Day, Tony's granddaughter, Annie,

pays him a visit to help him with his larkspur.

How long did it take to grow these?

I've been growing these about nine weeks.

So they started from little seeds.

Are you going to win the competition, Grandad?

I don't know, but I'm going to have a really good try.

I think you're going to win.

You think I'm going to win? Cheers.

Wahey!

Finance worker Jo Jo is also feeling positive about her flowers.

My larkspur seems to be going great guns at the moment,

which is quite good, isn't it?

It is entirely possible that Jo Jo is privy

to some sort of special larkspur-growing secret

that she's not shared with the rest of us.

I think what it was was that I froze the seeds before I sowed them.

But Jo Jo's supremacy is short-lived.

A week later and, with Alan away,

some of the gardeners take a sneaky peek at his patch.

What's he been feeding them, eh?

He's got some super-duper feed going on here.

-You're not the queen of the larkspur any more.

-I know!

Till the wind whips them and chops the top off them all.

-Hopefully.

-It's interesting, isn't it?

That's cruel!

Last week, they weren't half that big, so they've shot up in a week.

-Ours will catch up.

-It's hopeful.

His will have gone, yours will have gone. We'll be all right.

LAUGHTER

The string's really just in case we suddenly get some violent winds.

Because they are, you know, a bit, "Whoa!" you know.

And that will just give them something to lean against

without them getting scarred.

But others are still at an immature stage.

The theory is that the tinfoil will just help reflect more light.

If we have glorious weather and beautiful sunlight,

there is a chance I might have something to show.

But things are not looking good for me.

After 13 weeks of tending to their larkspurs,

it's time for the gardeners to select their best specimens.

It's very tall, it's very straight,

it just hasn't got any flowers on it.

Look at those!

They're nice, aren't they?

-Aren't they nice?

-Yeah.

Where are your larkspur?

That's a secret. I'm not telling you.

Well, this looks...

Oh! That's a pale imitation of a larkspur, Jonathan,

and that's, unfortunately, all I've got.

The gardeners also need to pick other flowers

they've been growing on their allotments to use in their bouquets.

I've got a lot of zinnias, which are very bright and colourful,

so I thought I might use those in the display.

When you don't know what you're doing,

you just chop-chop-chop, chop-chop-chop-chop!

Having picked their flowers, the gardeners head into the greenhouse

to make their bound bouquets.

What a lovely array of blooms you have brought us!

Jonathan, any last-minute advice for them?

Gardeners, to make your selected style of bouquet,

I'm asking you to use the binding technique.

Remember, make this bouquet as if it's to be given as a gift.

Good luck.

You have 45 minutes, starting now.

The first job for the gardeners is to choose

their three best larkspur stems for Jonathan to judge.

That's my three variety ones.

They can go there, out of the way.

I'm just trying to find three...

straight-ish...larkspur.

Get the easy bit out the way first.

So that one's a bit long at the moment.

I mean, look at that!

That's quite a contrast with my cucumbers this morning.

It's really sad.

Any leaves which will sit below the water line in a vase

must be trimmed off, or they'll rot.

This also makes the bouquet easier to bind.

Just trying to get my nice foliage,

get my initial shape that I want to create.

I'm going to have a, sort of...

I'm going to bind some more at the top.

I want to get some more bits there first.

The gardeners can make any style of bouquet,

but it should be secured using the binding technique.

Jonathan, tell me again how this binding works.

-I've got one stem here.

-Yeah.

And then we would tie a piece of twine onto there,

then I lay another one in there. We bind it.

-One at a time?

-Can be one at a time, get you going.

Once you start to get a shape developed, little multiples.

And what we want to do is establish that one binding point.

-Really?

-Mm.

So one, kind of, necktie around it.

-One necktie, yeah.

-OK.

As I add them in, I'm winding it down to secure them in.

I presume that's the sort of thing Jonathan's talking about.

I have started binding, but I don't think I'm doing a great job,

because it's not fanning the way I wanted it to fan out.

This is hard.

Not sure what I'm doing.

I have no vision, I have no plan.

I'm going straight off the cuff.

I've got quite a lot of stems of flower

and I suppose I feel slightly obliged to use them.

I thought I'd hide my gorgeous larkspur in the middle.

To achieve the best result, all of the gardeners should be using

twine to bind their bouquets securely.

What troubles me is what people are electing to bind with.

Wire's going to cut into those fragile stems.

You did say you wanted it firm, so they're thinking,

"Right, belt and braces." If they had cement here, they'd put it on.

-Some of them are like scaffolding poles.

-Bless their hearts.

People who work in flowers must have three hands.

It's quite a big bunch of flowers, so, um...

there is a risk that if I don't do it reasonably tightly,

the thing will just collapse as soon as he picks it up.

30 minutes gone, gardeners.

30 minutes. You've only got 15 minutes left.

How you feeling about that? Everything under control?

No.

-Hey, Tony!

-Hi, Tony.

Is that ribbon decorative, or binding?

It started off as decorative, but now it's binding.

And a bit of wire you've used, as well.

I have used wire, yeah. It's a step forward for me.

And what do you call this?

Is it a bouquet? Is it a posy? Is it a sheaf? Is it a...?

Well, I was thinking of starting off doing a sheaf,

but it sort of didn't materialise,

so I've gone more for a small bouquet.

Over on her workbench, Lena is using several different types

of binding for her bouquet.

And you're using tape?

Well, I'm just trying to make the end look a bit neater.

It's like a tennis racquet handle.

More of the Wimbledon look.

-Well, it's a look.

-Yeah.

I forgot to strip the leaves as I was going

and I've now got this massive bunch of ugly tape in my hands.

This is just not going to be my challenge.

The last five minutes now, gardeners.

Last five minutes to get everything bound securely,

wrapped as a gift and something Jonathan's going to enjoy.

I'm trying to think how to get this together

and then I want to put ribbon around it to hide everything.

Although it's been a warm summer and good for growing,

the heat in the greenhouse is not helping the gardeners.

Yeah, that's made all the difference.

I don't know what's happening today, I've just got droop everywhere.

I don't know how to handle this. It doesn't usually happen.

You're on the last 60 seconds.

I don't like that cellophane. It covers the flowers up too much.

So I'll take...

Time's up, gardeners, that's it.

Good luck. Well done.

You've all produced something.

LAUGHTER

Jonathan's perfect bouquet should have one central binding point

with larkspur as the predominant flower

and the bouquet should be presented as a gift.

The larkspur should be three perfect stems.

Uniform in size, scale and height,

with consistent colour throughout all the blooms.

Two thirds of the specimen should be in flower.

First up is Rob.

Winner of last week's Best in Show for the Make challenge.

Will he do it again?

There's no flowers on there.

So it's really not met that criteria.

Let's just put that away, shall we?

-Yeah, put it in the bin.

-Pretend that didn't happen.

-What a lovely bouquet!

-It's lovely.

But I'm guessing I'm not going to see any larkspur in it.

There is one positive.

You've coordinated the packaging, the presentation,

to the theme of the flowers.

So there's one bit that's worked.

-Ooo!

-It is slightly disappointing.

They're at such an immature stage. Were you late sowing them, then?

Um...not especially.

I've done successional sowing all the way through.

I suppose it was just too late.

-Best of a bad bunch, really.

-I'm afraid so.

Because you'd not got much choice in there to pick at.

And sadly, in the bouquet, it's that same situation.

Look at that gorgeous rose!

It's absolutely beautiful!

But really, I asked for larkspur and I'm not seeing it.

Good colour on there.

A little bit heavily foliated, Lena.

All this foliage is actually competing with the flower.

But you've got three erect blooms.

I'm quite impressed by those, Lena. That's a good attempt.

-OK. Thank you very much.

-Very good. The bouquet.

Now, the bouquet. I don't quite think you got the binding right.

-No, I didn't.

-With all that wire, tape,

string, twine in there.

Alan's got wonderful foliage in there with three straight stems.

They've got that wonderful, crisp, papery touch.

What I am impressed about

is the quality of the larkspur in this bouquet.

With harmonising flowers

which don't detract from that star performer.

-That's a very good attempt.

-Thank you.

I love the intensity of the colour. It's really deep.

Very sort of classic, inky blue on here.

It's sadly the uniformity that lets that down.

You've done this presentation bouquet here, this flat bouquet.

-This big, dominant sunflower is very top heavy.

-OK.

-It's not quite worked.

-No, that's fine.

I actually think these blooms could have been stronger.

Had you have thinned them out, given them a little more room,

they'd have been a lot more bountiful in their blooms.

The bouquet, it's quite a pretty little feminine mixture.

I was asking to see how you'd present them

and I can see no finish on that.

It needed to move a stage further.

Wow, they look very nice!

Mm. Very elegant spikes of larkspur here.

With good bud, good, strong flower that feels pristine.

And I love that foliage.

I watched you working with this bouquet

and you are our only gardener who perfected the binding technique.

-Really?

-Congratulations, Sandra.

-Oh, wow!

-It looks fabulous!

-You're a good grower, but you don't perfect for showing.

-No.

We needed to thin out.

-And you needed to disbud, give these spikes a chance to flower.

-Yeah.

-Sadly, it's not happened.

-No.

But have you got some in the bouquet?

All I'm reading is zinnia. It doesn't know what it is.

Neither do I, sadly.

With just one Best in Show to award,

Jonathan will be taking into account

both their specimen flowers and bouquets.

Sadly, not everybody brought larkspurs to today's Show Bench.

It's sad when we don't see those specimen blooms

and then you can't include them in your bouquets.

But two people brought both.

Alan, you presented those wonderful, tall spires of larkspur.

Great colour intensity, uniformity.

And you included those in your bouquet.

Sandra, equally, your larkspurs are quite stunning.

And you did the binding for that bouquet.

So it's a tough one this week.

Two really close gardeners.

If we're growing for cutting,

we want to see as many flowers as possible.

And, Alan, you presented me with a huge bunch of larkspur.

Alan, you are Best in Show. Well done.

APPLAUSE

Well done.

Now, tomorrow, you have got Thane's challenge, the Eat challenge.

I suggest you go home, get some sleep

and we'll see you in the morning. Good night.

Good night.

I did it, I won one. And against Sandra, as well.

Um...I feel she was slightly robbed, if I'm honest.

I think I won just because I'd grown such a quantity of good larkspur.

And I think I probably just snuck in there.

I really don't think Alan is a contender.

He did well with his larkspurs, but I don't think he's a contender.

There's too many people that are really good, I think.

The gardeners have one more challenge left to face

before experts Jim, Jonathan and Thane decide

which one of them will leave the allotment for good.

I'm feeling relatively confident about my recipes today.

But there's no way of knowing until Thane takes that taste.

I think now I do need to impress Thane

because I didn't impress Jim or Jonathan.

Yesterday could have gone better.

I started well and then took a bit of a nosedive.

So I need to see if I can pull out of that today.

The Eat challenge requires the gardeners

to showcase their preserving skills

by using the produce they've grown on the allotment.

-Good morning, gardeners.

-Morning.

It's time for your final challenge, Eat.

Our queen of preserves, Thane, is looking after this challenge

and she wants you to present to her an ice lolly and a syrup.

You have an hour and 30 minutes for this challenge.

The clock will start once you arrive in the greenhouse.

-Are you all ready?

-Mm-hm.

-Good. Get picking.

I set today's challenge because it's a chance to use up this lovely fruit,

to have fun with flavours, to experiment and to make me smile.

-Good luck.

-Good luck.

The gardeners have been asked to include strawberries

in their lolly or syrup.

They've been picking and freezing their fruits as they've ripened.

I've got others that I've had in the freezer,

so I've just picked a few to top them up.

I have already picked my strawberries

and my blackcurrants and they're all frozen.

I'm hoping the gardeners listened to me last week.

I want to see them using the produce from their allotments.

It's all from the plot this week, so hopefully,

I'm not going to get another beating from Thane

for shopping at the supermarket

when I should be shopping at the plot.

Ingredients picked,

the gardeners head to the greenhouse to start preserving.

Gardeners, you've got all your produce

and you have 90 minutes to make your lollies and your syrups.

Good luck. The time starts now.

The first task for the gardeners is to start their lollies

so that they can get them into the freezer as quickly as possible.

I'm making some rhubarb and strawberry lollies with some mint,

which is called Cricket in the Park.

Because whenever we get a glut of any particular fruit at home,

we make lollies out of it and then go to the park,

play something, and come back when it's ready.

The name of my lolly is called Stop and Go.

Stop and Go is to do with the traffic light.

My first layer is strawberry,

my second layer is peach

and my third layer is kiwi.

I'm going to put this in first,

freeze it for 20 minutes or so and then put the next layer in.

I'm making my lolly, and it's called Keri Berry Lolly.

And it's named after my sister

and it reminds me of when we were children

and we used to go strawberry picking.

This is my lolly, which is called a Shimmer Ball.

It's strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants,

but with yoghurt, as well.

I've got a little bit of glamour for Thane, so...

She looks like a girl who wants a little bit of glamour in her life,

so, I thought, edible glitter that you shake on at the end.

And I've gone for moulds that are almost like a disco-ball shape.

My lolly is called Pop's Lollies because my kids call me Pops,

so play on words, Pop's Lollies, lollipops.

The gardeners must be careful

to balance the flavours in their lollies

because once they're frozen, there is no going back.

The only thing that's actually worrying me is the rosewater.

I distil my own at home,

but I didn't have time to do that for this,

so I've got a commercial rosewater.

And it's not nearly as potent as I was expecting it to be.

It's nothing like the one I make at home,

so I've had to use five times as much.

-Smells pretty strong to me.

-It's not.

-Isn't it?

-No. That's nowhere near the essence I use.

Rekha's putting the first of her three layers into the freezer.

-There's quite a high level of jeopardy in this.

-Mm-hm.

If she doesn't get the layers frozen before she adds the next layer,

they're all going to marble.

I think I've got a lot riding on this

if I'm going to stay in this week.

I didn't do very well yesterday,

so this is my, probably, last hope of staying in.

It's going to be a difficult one for me, definitely.

Obviously, strawberries, they've got lots of seeds.

Raspberries, lots of seeds. Redcurrants, lots of seeds.

So I'm trying to make it smooth.

It'd be nasty with all these hard little bits in

getting stuck in your teeth and everything else.

Alexandra is the only gardener using cucumber in her lolly.

My lolly is Greek-inspired and my syrup is more Middle Eastern.

Cucumber freezes really well

and you get, almost a sort of an intensity of taste.

It's just a really nice, refreshing flavour.

You have had 30 minutes.

I don't want to frighten you, but you only have an hour left.

Ooo, I got a hit of lavender then.

Rekha's first layer is frozen.

She still has two more to do.

Is this a particularly superfast freezer here?

We have got a blast chiller, yes, to help her.

So, how quickly does it work?

This has frozen within 15 minutes, so I need to get...

-You need to go.

-Yeah.

-Go, go.

-Thank you.

Go, go, go! That looks amazing, doesn't it?

Imagine presenting those for your children. They'd think you were ...

-They would think we were goddesses.

-Mrs Christmas.

Goddesses of the lolly world.

With their lollies in the freezer,

it's time for the gardeners to start their syrups,

which are made with fruit, sugar and water,

to be either diluted, or poured over desserts.

Basically, it's just a normal, traditional strawberry syrup,

but to add a little bit of a twist,

I'm adding sage to give it a bit of a grown-up taste,

a bit of an earthy taste.

But also, I'm very keen on the fact that Thane has said

she wants everything grown from our plots.

Tony's syrup, intended to be enjoyed with ice cream,

is made with strawberries, basil, rose petals and lavender.

Strawberry on its own is probably a bit boring,

so I've tried to give it a bit of a perfume-y flavour,

but with a strawberry base.

Whereas Alan's, made with ginger and cucumber,

is a much more grown-up affair.

Basically, you get this lovely syrup, nice tumbler,

couple of pieces of ice, vodka, bit of water,

slice of lime on the side, some of this.

Brilliant!

Jo Jo's making a South-East Asian-inspired syrup

with lemongrass and basil.

Last time, I didn't put enough lemongrass in,

or I didn't cook it for long enough

and she didn't think it was fragrant enough.

So I'm hoping to learn from my mistakes.

Jo Jo's syrup sounds so interesting and very aromatic.

It does, but it does give me cause for concern

because she's cooking the basil for about 20 minutes.

I'm not sure the aroma of the basil is going to shine through.

So infuse for, what, a couple of minutes?

Four or five. Definitely not boiling it to...

-Pieces.

-..and back.

LAUGHTER

Gardeners, you've got 30 minutes left.

Where has that first hour gone?

(I was scared.

(I was really scared.)

I'm making a blackcurrant syrup.

Just cooked it down, making it into a pulp.

Get all the seeds out and I'll be using icing sugar to sweeten it.

I'm worried about Rekha's syrup.

A syrup, essentially, is sugar and water

-cooked together to give that syrupy consistency.

-Yes.

I think Rekha is making me a coulis.

What's the difference?

Coulis is a sieved fruit puree

sweetened, as she's doing, with icing sugar.

-So the texture of that is not going to be syrupy.

-Ah!

Gardeners, you're all doing very well,

but you have only five minutes left.

Five minutes.

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?

Fun, fun, fun!

I think that's about ready.

I'm not doing it any more because I'm just going to overdo that.

One of the dangers when making a syrup is overcooking the sugar,

which can result in an unpleasant burnt flavour.

It's all too easy for it to suddenly go from liquid to toffee.

So I'm constantly stirring it just to try and make sure

I don't miss the boat and end up with something

that's just that little bit too thick to come out the bottle.

I'm looking forward to getting my lips around those lollies.

I'm looking forward to seeing it.

60 seconds left. 60 seconds.

It's not got the flavour that I wanted.

I'm... I'm really disappointed.

I have just no idea how this is going to turn out.

Look at that, just enough.

That's it, gardeners, your time is up. Lena, are you OK?

Yeah. Just got to screw my little top on and I'm done.

-Stop.

-Phew!

To be awarded Best in Show, the frozen lolly

must have well-balanced, complementary flavours,

be a feast for the eyes, and be frozen all the way through.

The syrup should be bright in colour, clear

and not too thick or too runny.

It can be either diluted in a drink, or poured over desserts.

First to be judged is Jo Jo

with her Lemongrass and Basil Syrup and Strawberry Coconut Ice.

It's got a lovely, clear colour. I like that a lot.

And now we're just going to see about the consistency of the syrup.

The basil's a little bit smothered by the syrup.

Did you cook the basil for a long time?

I added it in at the same time as the lemongrass.

I think with basil, with soft herbs,

it's probably better to add them later and let them just infuse,

rather than to boil them.

Now, then, the lolly looks amazing!

I wonder if you might not have put some more fruit in.

When you taste something that's frozen,

your taste buds are numbed.

So you have to really boost the flavours up.

So always taste something and make it too strong

and then freeze it and it'll work.

Next is Sandra's Spiced Rhubarb and Orange Syrup

and Strawberries and Cream frozen lolly.

Oh, yes, that's nice and syrupy, isn't it?

-It's worked very well.

-Has it?

-I think it's refreshing, so well done.

-Oh!

Now, what about the lolly?

It's nicely defined. You've got the two layers beautifully.

The lavender comes through very well

and that's very, very good with the strawberry. I like that a lot.

Third, it's Alexandra, with her rose-flavoured Floral Summer Syrup

and Cool as a Cucumber Lolly.

A little strange. Um...

The rosewater isn't really coming through particularly well.

I'm tempted to say there's nothing wrong with it,

but there's not quite enough right with it.

It's just a little ordinary.

But now for this lolly!

Extraordinary-looking lolly.

I haven't had many green lollies in my life.

The cucumber texture, I do find a little odd.

There's quite a bit of cucumber in it,

but it's not, again, quite robust enough in flavour.

Rekha is next, with Currant Delight blackcurrant syrup

and her strawberry, peach and kiwi lolly, Stop and Go.

This is a lovely, thick mixture.

Did you boil sugar and water to make your syrup?

-No, I didn't.

-It's not a syrup, it's a coulis.

A syrup is made by boiling the sugar and the water

to get the syrupy consistency.

As a coulis, it was excellent.

-But as a syrup?

-The criteria said syrup.

-OK.

And this really is a thing of great beauty.

Mm!

Very, very nice.

Again, very, very well-balanced flavours.

And the kiwi's got some apple juice.

Apple juice in it, yes.

-This is an extremely well-made lolly.

-Thank you.

-I really, really like it.

-Thank you.

Alan's made Green Summer Days cucumber syrup

and Cricket in the Park strawberry lolly.

I think by boiling your syrup as much as you have,

the sugar is tasting a bit overcooked to me.

I'm having difficulty imagining it being that perfect drink

-that I was hoping it might be before I tasted it.

-Right.

Last week, Alan, you brought me cultivated mushrooms,

which you hadn't cultivated yourself.

-So, you grew all of this?

-I did.

-Good.

Very nice. I would say this was a good lolly.

Up next is Tony's strawberry, basil, rose and lavender Mad Dude's Syrup

and mint, strawberry and rhubarb Pop's Lollies.

You've kind of lost the rose and the basil.

I think you'll battle to get

a flavour of rose into a syrup like this

because you've got lavender, which is a big bully of a flavour.

"I'm over here," it waves.

Probably should make the strawberry syrup,

then infuse the others just at the end,

trying to capture the freshness of it.

Now, then, your lolly.

-OK?

-Oh!

Ooo!

I think you could tell that the texture is a little bit crystalline.

Did you use whole yoghurt?

It might have been a low fat. I can't remember, actually.

Oh! When you're going for texture, always go for full fat.

It's got potential, but I don't think this lolly's quite there yet.

Lena has produced BB Syrup with blueberries

and her strawberry and melon Keri Berry Lolly.

The blueberries taste very fresh, very clean, and I like that.

What sort of sugar did you use?

Golden caster sugar.

Golden sugar does have a more molasses flavour.

And I think if you're using it with fruit,

you do take the risk of it masking other flavours

because it's quite a big flavour.

Now, then, your lolly. Mm!

Mm! Mm. Very refreshing.

Um...the mint's coming through really well.

I think the strawberry flavour and the melon are a little light.

It's very refreshing, but I think it just needed a bit more of a boost.

Finally, Rob's Savoury Summer Syrup with strawberry and sage

and his strawberry, raspberry and redcurrant Shimmer Ball Lolly.

That's really nice.

I love the sage with the strawberries.

Something I haven't tried before.

Interesting, different, lovely texture.

-Very good syrup. Thank you.

-Thank you.

Now, your lolly.

Magic dust on my lolly, right.

As an item of fun, I think the shimmer dust is lovely.

I'm not sure I'm getting quite enough fruit from the lolly.

I think it could be a little bit sweeter,

but I can see your nephews and nieces would love something like that.

Perfect to lick on a hot summer's day.

Now Thane has tasted all the syrups and frozen lollies,

she must decide who's won her Best in Show.

First, I want to commend you all.

This is a much better challenge this week. Well done.

You listened to what I said, you went to your allotments

and you got your inspiration from there.

So very well done, all of you.

There was one, though, that stood out as having embraced the challenge

and brought me not only a delicious-tasting syrup,

but a really, really lovely lolly.

And so this week, my winner for Best in Show is...

..Sandra.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Oh, I'm really pleased. Thank you!

Well done! Very good, Sandra.

APPLAUSE

Well, thank you, gardeners,

and well done on completing your three challenges so successfully.

The hard work now goes to Jim and Jonathan and Thane,

as they have to decide who they're going to send home.

I cannot believe it.

I'm shell-shocked. Just so happy!

I'm sure now that I can hopefully go from strength to strength.

My mistake of interpreting a syrup to a coulis

has put me right down to elimination now.

I think I've pulled it back a little bit in the last challenge.

Whether I've done enough, I'm not sure.

I think the...you know, the disappointment with the rosewater

might be the last nail in my coffin.

Three challenges completed, but some people were wobbly.

Who is hanging in the balance for you, Jim?

Tony, I think, of all the contestants.

The cucumbers, really, were awful.

-And no larkspurs.

-No. Well, that's it.

And that bouquet, disaster.

I'm wondering about Alexandra. What do we think?

I've been a bit disappointed with Alexandra.

The food looks the part, but it hasn't actually inspired me.

The flavours aren't there.

The lolly looked interesting this week,

but I don't think interesting is the word I wanted to use.

I wanted to use delicious.

On the other hand, she brought two whoppers to the table.

-She did.

-I mean, they really were.

-We are talking about her cucumbers?

-Absolutely.

And at the end of the day, they just were a bit too big.

But she can produce something when she wants to.

What about Rekha?

She's one of a few who haven't won a Best in Show.

What's your opinion?

She hasn't actually dazzled us yet.

She's done quite good cooking for me in the Eat challenge,

but she got it completely wrong.

She made me a coulis, not a syrup.

-And not a flower grower. She really is not a flower grower.

-No. No.

I'm bit worried that she's not going to deliver on my flower challenges

-because she's not got the goods out there.

-Fair comment.

You've got to make the decision, and it's a tough one.

-It's tough.

-Always.

I know you've all bonded over your love of gardening

and it's horribly difficult to say goodbye to anybody,

but tonight, someone will leave.

The experts have thought long and hard about who that person is

and the person leaving today is...

I'm so sorry, it's Tony.

OK. OK, that's great.

I'm fine.

Tony! It's been fantastic.

-Yes. Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-It's all right.

Now the moment has come.

-You have to leave the garden.

-OK.

But thank you. Bye-bye, Tony. Bye.

-Bye, Tony.

-Bye.

I've had a great time. It's been a great adventure.

I have met some fantastic fellow gardeners.

It's a competition and, er...

I didn't do well enough and that's why I'm going.

Next time on the Big Allotment Challenge,

the gardeners will be judged on their peas...

I've never done this before.

How can you check for peas in a pod?

..lilies...

I'm trying to rack my brain, but I don't know what to do.

This foliage, it clashes.

Never thought I'd be saying that.

..and dips.

There's no balance to the flavours.

It doesn't work on any level.

Who will dig their way to victory

and be named the winner of the Big Allotment Challenge?