Episode 3 The Big Allotment Challenge

Whether it's beautiful cut flowers or delicious fruit and vegetables,

we Brits love to grow our own.

In early spring, we gave these nine passionate amateur gardeners

a plot of land and a greenhouse, in our Oxfordshire walled garden.

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

For 14 weeks they've been raking,

staking and cultivating their patches.

Oh, get on with it. Come on, open for Mummy.

And last week they faced the experts for the second time.

There's no flowers on there, so it's really not met that criteria.

Rob reigns supreme in Jim's Grow challenge.

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

-Thank you.

In Make, Alan impressed Jonathan.

You presented me with a huge bunch of larkspur.

And finally, in the Eat challenge Thane was wowed by Sandra.

The lavender comes through very well and that's very,

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

But Tony failed to shine.

-We needed to thin out, give these spikes a chance to flower.

-Yeah.

Sadly, it's not happened.

..and left the allotment for good.

This week, it's peas...

Can't possibly have a kinky pea. If I've spotted that,

Jim certainly will.

..floral candelabras containing lilies...

This foliage, it clashes. Look. I never thought I'd be saying that.

Clashing foliage, hah!

..and dips and crisps.

Essentially, it's not very nice.

Oh, again!

Who will impress the experts?

I can't say any more than that's a lovely, lovely pea.

And whose time in the competition is up?

Sadly that candelabra this week, oh, it was a disaster.

Welcome back to The Big Allotment Challenge.

We're almost halfway through our competition

and our hardworking gardeners are starting to feel the pressure.

Well, I mean, it was great to get Best In Show last week,

but I do need a bit of joy from the Grow bench this week,

cos I'm a grower, that's where I really want to do well.

I would love a Best In Show.

I think only Rekha and I have yet to achieve that.

My strategy is to stay calm and focused.

I don't think I have showed me yet, I think me is still to come.

-Good morning, gardeners.

-ALL: Good morning.

Your first challenge today is Grow,

which, of course, is overseen by Jim Buttress. And today, Jim

would like you to present five large pods of peas, grown from seed.

Simple. Get picking.

The reason why I've set the gardeners this challenge

of growing peas is because they do take a lot of looking after,

right from the word go. The gardeners at this stage now,

they've really got to produce the best for me to judge.

Here's Jim's guide to growing perfect peas.

Peas can be grown from seed in just 12 weeks.

Sow your seeds in well manured ground to help retain moisture.

You want to make a trench about five centimetres deep

and then place the peas throughout the trench.

Cover the peas over and water them carefully.

Peas are vigorous growers and like plenty to drink.

As soon as the shoots start to come through, you've got to

support them with sticks or canes and tie the peas off to

encourage them to climb, and don't forget to cover them with netting

or chicken wire to stop Mr Mouse and Mr Pheasant from getting at them.

Pests like peas as much as we do.

The peas are ready to be picked and eaten as soon as the pods

feel full and are bright and shiny in colour.

14 weeks ago, the gardeners' first decision was whether to sow

their peas in pots or straight into the ground.

Very sweet and full of flavour, this is one of my peas,

it's called Panthers.

They call it an orphan seed. Basically, they're really, really

rare and they are so many people in country called seed guardians.

You can eat a few of them, but the main objective is to grow them,

let them go to seed and send them back.

I'm rubbish with peas! I really am rubbish with peas.

Last year was my best year and I got about...

SHE LAUGHS

I didn't even get a cup of peas!

A couple of weeks in and Jo Jo and Alan employ a growing method

they hope will lead them to victory.

I kind of did some research and it said the best way to grow

show peas is to use this kind of cordon method or something.

They'll grow to eight foot, seems like, really tall.

Apparently this is how you get your Kate Moss peas,

as opposed to your sort of dinner table peas.

Focuses all the plant's effort into producing a few good ones

rather than lots of, you know, a whole pan full if you like.

Oh, yeah, maybe Alan is doing them like this, maybe.

I don't know.

Maybe I should go and ask him...

-LAUGHING:

-..if he's got any tips.

But Alan probably won't tell me.

Nine weeks to go and all the other gardeners work on supporting

their young plants.

My little structure is just to support the peas,

they're support to grow about a metre, just over a metre tall.

Oh, she's got all the twigs, that's so cool! Look at that.

These are silver birch, the things that you make witches' brooms out of.

This is what they would have probably used

back in the old days, wouldn't they?

You look like a little gnome stood on your little things!

HE LAUGHS

To increase their chances of a good crop on show day,

the gardeners sow their peas successionally in small

batches and Rob is using some old family secrets to help him.

It's a little book from my grandad, from years ago.

When he died, my mum just gave it to me.

It's quite nice to actually do something the same way

he used to do it as well.

I'm using my little spoon

because it's easier to get into all these sticks.

Put the sticks in before and then I'm putting the peas after,

cos I don't want to damage the roots of the peas.

It's a brilliant job, I love this job. I love creating this.

Halfway into the grow and the gardeners are in for an

unpleasant surprise.

I have just come to inspect my pea enclosure

and it looks as through we've had raiders in the night.

The finger of suspicion is pointing firmly at the little

feathery chap, who has been seen in the vicinity.

Bother!

All my peas have been beheaded,

by something which I'm not quite sure what it is.

Pea-gate, I think the pheasant's had my peas.

He needs to go in a pie.

PHEASANT CLUCKS

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

The only thing I can do really is plant some of my second

batch in their place and then erect some sort of pea Fort Knox.

As the week wears on, it's not just the pheasant who's under

suspicion, other suspects are at large too.

That slug has eaten those two peas.

I tell you, there's a war going on now, that is it.

But while I'm here,

I've got some little sacrificial lambs here to put next to my peas.

These nasturtiums are to give the slug something to eat,

rather than eating my peas. I want them to eat these.

I found some aphids on my peas.

I read that if you just get some banana peel and bury it, just

at the base of the plant, it will actually scare all the aphids away.

It adds nitrogen to the soil as well, so it's like a double-whammy.

You know, scare the aphids away, add some nitrogen to the soil.

Oh, and there's a third one as well, it's feeds me, which is quite good.

With attacks coming from all sides, the defences continue to go up.

It is beginning to look somewhat crime scene investigates, isn't it?

When they move in the wind they make a noise

and that scares the pigeons away, or any birds away.

I have tried to cobble something together to put off rabbits/mice

from coming in this way, birds from coming in this way and the

pheasant from coming in whichever way it is that he comes in.

So hopefully this will deter most of them.

The best news for me right now would be that the

seedlings in my greenhouse are doing really, really well and that,

I know it sounds terribly mean, but everybody else's have been

absolutely stuffed down the gullets of hungry mice.

Because, at this moment in time, I'm behind.

With the weeks quickly counting down to show day, Jo Jo and Alan

continue to use the cordon method, training their peas up the

canes to concentrate growth.

You have to actually just snip off all these side shoots

and the tendrils and things

so that the plant can focus on its main stem, which is this one here.

And so, that way, it will just keep growing upwards like this.

Hey, Alan, how's the whole pea thing going?

Better than it was last week.

-Do they look better than yours so far or not?

-Um...

Don't depress me, please.

I don't know! I mean, mine look probably more like this these,

to be honest, because they're bigger, aren't they?

So neat and tidy, my God.

Seriously, you should come over to my shanty town.

Tell me where I'm allowed to walk.

-Oh, you can walk anywhere.

-SHE LAUGHS

Oh come on, those looks great.

Gosh, the plants do look different, that variety.

Oh brilliant, I'm looking forward to this then,

so we're the competitors in the cordon pea competition.

We are? Got to get there first.

With only a month left to go,

the armoury of pest defence appears to be paying off.

So they've come on so much in just ten days.

They are two weeks behind.

That's a good sign then, that was well worked out.

I think that's going to be good.

I've spotted some of my competitors' peas in full bloom, which is

too early for the competition, which is fantastic.

It's bad for them but Jo Jo should be my big competitor in the pea stakes,

but hers are definitely in full bloom at the moment,

so she may not end up the result that she wants.

I think I'm going the extra mile with my peas

because I really want to win the pea challenge, and I think this

will just give me some peas that are going to differentiate themselves

from everyone else's and maybe maximise my chances of winning.

I don't know.

With show day in less than a fortnight, there's little more

the gardeners can do other than maintain their crop.

I'm so ecstatic that I've actually got peas

because I'm going to be able to show Jim that I've actually

managed to grow them, because peas have always been my nemesis, always.

They need to be dead straight,

they need to have ten-plus peas in them, they need to be absolutely

the right level of maturity, so it is a bit of a quantity game.

After 14 weeks of trial and error, it's judgment day.

No, not looking great, they're all over, I'd say these are.

-Morning, Jo Jo.

-Hi.

-How we doing?

I'm just counting peas at the moment in the pods.

-Really?

-It's a hard job.

How do you do that?

Hold it up to the sunshine, do you, and you can see?

-Oh, sorry, this is a show bench one, is it?

-Right.

-Oh, I see!

-See them?

That one's a big smaller, so I've just got to get one, two,

three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

So I've got to get five out of nine.

With their peas picked, it's time to prepare them for the show bench.

I've never done this before. How can you check for peas in a pod?

Can't possibly have a kinky pea. If I've spotted that,

Jim certainly will. Reject.

The gardeners have to present five pea pods, clear of blemishes

and filled with the correct number of peas appropriate to the variety.

Uniformity of pods is essential for the show bench as it demonstrates

the gardeners have been consistent with their growing methods.

Gardeners, no more picking, bring your peas to the show bench.

Right, it's time to find out what Jim thinks of your peas.

Rob, you're first up, come and join us.

Panthers, another heritage variety?

-Yes, another heritage variety.

-You're very keen on that.

-Yeah.

Now comes the big test, because this variety should have at least

nine uniform peas in it.

And I can count one, two, three, four, five, six.

And yes, seven, eight. But you can barely see them.

The test that I saw a lot of you do, and there's nothing wrong,

is to hold the pea up to the light and then you could have counted.

And why did I pick that one?

Because I reckon some of these others have got nine in.

Oh.

Look out, gardeners. Jim's on it today.

Well, I can't argue, you've got the uniformity.

I'd like to see them that bit bigger.

We're looking at at least nine peas.

There was a little pop, so that's good.

Five, six, seven, and the little baby still to develop.

If the show was in two weeks' time, you don't want to hear this, do you?

-No.

-They'd be a lot fatter and I wouldn't be saying hard luck,

but that's showing.

Hurst Green Shaft.

Pop tells you it's ready to come out.

Well, we had to really squeeze on this one,

and this is slightly immature.

They've really got to excite me.

I must be a sad person if a pea's going to excite me, but never mind.

I wasn't going to say it.

But this one doesn't. It's very, very immature.

This is a much more mature pea,

more like I'd expect from that particular variety.

So the same variety as Alexandra's, but this time

grown by the cordon method, and you can see the difference.

They're a nice, long, even-shaped pea.

Phew, obviously you know your peas.

There's nothing wrong with that lot at all.

-You've taken up the challenge, mate, well done.

-Thank you.

Ambassador, and although it's not very kind on Rekha, you look at the

comparison and this is looking more like the Ambassador we want to see.

Now, yeah, they're still a little bit small,

but they're a nice uniformity, that's the important thing.

Showing is all about how you present. Give it all the kindness

and love that you can, even down to how you present the stalks.

So, no problem with that, there's enough in there.

So you can grow peas.

It is a heavy cropper, but it is a dwarf variety,

so you're not going to expect to see it too long. They're even shaped.

They look all right. And because these are immature,

this is very thin, and should have six to eight peas in the pod.

Three, six. Pity is, they weren't a big bigger.

Show Perfection is a variety that a lot of people

use for exhibition purposes, why do they pick it?

Look what it's done.

Lovely, long pea.

And the cordon method...

it takes a lot of doing, and for you it was a brave thing to do

because you've never ever done it before, have you?

-No, never.

-No, exactly.

We should be expecting to see in Show Perfection up to ten peas.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Yay!

You've done your homework.

I can't say any more than that's a lovely, lovely pea.

Well done, everybody. You've produced some very pleasing peas.

Now, Jim, you have to award your Best In Show.

Alan's and Jo Jo's particularly caught my eye

because both of them had used the cordon method, which is

a very tried and safe way, if you could say that, of growing show peas.

Now the biggest question is,

which one am I going to cordon off as Best In Show?

That's two you've won now, Jo Jo, well done.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I'm happy for Alan that he had good peas,

-but I'm probably happier that I won.

-SHE LAUGHS

I did win, right?

I did, sorry, there's just so much in my head right now.

Those Show Perfection peas that Jo Jo put on the bench looked

fantastic, so yeah, of course she deserved the prize.

Of course I'm really frustrated that I didn't grow Show Perfection peas,

but you live and learn, you know.

I don't think I'm at the bottom after Grow, but I'm nowhere near

the top either, so I think I really need to do well and impress Jonathan

this afternoon if I'm to try to inch my way up the league table a bit.

Only two challenges remain before the experts must decide who

will be leaving the allotment.

In this next challenge, gardeners will be judged not only on

how they grow flowers, but what they can make with them.

Now we're onto our second challenge, which is Make.

As always, it's overseen by our floral expert, Jonathan.

As you know, you need to provide us with two perfect stems of lily

which Jonathan will look at and judge.

What you don't know is what he wants you to make with them.

Well, prepare yourselves.

Today, using lilies, he wants you to make

a beautiful floral candelabra.

What I'm looking for today is two perfect spikes of lily,

with stems strong enough to support those large, heavy flowers.

For the candelabra, it needs to showcase those wonderful lilies

and for the first time in the competition I'm going to be

asking you to work into floral foam. So good luck with this challenge.

You have only 45 minutes to complete this challenge.

GROANING

So if that's all understood, jolly good luck, get picking.

Here's Jonathan's guide to growing the perfect lily.

Lilies can be tricky to grow,

so to ensure you're off to a good start

buy your bulbs from a respected grower.

The lily is the diva of the flower world.

Plant them in a large pot with a hole at the base for good drainage.

Add a layer of sand and place bulbs on top, tip pointing upwards

and cover them with a good compost.

Water them in and keep them moist but not wet.

Otherwise, the lily bulb will drown.

Once they are growing well, feed every two weeks with a potash-rich

fertiliser, like tomato food and don't forget to stake them.

That's the easy bit done, but if you don't keep a close eye

on those lily bulbs, they're going to flower too soon or too late.

You can control this by moving the pots in and out of the light.

This will help promote or delay flowering, something you

couldn't do if you planted the bulbs in the open ground.

Lily beetles can wipe out entire plants in just a few days.

These orangey-red beetles leave small, round holes on buds

and foliage and if spotted, must be removed immediately.

14 weeks ago,

the first job for the gardeners was planting their lily bulbs.

I've got some gorgeous bulbs.

I'm really excited cos I've had nothing like them before

and they are absolutely fabulous.

Oh, my goodness me! Look at that.

That is so firm. It's rock hard. It's fantastic.

Oh, dear.

I think a couple of my bulbs have gone a bit mouldy,

and it's because I left them in the bag.

I didn't open the bag up, I didn't plant them immediately,

and I think some of the moisture's got in the bag.

The Lilium Broken Heart.

That'll be me on show day when they don't come up properly.

Or that'll be Jonathan when he thinks, oh, they're fantastic.

With just under three months to go,

the lilies are starting to surface

and so too is the question of timing for show day.

Trying to grow to a certain date is just really tricky

because you don't know what's going to happen.

Are you going to have a flower?

It's all very precise, isn't it?

With pests a constant challenge around the plot,

Rob's hoping a touch of hot pepper will keep the slugs away.

Just putting cayenne round my lily,

burns their little bottoms, so to speak.

My lilies' ring of fire.

Nine weeks until show day,

and there's still no sign of Alan's lilies.

I've made a stupid schoolboy error with my lilies.

I've basically put them in pots that don't have holes in the bottom.

Of course, what I created was a bog garden, so they have gone rotten.

So Alan seeks the advice of neighbour Sandra,

who has her own cutting garden at home.

These are my lilies, which I dug out of my sumped pots.

-Right.

-And they've been in there for about four weeks.

Why haven't they grown at all?

Well, they're maybe too wet and cold.

-Because of the wet, sumped out pots?

-Yeah, with the water.

You're saying it's my fault? Oh, it is my fault!

Well, if the water can't get away and they're just going to

be in wet, damp conditions, they're not going to...

-Oh! My goodness me! They reek!

-HE LAUGHS

Pooh! Let me smell that one.

He's not as clever as he... First impressions make you think,

"Oh, God, he's really sorted,"

but putting lilies in a pot without holes, you know...

..that's easy to make a mistake,

so I'm pleased to know that he makes mistakes like me.

-But I still want to win.

-SHE LAUGHS

SHE GASPS

Something has been eating my lilies!

I can see something's eaten... Had a little bite at the plant,

you can see. Sorry, you're going to have to go, mister. Lena, dear?

-Yeah?

-I've just had bugs on my lilies.

-Bugs?

-Yeah, red ones.

-OK.

So, please check yours because they were just there.

-OK, lovey. Thank you very much.

-Make sure, make sure.

-Great.

-They've actually eaten some of the leaves, so be careful.

-They've had a right good old weekend.

-Yeah, they have.

Squash them! Got to be brutal.

Got to be brutal.

With just over a month until show day,

Rob and Sandra are comparing their lilies.

Sandra's look brilliant, but I've always said Sandra's going to be

definitely the one to watch for flowers.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

I'd say, from out of everyone's, hers look the best at the minute.

Sandra's lilies might be doing well but there's still a while to go yet.

Lilies flower when they feel like it

and when they're done, they're done,

so you've only really got kind of one shot at it.

I've got lilies that never came up.

I've got lilies that are experiencing

some kind of stunted growth here.

I've got lilies that are way, way, way advanced of the schedule,

and they're started to bloom and we've got like 41 days to go.

Do you know, they must get

so much heat here that they've just decided to come through.

I'm just hoping they slow down, just slow down.

Slow down! Just, you know...

chill for a bit, I don't know.

Oh, get on with it. Come on, open for Mummy.

I've got nice, big, healthy buds, I just need them to open up now..

I think I can win the lilies.

I think I can win the lilies if they're open

because of the variety I've got,

unless flipping Rob pulls a flipping blinder, or somebody else.

That is, by any shadow of a doubt, the best lily I've ever grown.

But it's three weeks earlier. Can't I show them?

Can't I show them my fantastic lily that I've had to chop?

Everyone's having a problem with the timing.

Less than a week until the lilies are on the bench, some of the

gardeners decide there's nothing more they can do.

They need to be a lot more pampered than other flowers.

It is a fussy flower. It has put me in a dangerous position,

yes, it has, but...

..it is what it is.

Having planted his lilies in pots, Rob can easily move them in

and out of the shade to promote flowering.

They're getting shaded by the tomatoes,

so they're coming out in the day and in at night.

Come on, babies. Morning, Jo Jo. Are you all right?

I just walked past Sandra's lilies...

SHE SIGHS

..it's going to be hard to beat those.

They look like they've just come out of the florist's shop.

We are in desperate times right now.

After 14 weeks of hard work, it's finally time for the gardeners

to select their very best lilies.

My lilies are looking lovely, and they'd look even

better in about four or five days, when they'd actually opened up.

This is not great but this is all I have.

They will also need a selection of other flowers and foliage for

their candelabra.

Does smell slightly cabbage-y, but it's also quite striking.

Gardeners, you've brought some lovely material in,

there's some beautiful blooms here.

Jonathan, last minute advice for the terrors of a floral candelabra?

Well, gardeners, what I want you to do first is cut the floral foam,

shape it and firmly attach it to the top of the candelabra.

You need to soak that foam thoroughly before you begin.

And to finish, I don't want to see any of that foam visible.

Is that clear?

Good luck.

Clear as day.

You have 45 minutes and your time starts now.

Good luck, everybody.

The first job for the gardeners is to choose their two best lily

stems for Jonathan to judge.

That's my Landini, which is...

..that's your lot.

So, I'm just trying to make sure I brush off any loose pollen

cos Jonathan's eagle eyes will, I'm sure, detect it.

Stems selected, it's onto the candelabra,

a floral arrangement used commonly at weddings

and other special occasions.

This is the most difficult challenge

that any of the judges have set so far.

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

but I don't know what to do.

It's quite tough if you're not familiar with floral foam,

and the first thing they need to do is soak it properly.

Put some flower food in the water

and then it's packed full of all those nutrients and goodness.

-Keeps your flowers going a lot longer, then.

-Nice one, good tip.

I'm just trying to measure up this floral foam

to...erm, make sure it's all secure.

Well, I'm trying to just sort of create a kind of a tight ball shape.

This has got potential for disaster.

The floral foam must be tightly secured with floristry pot tape,

which remains sticky even when wet.

Erm...

Oh! Ain't got a clue.

I'm just trying to make basically, the shape of the candelabra

with the foam so that I can put it around the top.

Well, I'm just trying to do it up here.

You have had 15 minutes already.

Foliage is added evenly all the way around to create shape.

Too much on one side would cause the arrangement to topple over.

I'm just trying to make sure that I cover all the floral foam,

but that it's not too tight a ball.

Stems should be cut at 45 degrees to make them easier to insert

into the foam and give a greater surface area for absorbing water.

Jonathan, I reckon this is hardest challenge you've ever set.

It's hard for them to interpret.

Look at Rekha, she's really struggling.

Yeah, it's a tough one this week, Fern.

These candelabras are quite a challenge

and Rekha's not really listened to what I told her.

I thought it was supposed to be on the top?

Rekha's isn't, is it?

I don't know how I'm doing. I'm just doing something I think

I should do. I'm not sure what I'm doing here.

I've just not listened to the instructions.

Almost 25 minutes into the challenge,

Rekha decides to take drastic action.

I'm starting again, I'm definitely starting again.

The other gardeners add flowers to bulk out their arrangement.

I decided to put some roses in because roses and lilies,

you always see them together, so I thought they'd be quite nice.

Then finally, it's time to add the main feature, the lilies.

I thought maybe if I just put one more lily in there it might

look quite good, but I could be wrong, you know?

SHE LAUGHS

I don't know until I try it.

Yeah, I could be wrong, you never know.

It looks all right actually, doesn't it? It's not too bad.

I'm trying to keep the colours simple. I don't...

I've tried a few different pinks and they just look awful, so...

Gardeners, five minutes left. Five minutes.

This foliage, it clashes. Look.

Never thought I'd be saying that.

Clashing foliage, ha!

With only minutes left, Rekha's candelabra arrangement...

-Oh, gosh!

-..takes a nosedive.

Here we go. It's just fallen.

I think it got too heavy and it's just fallen,

so I'm not even going to touch it now. I'm just going to leave it.

I'm just whacking things in floral foam at the moment.

I had a sort of an idea and I've just run out of time.

Gardeners, your time is up.

Stop working right now

and step away from the candelabras.

You can't do any more.

For the candelabra, Jonathan wants to see an arrangement that looks

good from all angles, has well secured but disguised floral foam

and lilies as the dominant feature.

The two specimen lilies should have strong stems, intact stamens

with no sign of pollen on the petals

and foliage which is clear of pest damage.

First to be judged is Alan.

Lovely, wonderful rich colour, but sadly, there is damage.

Are there any in your floral...?

Well, there are, but in quite a immature state.

On the positive, you've got quite a balanced shape to this

candelabra. Kale's an interesting choice.

And had the lilies been open, that fragrance would have counteracted

that horrendous, offensive smell of the kale,

which would start to deteriorate throughout the dinner party

or the wedding or the celebration that this candelabra was for.

I am a bit disappointed that this second spike of lily

wasn't comparable to this one.

Two fairly interesting spikes of lily here,

sadly, still tightly in bud.

Lilies, they like damp at the feet, they like sun on the heads.

What about the candelabra?

Actually, you've created a very romantic, very soft,

very sort of rhythmic design.

We've got some of the sweet pea, some of the saponaria there,

the English gypsophila, and we've also got this rather nice

tail of amaranthus, just cascading down there.

That's a wonderful thing to use in a candelabra,

and this, as a design, is a very pleasing piece of work. Well done.

So, again quite immature.

Sadly, they're not very dynamic in length,

so maybe not the best attempt.

And in the design,

the movement from the candelabra is to flow,

I'd be very tempted to pull all that out

and it would actually make the design a better shape.

Wonderful big heads on this lily.

There's wonderful fresh pollen on those stamens

and there's no marking, there's no blemishing around the flower.

It's a very pretty, very delicate,

very feminine candelabra design, and you've put in this wonderful

feathery foliage, fennel in this case.

So, nice and aromatic, lily fragrance and sweet pea, and lavender.

So, it's a feast for the senses.

Where shall I start?

Sadly, it's a great example of what you don't want to see on the show

bench, but you've brought a lily and this little interesting number.

It's got its own interpretation of movement, this.

-Yes!

-SHE LAUGHS

-Gravity took control, didn't it?

-Oh, yes, it did.

It's an interesting colour harmony,

and there is a colour harmony there. Let's have a positive.

And I like the reflection of the flame on the candle to the marigold.

-That was the whole point of this.

-That's why that design happened.

-That was the whole motivation behind that, Rekha.

-It was.

-Pretty colour on here.

-It's beautiful.

And when you're judging a lily, you're looking at the intensity

of the colour, but this first flower is starting to deteriorate.

Looking at this, there's only one spike, I did want two.

That's all I had. That's all I had.

So, I'm guessing there's none in here,

but as I look in this colour harmony,

there is, and it's almost camouflaged. Can you spot them, Fern?

Oh, the spotted ones!

-The little speckle one, it's flore pleno, isn't it?

-That's correct.

And the nice thing about the tiger lilies are the specks

on the petals, and that gives is that almost

chameleon-like effect as it blends into this other colour harmony.

Great big cups of blooms, it's what we imagine a lily to be.

You've done your lily research because you bought good strong bulbs.

-You went for the best...

-Yes, I did.

-..and they have rewarded you.

And then, the candelabra,

and you've allowed these beautiful lilies again to show themselves off.

I love the subtle touches.

You've used some hydrangea foliage

and then we've got the wonderful, deep, rich purple of that cornflower.

It's a very classic design, quite a safe design, I have to say,

but well executed. Thank you.

With just one Best In Show up for grabs, Jonathan will be

taking into consideration both the cut flowers and candelabra.

So, today we've learned that lilies are very tricky.

-They are.

-Yeah. So, Jonathan, you have to decide now

who is your Best In Show.

Well, gardeners, lilies have made an appearance at different

levels of vigour,

but Sandra, your lilies,

they're absolutely classical blooms.

And the candelabra may be safe,

but it's perfection in its execution.

That it why you are my Best In Show.

EVERYONE CHEERS

Well done, everybody. That is two challenges ticked off today.

Your third and final one is tomorrow

and, of course, it is Thane's Eat challenge.

Off you go, good night.

It's fantastic to win Best In Show because if I hadn't won it,

I'd have gone home crying. I really, really would have.

That was really painful. Into the last minute the foam just fell

and I hadn't secured it, that's what I was.

I stand right at the bottom in the listings, I can see that.

I feel this afternoon's Make challenge has sort of pulled me

up a little bit, and I'm safer than I was after Grow this morning,

but I think there's a very real danger

that it could be me going home.

It's day two and the gardeners have one more challenge left to

face before the experts decide which one of them will leave the

allotment for good.

I don't think it's sunk in yet about yesterday, doing

so well yesterday, but no, you're only as good as your last thing.

Yesterday wasn't a good challenge for me,

but my Eat challenge, I think I can pull something off.

I will try my hardest and I will go out fighting.

I think I might be at risk of going home today.

My peas weren't great, my flower arrangement was only just

come through, but I've got to do the best I can do.

-Good morning, gardeners.

-ALL: Morning.

It's time for the Eat challenge,

and this is your last chance to impress our experts because in a few

short hours, they will be deciding who is next to leave the garden.

Now, our Eat challenge, of course, is presided over by Thane,

and this week, she wants you to present dips and crisps.

You must each present two dips,

one of which must be made from the pea variety that you

presented to Jim yesterday in the Grow challenge. All understood?

Very good, go to your allotments and get everything you need.

Thank you.

I want to see two contrasting dips. Hopefully, one will be chunky

and one will be smooth, and I want crisp, crisp, crisps.

I want flavour, I want texture, I want it to be perfect.

Fresh dips and crisps are a great way of making immediate use

of a glut of produce.

I'm going to use beetroot, I'm going to some turnips.

Ingredients picked, the gardeners head into the greenhouse.

Gardeners, you have all your produce

and you will have 90 minutes to complete this challenge.

Good luck, and your clock starts now.

The gardeners start by preparing the key ingredient

for their first dip - peas.

I'm making a pea and mint dip, it's called Plotted Peas.

It's been made to use what I've got growing on the plot.

I've got coriander in it, mint, garlic, and it tastes great.

I am just shelling my peas for my Easy Peasy Guacamole.

It's something we have a lot at home

and we eat a lot of Mexican-inspired food, and we found that

substituting peas for avocados worked really well, actually.

Mine's called Easy Peasy Feta Cheesy.

It's a pea and mint dip, but it's mixed through with feta cheese

to give it that slight saltiness, but also the creaminess as well.

And then I wanted to put some of these purple podded ones in,

which are called Blauwschokker,

just because they're a little bit sweeter.

Look at that, that could have won on the show bench.

I'm making a pea houmous, but I'm just substituting the chickpea

with a pea. It's the texture I'm after as well, not just the taste.

I'm making a round pea dip.

Now, I've lost one! He's an escapee!

The gardeners blanch their peas quickly to ensure they're

only lightly cooked, so keeping them fresh tasting, perfect for dips.

What are you looking for in the perfecting pea dip?

Well, they grew prize-winning peas, so I want those peas to really

be the centre taste, but I also want them to make it more complex

by adding things that will enhance the flavour of peas, not hide it.

What is going into your dip?

I've decided to make a garden pea and watercress dip.

Where did you get watercress from?

I grew this in my greenhouse.

Excellent.

The next job is to blend their ingredients together.

Texture is key. Over-blending will turn a chunky dip into a sauce.

I'd like it to be relatively smooth, this,

because there's some quite strong flavours

and if they don't get mixed in properly

then it will be pretty disastrous.

The dip's going to be very fine.

I just want whenever somebody tastes it,

I'd like them to know what they're eating, not just mushed up pea.

How you doing, everybody?

Cos you've had half an hour, you've got an hour left.

My second dip is a crunchy pepper and tomato dip.

This is when you find out I don't make dips, and I don't think

I'll be making dips at home anymore after this either.

What I'm looking for is for them having gone to their allotment

and thought, "What have I got that's perfectly ripe

"that would make a tasty dip today?"

Beetroot, apple and whatever else I've got to put in it.

Right.

My second dip is called Mera Dip, 'mera' simply means mine.

I'm just putting spices in my dip.

When we've been for a late night and you've had a really nice kebab

with a really spicy sauce, I've tried

to figure out what's in that sauce.

And I hope I've got it right, but this is my version.

I am at risk of going,

but at least I'll go making something I like to make.

This is my caramelised onion and shallot houmous,

which is something that I do at home.

I would quite happily just eat caramelised onions out of a jar,

but that's frowned on, so if you add chickpeas, blend it and call

it houmous, that's perfectly acceptable and so that's what I do.

Rob is going for an unusual name and ingredient for his second

dip, Beta Rusticana.

Beta's the first bit of the name of beetroot in Latin.

People don't think it's a beetroot dip because it's

an orangey-yellow colour, rather than it being normal beetroot red.

Onions cooked, Alexandra adds a tin of chickpeas, while Alan is

going with ingredients he's grown.

This is Salsa with Shirley, my Shirley tomatoes.

Again, everything from the plot

bar lime juice and a bit of salt and pepper.

Because the tomatoes are so fresh there's quite

a lot of juice in there actually.

So it's going to be quite a loose salsa.

Now, gardeners, 30 minutes left.

Are your crisps starting?

Thing about a crisp is it's got to be crisp.

I want to be able to break it, snap it, and I don't want soggy crisps.

And how do you prepare it?

Slice them very thinly, get them as dry as possible and fry them,

very few at a time in your hot oil.

Whisk them out, put them onto some kitchen roll to drain,

little bit of salt and Bob's your uncle.

This is a Chioggia beetroot, which I thought would be rather pretty.

Aha! There we go.

I don't know about Best In Show at the moment,

I'm just concentrating on not taking my fingers off.

Are you about to do the mandolin?

In cooking circles, it is known as the finger slicer.

Just get a bit of rhythm going, I find it helps if I sway my hips.

THEY LAUGH

-That's right.

-Thane!

-The things you try and get me to do.

-Well!

Tell me what you're doing.

I've sliced my potatoes and rinsed them

to get most of the starch out. And I always remember, my grandma

used to soak them in vinegar overnight to flavour them,

but it also got more starch out she always said.

-Granny knows best.

-Yeah.

Next is the trickiest part of this challenge, the gardeners must

fry their crisps at the correct temperature.

Too hot and they'll burn, too cool and the crisps will be soggy.

And the way you tell if your oil is hot enough is take some white

bread, fresh white bread and try popping just a tiny bit on

the top of your oil. If it sinks to the bottom, the oil isn't hot enough,

if it skitters around the top, it's perfect and if it burns, well,

you're just going to have to switch off the heat and wait a few moments.

I've actually let my oil get too hot, so I'm now having to cool

it down, so I'm just going to pat off my beetroot slices.

It'll be fine, it'll be fine.

I think my oil was too hot because I noticed my crisps burnt a bit,

but maybe cos they were thinner.

And that's gone over. Right, OK.

You've got some time, shove some more in.

The turnip crisps are not what I expected, so ditch those

and carry on with the potato.

No idea if these are going to be done in time,

I'm just going to keep my eye on them,

but I'm really annoyed that I burnt the first ones.

They go from underdone to burnt to a frazzle in seconds,

and it's just a nightmare.

My crisps are like I'd hoped they'd be,

like a golden brown, just crispy, I tried one. They're quite nice.

I took my eye off them for a moment and they're burnt, so frick!

With only moments to go, Alexandra has no option but to slice

beetroot straight into the boiling oil.

Two minutes, gardeners, two minutes.

You've got to have it plated up, your dips in the bowls,

everything ready in two minutes.

Just made some salt just to kind of flavour the crisps a little bit.

I hope Thane wasn't looking for more than a mouthful,

cos she ain't going to get it.

They're not quite crisp enough, but anyway, it doesn't matter.

These are the good ones aren't they? I meant to put the bad ones

down the bottom.

One minute left, everybody, Just one minute!

That's it, gardeners, your time is up. Time is up.

Don't do anything more, Alexandra. Stop.

Well done.

To win Best In Show, the dips should be colourful and have an even

texture with well-balanced flavours.

The crisps should be crispy and carefully seasoned.

First up is Alexandra with her pea and asparagus guacamole,

caramelised onion houmous and beetroot crisps.

Now then, I'm going to use one of your chips.

They are a bit soggy, just a little bit soggy, I'm afraid.

And I think the reason that they weren't crisp was that I saw

you using the mandolin, putting them straight into the fat.

They weren't dried, they weren't allowed to lose any of their moisture

and when you do that, the temperature of the fat just plummets.

I've kind of lost the flavour of peas a little bit.

It's just slightly underwhelming, I'm afraid,

so I'm going to taste this one on a spoon to give it a fair deal.

I'm slightly disappointed that we've got a tin of chickpeas.

I thought that the onion shone sufficiently that the

chickpea was there really just to give it the texture.

Unfortunately, it's a chickpea houmous that tastes

beautifully of caramelised onion rather than a caramelised onion dip.

Next comes Rekha with her pea houmous, spicy mera dip and

potato crisps.

Crisp! Crisp crisps. Now then, is the consistency of the dip right?

Crunch too.

That's very nice. What I can taste is peas,

and that's what I wanted to taste. It's a pea dip.

Now then, another crisp.

-And there's chilli, sorry.

-Chilli?

-Yes.

Oh, yes, there's definitely some chilli. Really nice.

Sorry!

I know my eyes are streaming but I'm very fond of chilli.

But the reason I like it so much is you've got a really sweet

-and yet spicy flavour here. Very, very nicely done.

-Oh, thank you.

Third to face Thane is Lena, with her Round Pea and Leeny Beets

dips and Vegetable Delight crisps.

They're not totally crisp. It's a lovely colour, very pale

and a very smooth texture.

I'm not sure you've managed to really oomph up the flavour.

It doesn't taste of peas, and that's what I was looking for.

It's just a little bit mild.

I think a dip is something that should be 'nom-nom-nom', more-ish.

Something you really want to get those chips and keep going into.

This one has great potential, just lift it up a couple of notches

and do quite well.

Well done with some of your crisps,

but you should never be able to bend a crisp.

Jo Jo is next with garden pea and watercress, and spiced

beetroot dips, accompanied by salted potato and kumara crisps.

It's a little bit bendy. I can get some dip on my crisp.

It's looking a little fibrous here,

I'm wondering if that's the watercress.

It's really salty, so I've lost the peas and I've lost the watercress.

-And these were your prize-winning peas.

-I know!

I'm not going to say you've let them down, but what can I say?

I think I was trying to flavour it and I may have overdone.

That's much nicer because the sweet flavour of the beetroot works

quite well, but I'm wondering if perhaps there's just too much

salt on your crisps. What we've got here is quite a salty combination.

Sandra has gone for a minty pea and a crunchy pepper and tomato

dip with sea salt crisps.

I have to say that don't look very appetising.

You've got brown peas and brown pepper sauce.

I loved your technique of salting your crisps.

You put them in a bag and shook them and it kept them crisp.

-Essentially, it's not very nice.

-Oh, again!

The texture is very mealy.

Erm, there's way too much mint.

Right, another very crisp crisp.

You see that doesn't, I'm afraid, look very appetising, but...

-..dips aren't your thing, are they?

-No, I don't eat dips.

I don't make dips.

It doesn't work on any level.

Rob has made Easy Peasy Feta Cheesy dip and Beta Rusticana to go

with his veggie crisps.

The all-important... CRISP CRACKLES

Oh, yes! It is crispy, crispy, crispy.

Slightly more feta than I would like,

but I think the feta and the peas work very well together.

Now this one is your Beta Rusticana.

I like the idea of it more than I like the reality of it,

and good on the crisps.

And so well done to your granny.

Go back and ask her for the dips.

-HE LAUGHS

-OK, thank you.

Finally, it's Alan with his Plotted Pea dip, Salsa With Shirley

and subsurface quartet crisps.

Right and we've got lots of different sorts of crisps here,

some slightly bendy. Let's have a look at another one.

Some a little bit crisper.

Well, first of all, congratulations on using

so many things from your plot, but I wanted to taste the peas.

Right, so the next one.

I'm just imagining me in a very, very tense moment at the end

of the thriller, and this is all going to go down my shirt, isn't it?

It's a little non-descript because it's so wet.

They both need work. And your crisps...

-..bend. Thank you.

-Thank you.

Well done, gardeners. Now it's up to Thane to decide who is going

to win her Best In Show. Have you made your decision?

I have. I've tasted them all and considered it,

and in the end it came down to Rekha.

Oh, wow.

Oh, Rekha! Come on!

Well done. There you are, well done!

Well done indeed.

Now, the difficult job is to decide who is going home this week.

Would you all like to go to the allotment?

Experts, you must make the decision.

Well done.

It's good, it's a nice feeling.

It's a really nice feeling. At least I get to feel what it's like to

get Best In Show. It's nice, and I'm glad I got it for what I like to do.

-I got one!

-Little bit shellshocked after that judging.

I've always maintained a sort of a middle-ish ground,

where other people have very much peaked and dived,

so I just don't know how the judges are going to make their deliberation

in that respect.

That was very tense. That was quite a thing in there.

Deliberation time, Thane, who's worrying you?

Well, Alexandra. I didn't expect a tin of chickpeas.

The crisps were soggy, she panicked and I really didn't think her

Eat challenges...they've not been up to scratch for me.

Her candelabra did catch my eye, and she was one of the very few

people who could present open lilies to the show bench.

Jim, does Alexandra worry you?

-The peas yesterday were pretty poor.

-What do we think about Rekha?

Sadly, that candelabra this week, oh, it was a disaster.

But today she did fulfil your brief.

She was very, very good. She's a good cook, Rekha.

Lena has won one Eat challenge and today her dips,

they're not quite there.

Has she had a good week for you, Jim?

Unfortunately not, she only had nine peas to choose from.

It was a poor challenge.

Well, I'm going to retreat,

and I'll see you in the garden when you've made your decision.

Thank you, gardeners, for all your hard work over these last 14 weeks.

This is a competition,

and because of that we have to lose one of you.

I know that the experts have found this week's decision

very, very tough to make.

But they have made their decision,

and the person leaving the garden for good is...

..Alexandra.

I thought it was probably going to be me,

and the people left are all brilliant people,

brilliant gardeners. I think it's time for me to go.

Bye!

My initial response is to say,

"When I get some, I just want to tarmac the garden and never

"think about it again," but I'm sure that's temporary

and, in a few weeks, I will be back to my old self,

pottering around my greenhouse.

Next time on The Big Allotment Challenge, the gardeners will

be judged on their tomatoes...

They've grown so much, it's crazy, they're taking over the greenhouse.

..rudbeckia...

Next week, we'll be showing these. That's the plan, guys, come on.

That's the plan!

..and sweet and savoury jams.

I've never ever burnt bloody jam!

Who will dig their way to victory and be named the winner

of The Big Allotment Challenge?