Tuesday 22 April 2008

Which mag do you read ? 22.04.08

As an occasional buyer of Gardening Magazines, I often stand in the newsagents and browse the titles on offer.
My most recent purchase ( pictured ) was; I have to say, a little disappointing.
I don't buy this too often - mainly because the content can easily be found on line, but the lure of "Free" seeds is sometimes hard to resist!
However, aside from a couple of useful articles ( composting / hanging baskets for veggies) I found the mag to be a tad boring. Approx 75 pages of adverts is not my idea of a good read. If I ever go to China to source some fresh seeds then the relevant article may well be of some use ! In the past I have read various titles - "Amateur Gardening" & "Grow your own" are 2 that spring to mind, but there are too many to list. The worst thing is that they are all lacking in fresh articles relating to my own gardening exploits. Even when you do find something useful, chances are that the same content was printed in the same mag 12 months earlier. The upshot of all this is simple : Stop buying the mags in the first place. After all, I have now amassed a collection of "Free Seeds" and the chances are that I wont get round to growing them!

Think I will stick to using the pc, and regularly checking on the blogs of fellow gardeners, which is a great way to learn and share information.

On a recent visit to the Gardeners World Website, I entered my details in the "BBC GW Seed Trials" slot, expecting to hear no more. How surprised i was then to receive a few weeks later my confirmed entry in the seed trials together with - yup you guessed it - "Free seeds" ! I opted to try the Sunflower Seed trial as I have a plentiful supply of toms on the go already. I'll keep you posted on this, I'm hoping for some good results.

TTFN

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