Its cold and Dark so i am having a bit of a whinge about grow your own

[zazen999]

Or donate to community gardens?

[binley100]

My old ones all went to the lottie to be kept in the hut for people to borrow .......

[scarletrunner]

Nice balanced reply scarletrunner out of personal curiosity where you say "while some articles become repetitive year after year",would they be articles that would be of use to new readers of the magazine ?

In a nutshell BB, Yes!

[bearded bloke]

In a nutshell BB, Yes!

Thought that would be the case,all magazine editors have to find a balance of info to print for established & new readers

[greenishfing]

For the last few years my sisters have paid for my subscription to GYO as a birthday present and usually in March they ask if I want to be renewed. Up to now I have always said yes but this year I'm thinking of not bothering because although it must be useful to beginners after a few years most of it is repetition and I can't really think of any way to change this.

[SarzWix]

Whilst this is going to sound like creeping, it's true that just recently I've found a new enthusiasm for the mag after barely skimming it for quite a few months. There are some things that are a bit repetitive, but now they seem to trying to look at how things are changing from the traditional in terms of a changing climate, and how that impacts, which is useful for everyone I think? And it's always nice to see Grapes in print, I'd miss that

[areia]

This year I swore id not buy too many mags 6 is my limit, as over the years ive learnt history repeats itself, in term of home mags. the best ones ( for me ) are over festive seasons Easter, Halloween and Christmas, for quirky ideas of things to make cook etc ,
Febs edition of GYO is my first.

My mother was an avid mag collector peoples friend, vouge, home and garden mags etc shes gradually sorting through 35 yrs worth of mags. donating some to paula carr and giving me all her festive ones, quite often you find same stuff different year

Will say I found GYO better last year than the other well known gardening mag,. But I dont think I will ever stop buying a mag................*canny take lappy to the bathroom * lol

[Feral007]

I find a lot of people are becoming more interested in organic things. And how some old things become new again, but with a twist sometimes. That is the sort of thing that I like. And also looking at how to make use of the things you grow, with healthy recipes and why some things are healthier than others.

But then those are my interests and so I'm always on the lookout. I get all the tips I need here tho, and it would be too expensive to get the mag over here.

[kathycam]

I guess the masgazine is like attending an evening class, the teacher has to set the work so that the beginners can do it and the regulars still find it interesting. Must be a bit of a challenge. I think the magazine is doing a good nod to more alternative ways of gardening, but may be good to see some more indepth stuff. Maybe they could do a full issue with an organic slant for example? And the seeds are usually a bit univentive but they're free and you can always swap them with someone? Some of the send of things they have are interesting such as the pinkberrys. I find it more frustrating that a magazine arrives in december telling me what I should be doing in february, think it would be better if it was more current, as the keen people get the magazine when its first out, and it would never be that out of date if you buy it a few weeks later.

[alldigging]

I've subscribed to several gardening magazines over the years and they all become a little repetitive,

The same is true of other subjects. I used to subscribe to a couple of computer magazines back in the late 90s and after 12 months there was a lot of repeating of topics.

[tigress60]

Ok let me see if i can get my frustration down on here probably not but her goes
Let me start with freebies and subscription first
I believe that for anybody that continues there subscription each year they should get a binder to keep their mags in free the same as anybody gets when first taking out the subscription.
The free seeds well lets be honest there is not alot of thought that goes into these are there ,maybe unique varities of tomatos chillis cabbage etc that are not so readily avalible to people who do not buy the magazine as i said earlier in my original post i have many packets of cayenne chilli seeds collecting dust,and money maker toms lol . yes you can give them away yes you can put them in seed swaps but this is what people are doing already
I like the magazine i find it intresting but like everything else i want to be grabbed and compelled to get the next issue which i find its not doing .More infomation that i can put into use as well raised beds fantastic idea but you have to be able to afford the timber in the first place after all this is one of the reasons that we grow our own to make savings not just an exvuse to go buy the latest gadget
The promotion of high priced products that seem to get glowing reviews maybe lets find the cheaper product that does eaxctly the same job just as well

Well there is a start i am am sure the more i think about it i will find many more things to chuck in the mix

[kathycam]

The promotion/ advertisement of expensive items is income for the magazine and probably brings down the cover price. I'm sure its useful to some people and often they show you how to make things. But don't forget it's a business and its about making money! Though more articles on recycling and resuing stuff and making your own, would def be a good thing.

[bearded bloke]

Thanks for coming back with a well structured response tigress & to everybody else that has thus far contributed to this thread,while I have absolutely nothing to do with the magazine or the forums (beyond being a normal member) it is my honest opinion that the editors & staff will appreciate some honest feedback in the form of constructive criticism & pointers from subscribers of the type of content they would like to see in future issues.

[ancee]

Reusing stuff is a good idea and back to basics is good too. We've all probably been growing stuff for years but how about a 'Did you know?' section... You may have been doing something the same way for years but isn't it interesting when someone comes round and says 'Oh, I do this...' and show's you a way of doing something that you've never thought of! I loved Gardeners World when Alice showed you a new way of doing something (probably not new to her mind!) we don't all come from long lines of gardeners and/or cooks. I've had to make a lot of stuff up for myself or muddle through with both gardening and using what I've grown to cook with and I have a bad memory at times so a little repetition is good! Sometimes I also wish there was a little box explaining what some more obscure words mean! If you've gardened for years you'll use a word like 'chitting' in everyday conversation - I had NO IDEA what that was! I'd been doing it but I didn't know there was a word for it! Chitting ha!

[bearded bloke]

I should probably add that being an old git who was made redundant (without payout) some years ago,money can be a bit tight at times so I only buy GYO magazine as & when funds allow,so I see very few repetitive items ,hence my curiosity.

From my point of view there is some great stuff coming from the postings here & I am enjoying the positive side of it & I would guess that the Admin/Editorial team/s will also be taking notes