Week 4

Unfortunately this week's update is both belated and brief, due to the madness of the "I'm a Scientist, get me out of here!" competition that I've been tied up in! Luckily I won, so it was all worth it... my sunflower might not agree. Thanks again to everyone who humiliated themselves contributed to this video, which has gone viral!

Here's the scores as they stood on Friday 24th June:

0	George/Karen
185	Shaun
225	Matt
230	Natalie
270	Lesley
300	Adam/Gemma
320	Justyna
410	Rob
415	Nick
420	Donald
420	Roman
420	Sunny
450	Caroline
450	Emma/Leoni
450	Willie
480	Eliza/Vic
490	Iain
490	Zara
570	Florence/Roger
610	Amy/Lyndsey
630	Eilidh/Louis

Week 3

I'm sorry to begin this week's update with the sad news that George and Karen's sunflower is no longer with us. One mourner has left a wreathe of daisies in its place. RIP.

Gone but not forgotten.

What else is new this week? Well, as predicted, many competitors have chosen to support their stray seedlings with a stick. It doesn't always work out though....

Rob might want to invest in some string.

In other news, Shaun Killen has returned from his jaunt in Japan (with an array of unusual and disturbing gifts). Will this homecoming spell a change for his (equally unusual-looking) plant? Meanwhile, a couple of competitors are going to new measures for that extra inch. Do sunflowers prefer tea or coffee? Maybe Eilidh/Louis and Emma/Leoni hold the answer!

A tea-rrific idea?

Since I neglected to set any rules at the start of the competition, the use of teabags etc. is acceptable. I would like to make it clear now, however, that fertilisers are strictly banned... so put that MiracleGro away!

Here's a run down of this week's scores (with the exception of Matt, who has taken his sunflower to the vet school... it's GK Vs Garscube now!):

George/Karen	0
Shaun	85
Lesley	174
Natalie	175
Adam/Gemma	195
Justyna	225
Rob	272
Zara	272
Roman	273
Iain	275
Caroline	278
Willie	280
Sunny	282
Nick	295
Donald	300
Emma/Leoni	319
Eliza/Vic	340
Florence/Roger	365
Amy/Lyndsey	405
Eilidh/Louis	445

Special thanks to Nick "the underdog" for his excellent photography.

Week 2

Greetings gardeners - can you believe it's the second week already?!

After a worrying start, I'm happy to report that both Shaun and Adam/Gemma's seeds have now germinated (although Shaun's leaves are somewhat decrepid). Congratulations, you're back in the game!

Left: Shaun's - a little on the runty side but hanging on. Right: Adam/Gemma's successful seedling

A few contestants have "twigged on" to the fact that their seedlings could do with a bit of extra support (see below).

Many people, however, are just letting nature run its course ....

Eilidh/Louis are still taking up the lead with Amy/Lyndsey not far behind. Things are more interesting further down the score board: Donald has jumped 6 places from 11th to 5th. It's been a disastrous week for Rob, who lost his position at 4th place to Florence/Roger and is now 9th in line to sunniest sunflower glory. Willie and George/Karen have also lost ground this week, with yours truly, Adam/Gemma and Justyna making gains. Times, they are a-changin!

Here's a run-down of this week's scores (in mm):

Shaun	40
Matt	58
Lesley	85
George/Karen	85
Adam/Gemma	102
Natalie	105
Zara	135
Justyna	150
Willie	160
Nick	170
Emma/Leoni	170
Caroline	172
Rob	174
Sunny	175
Iain	176
Roman	177
Donald	180
Florence	180
Eliza/Vic	191
Amy/Lyndsey	240
Eilidh/Louis	250

Week 1

Nine days after planting and the competition is well and truly on! Among the first to germinate were Eilidh Spence (who has now teamed up with Louis Kitchen... interesting move, Louis - do we have a glory-hunter on our hands?), Willie Yeomans and duos Florence McGarrity/Roger Downie and Amy Schwartz/Lyndsey Stewart. So far, there has been much variation in the degree of watering administered, with some (Caroline McGillivray?) choosing to flood their pots and others opting for the 'bone dry' or 'neglected' approach. Eilidh is currently in the lead, with her plant standing at an impressive 120 mm. Two seeds, in the hands of Adam Cross/Gemma Jennings and the notoriously competitive Shaun Killen, have yet to germinate. Is the competition over for them? We'll just have to wait and see(d).

Scores to date (numbers are plant height, in millimetres):

0	Adam/Gemma
0	Shaun
7	Matt
20	Zara
31	Justyna
34	Lesley
43	Natalie
55	George/Karen
62	Nick
65	Caroline
65	Donald
66	Emma/Leoni
68	Willie
75	Iain
75	Sunny
76	Eliza/Vic
80	Florence/Roger
83	Rob
85	Roman
105	Amy/Lyndsey
120	Eilidh/Louis