IT WAS was great to see the children at Highclare School in Sutton Coldfield get stuck in at the launch of their new allotment organised by online grow-your-own specialists Urban Allotments.
The firm aims to encourage and support city dwellers to grow their own veg, fruit and herbs in what ever space they have at home and whatever their gardening experience.
The Urban Allotments team helped to convert part of the playground of the school into an allotment by building four large plant bedding areas and supplying more than 30 varieties of plants from lettece to baby sweet corn.
Their online business supplies ready-grown baby plants and a range of planting containers to make growing your own easy and possible no matter what little space you have.
All the children had great fun getting their hands in the soil at the launch and learned a lot about plants and food. They even gave gardening writer and expert advisor to the project Bob Purnell a run for his money.
The allotment was officially opened at the school by Bob Purnell, author of the bestselling Crops in Pots, along with school head teacher Lin Jude.
Sarah Kent, pictured above, who designed the site for Urban Allotments, said: “Our message is that anyone can grow their own fruit, veg and herbs no matter how small a space they have at home, how little time they have or how little gardening knowledge they have.
“This is our first school project and shows just what can be done on what was a patch of concrete with a bit of expert help, it’s very exciting.
“Hopefully the children will have a lot of fun and get a real sense of achievement out of seeing their plants grow into food they can eat. They’ll learn valuable skills for life and hopefully get the grow your own bug.
"The children at Highclare have demonstrated that anybody can grow their own fruit and veg at home even if it just some lettuces or herbs in a pot on their patio or a window sill.”
The 4.5x3m square area has been converted in to a growing area using wooden planting beds designed by the online grow your own firm. The wooden framed beds simply slot together in a variety of shapes and can sit directly on to concrete before being filled with soil for planting.
It’s one of a host of equipment, baby plugs and tips aimed at helping people to begin growing food from home available through the Urban Allotments website.
Gardening writer Bob Purnell has included fast growing varieties in the patch, like lettuce and runner beans, to maintain the children’s interest with quick results.
Head teacher Lin Jude said: “This is fantastic for the children and they are very excited about the project. We are very grateful for the super advice and help we have received so far.
“As well as giving the pupils very useful life skills it will help us bring home the message from the classroom about sustainability, reducing food waste and eliminating the environmental impact of transporting food we can grow ourselves.”
Bob Purnell added: “The children have been very enthusiastic already which is great to see. Hopefully this will give them a love of growing fruit and veg which will last a lifetime and they’ll be able to persuade their parents to grow more at home too.”
* There was also some lovely media coverage of the event in the Birmingham Evening Mail and the local weekly papers. Thanks to Viv Bailey for these wonderful pictures.
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