Lincolnshire school gets top spot in ‘grow your own’ competition
25th September 2019
The Grow Your Own Potatoes (GYOP) competition, organised by AHDB, aims to teach children about where their food comes from and how it grows.
A Lincolnshire primary school has managed to grow 38kg potatoes in less than three months, earning them the top spot in a national competition.
The Grow Your Own Potatoes (GYOP) competition, organised by AHDB, aims to teach children about where their food comes from and how it grows.
Children at the Faldingworth Community Primary School in Market Rasen battled it out against nearly half a million primary school pupils in England, Scotland and Wales.
The school of 70 children harvested nearly 225g more potatoes than any other school in Britain, with the potato variety Rocket performing best.
Teaching assistant Rita Griggs credits their success to a special ingredient. In a bid to tackle waste, they mixed used coffee from the filter machine to help their crop to grow.
“That could be the secret to our success,” she said.
“The children particularly enjoyed harvesting and finding the potatoes hidden in the soil,” she added. “All kids should know where their food comes from and how it grows. Grow Your Own Potatoes is a great, fun way to teach this.”
AHDB education manager Sue Lawton said the scheme had a “fantastic” uptake this year, with nearly 16,000 kits sent out to primary schools.
“While the competition is great fun, we’re also educating children on how potatoes fit into a healthy, balanced diet, where they come from and how they grow,” she explained.
Schools can now register to take part in GYOP 2020.
