Did you know that The British Potato Council have launched a Grow Your Own Potatoes project for primary schools in the UK because 60% of children thought that potatoes grew on trees.
I am a teacher and a farmer’s wife and this competition is an ideal way for me to show the children I teach, how potatoes grow and where their food really comes from.
A month ago I registered the school for the national competition and I eagerly awaited the arrival of the champion (we hope!) seed potatoes.
Two weeks ago I received the 3 seed potatoes and I put them in an egg box near the window so that the seed potatoes could start to chit.
“Chits are the sprouting shoots that grow out of the eyes of a potato. Gardeners encourage these chits to grow before the potatoes are planted, so that they have a head start when they are put in the ground.” TopVeg.
More information about Chitting Potatoes can be found at the TopVeg website.
The 3 seed potatoes have been chitting for 2 weeks which is sufficient time for the sprouting shoots to grow.
Today (Thursday 22nd March 2007) I launched the competition in my school. The school has three Year 3 classes and each class was given a container, compost and a seed potato. At 3.15pm today the seed potatoes were planted.
3H 3HS 3P
As well as taking part in the national competition, the Year 3 classes are going to compete against each other to see which class can grow the biggest yield of potatoes.
Watch this space for regular updates on our potato plants.