Shropshire volunteers encourage residents to 'give it a grow'

Volunteers from Shropshire Master Composters have been helping with a campaign run by Garden Organic that seeks to get people in Shropshire and the wider midlands region to have a go at growing their own food for the first time. The campaign, the One Pot Pledge, aims to help gardening newcomers to grow an edible crop by using simple steps and clear advice to encourage and enthuse them.

Today we've been out in Shrewsbury handing out peas complete with organic peat free compost and a simple recycled pot to encourage more people to 'give it a grow'.  Its all part of a Lottery funded project which aims to encourage healthier eating and growing and it links in nicely with our own efforts to get people to compost more of their waste. 

At todays stall in Shrewsbury volunteers helped by staff from the local council gave out over 50 pots with pea seeds in and spoke to dozens more about how they could compost and grow their own.  The idea is to address some of the barriers to growing veg, because many are put off because they think they don’t have space to garden, or because they don’t have the time or knowledge. By encouraging people to start small with just one pot, the One Pot Pledge campaign aims to combat this, promising to make growing easy and successful.

According to Garden Organic research less than one-third of the UK has grown their own fruit or vegetables. The charity says that if every one of those people encouraged just one person to also give it a go then there would be over 6 million new gardeners experiencing the joy of sowing, growing and eating their own produce.

To join the campaign, go to The One Pot Pledge website, www.onepotpledge.org, which features everything from Garden Organic’s suggested list of perfect pot produce, to guidance on what size pot a new grower will need.  There are also ideas on what makes a good pot, downloadable growing advice and tips on each plant, as well as discounts and offers on seeds, compost and containers.