Children at Waterside Nursery at the Havelock estate in Southall teamed up with the Community Champions team and the Potato Council to show their parents how easy it was to grow potatoes and herbs.

The grow your own potatoes project got off to a fabulous start with as many as 20 two and three year old children started to grow their own in ready made potato sacks.  The children were astounded when only a few weeks later, masses of green leaves appeared out of the top of the sacks.  At the end of the summer term, some of the potatoes were harvested by the children to take home.  The words on the children’s lips shall we make chips, mashed or roast potatoes?  Perhaps their parents helped make up their minds.  

Six weeks before term ended, the children started to grown herbs in the nursery playground.  They were all delighted by the sensory smells that the herbs produced and some of the herbs included, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, to name a few.

Nursery manager, Fiona Cherry was delighted with the results, as were the parents of the children.  Other vegetables will follow during another term and you can watch this space for updates.

Susan Wyatt, Community Champion Co-ordinator, tells us more.. “The children now realise that herbs and vegetables do not come from the supermarket, and even two and three year olds can grow their own!”