Spud-Tacular Success for Local School at Squire’s Frensham

Squire’s Garden Centre in Frensham recently welcomed pupils from St Mary’s Infant School (Frensham) for the tasty conclusion of its much-loved Grow Your Own Chips initiative. The children returned to the centre to harvest the potatoes they planted earlier in the year — and have their home-grown spuds turned into delicious chips by the Squire’s Frensham Café Bar team.

The initiative began in March, when pupils visited Squire’s to learn how to plant and care for ‘chitted’ potatoes. Over the following weeks, they nurtured their crops back at school before returning for the exciting weigh-in and chip-making finale.

The expert plant team at Squire’s Frensham helped weigh each pupil’s crop and awarded a prize to the grower of the heaviest haul. Then it was over to the Café Bar, where each crop was freshly cooked into golden chips — with pupils tucking into their very own harvest in under 30 minutes from soil to plate.

David Houghton, Centre Manager at Squire’s Frensham, comments: “This is one of the most enjoyable projects we host each year. Seeing the children’s excitement as they dig up their potatoes — and then eat the results — is just brilliant! The pupils have really embraced the challenge. It’s an experience that brings food and gardening to life in such a fun, hands-on way.”

Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, comments: “Grow Your Own Chips is all about planting the seed of curiosity in children — about where food comes from and how satisfying it is to grow your own. We’re always delighted to support the schools in our local communities and help nurture a love of gardening that we hope stays with the children for life.”