Growing to love…
We want kids to love vegetables. One of the best ways to develop that love is through growing your own. Veg Power has worked closely with our partners to develop a creative and engaging way for children to grow to love…vegetables.
Growing to love…
We want kids to love vegetables. One of the best ways to develop that love is through growing your own. Veg Power has worked closely with our partners to develop a creative and engaging way for children to grow to love…vegetables.
Why growing?
Research shows that growing vegetables is constructive for many reasons and that children are more likely to try the food they have helped to grow. In addition, encouraging engagement and bonding with the vegetable creates agency and a pathway to consumption. Learning all about how we grow food is not just good for children in terms of encouraging healthy eating, it’s important to develop their understanding of the food chain, climate, sustainability and our environment. Children learn by getting stuck in and getting their hands dirty! So, involving them in a growing project is ideal for their development. We believe it is essential that all programmes end with a child trying a vegetable.
Growing to Love…is our primary school growing project designed by an alliance of behavioural scientists, teachers and botanists to encourage children to grow a love of tomatoes by growing their own.
What people say…
In 2024 over 20,000 children in schools across the UK grew their own tomatoes from seed to fruit. They were joined by famous faces including TV Presenter Sam Nixon, Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins and Shaun the Sheep.
Here’s what our survey of teachers who took part had to say:
Resources for schools
We endeavour to make it as easy as possible for busy teachers to deliver a fun and effective programme. The first step is to make sure everything they need for a single class, arrives at the school, all in one box.
Each primary school receives ‘growing kits’ which include windowsill propagators, tomato seeds, organic plant feed, plant labels and peat-free compost. These have been carefully selected, and tried and tested to work in schools
Our growing kits include everything you need to grow your own tomatoes. Check out your teacher’s guide to make sure you’re ready to go. There’s a digital copy below. The kids should plant their tomato seeds as soon as possible in April, once you have received the kits. Watch Chris and Sam’s ‘sowing’ video to help you get started.
Digital teacher’s guide
Everything you need to know about growing your own tomatoes is included in your 28 page teachers guide. Scan the QR codes to watch instructional videos and use the planning pages to take notes as you go.
Each class receives one of these.
Digital flyer for parents and carers
Send our digital flyer home to parents and carers at the start of term, so they know the kids will be growing their own tomatoes and will be bringing them home over the summer holidays.
Growth chart
Take-home growth chart & sticker pack which encourages the children to continue their growing journey over the summer holidays.
We’ll send you 32 of these per class.
Stickers
Colourful tomato sticker packs encourage the children to use their charts.
We’ll send you 32 of these per class – they come with the growth charts.
Arts and crafts
Our ever-popular Shaun themed vegetable crown really engage the kids – requires scissors, paper glue or sticky tape and colouring pens, pencils or crayons (not supplied).
We’ll send you 32 of these per class.
Plant pot sleeves
Download and decorate our tomato themed plant pot sleeves. Requires printing, scissors, paper glue or sticky tape and colouring pens, pencils or crayons (not supplied).
Intro to growing
Meet Chris and Sam who will be helping you along your growing journey
Sowing
Watch Chris and Sam’s video to help you sow your tomato seeds
Caring
Watch Chris and Sam’s video to help you care for your plants
Repotting
Watch Chris and Sam’s video to help you repot your tomato plants
Flower to fruit
Watch Chris and Sam’s video for tips on how to get plants home safely for the summer
Lesson plans
We have a set of lesson plans for years 1 – 6 for you to download and use.
Look at all the schools that took part in 2024
FAQs
Is this suitable for children of all ages?
The programme has been designed primarily for KS1 and KS2 children at this time.
Is this programme compliant with curriculum standards?
Yes, all our work is supported by our in-house team and our expert advisors and although not intended to directly deliver a school curriculum the programme has been created with teachers to comply with the national curriculum.
When will we see tomatoes?
Tomatoes will likely start to appear from July onwards. This depends on when the seeds were planted and the weather.
How long does this take?
The whole campaign runs from April through to September / October depending on when the tomatoes are ready to harvest. The first part of the campaign takes place in school. The plants are then taken home for the summer holidays.
What if we dont have an outside space?
The tomato seeds have been selected so that they can be grown on window sills
Image Gallery
Video Gallery
Our Growing to Love content has been created with a donation from Hazera.
Our Partners
Shaun the Sheep and Shaun’s image are trade marks of Aardman Animations Limited 2024.
