Budding Gardeners UK - buy schools gardening equipment and garden supplies online at discount prices

Along with thousands of our customers, at Harrod Horticultural we're passionate about the organic growing of fruit and vegetables and believe that this magical experience shouldn't pass by the children of today.

Every child should grow up knowing what good food is, where it comes from and how to grow it themselves. It's a journey they'll never forget and many could walk out of your school as the gardeners of tomorrow.

And we're here to help you start and/or sustain projects, big or small. With school discounts of up to 20% OFF on selected gardening equipment from the Harrod Horticultural range and plenty of teacher resources on this site - what's stopping your school from delivering one of life's important lessons?


It’s easy to neglect the garden towards the back end of the Autumn term – the weather is cold, damp and uninviting and there’s all the hectic activity of a school Christmas to contend with. Comfortable as a warm classroom is though, it’s still an important time of year as any tasks we undertake now will greatly influence next year. Take clearing up the leaves for example; it sounds pretty mundane but slugs and other pests will overwinter in piles of leaves and debris and hit the ground running come spring – not to mention the fact that leaf mould makes a great free soil enhancer. Preparing and planting garlic is a great hands-on activity which you can tailor to the weather. Splitting the cloves can be a classroom task and planting out on a crisp sunny day will keep the pupils warm and retain interest in the garden. Regularly checking any stored fruit or vegetables will help prevent rotting and diseases from spreading but if you do discover anything nasty in the vegetable rack, don’t despair – the children will be fascinated! Finally, make the most of any dreary November days and gather everyone round a computer to plan for next year with the help of www.buddinggardeners and www.harrodhorticultural.com Who knows - you might even treat the class – and garden - to an early Christmas present by using our special schools vouchers!
	Clearing Up It’s not only us who head inside to keep warm and dry during the winter. There’s a whole host of garden baddies – such as slugs, snails and various fungal diseases – which find fallen leaves a great place to safely spend the winter. And of course, this means that come spring they’re up and raring to go! Collecting up the autumn leaves is a must; it keeps the garden looking tidy but more importantly, removes this winter haven – and it’s a job the pupils are sure to enjoy! Identifying the leaves and mounting them could even be developed as a related activity? Unless you have any obviously diseased leaves from fruit trees, the leaves can be collected for leaf mould – which brings us onto the next task...

Leaf Mould
Everything about leaf mould is great. Why? Well, it’s easy to make; it cuts down the need to use peat; there’s no need to have bonfires and best of all – it’s free! All you need is a simple container (making one could be a fun project) which will stop the leaves blowing away, a plentiful supply of fallen leaves and a band of willing helpers (the last two are not normally a problem!) You’ll also need a bit of patience as the leaves can take up to 12 months to turn into a suitable soil enhancer and if you can hang on for a couple of years, you’ll end up with a material you can use in seed sowing and potting mixes as well.

Collect up those leaves ready to make your leaf mould

Planting Garlic

Another early winter task is planting garlic cloves – you’ll also make yourself popular with the school kitchen, and it’s a great way of following a crop through its entire life as the children can add the mature cloves to dishes next spring or summer! Separating and preparing the cloves can be a project for the classroom – and it’s fine to plant out immediately just as long as your soil is not too heavy or wet. Older pupils may be interested in stratification and why it’s important to plant the cloves the correct way up but whatever the age of your class, winter planting keeps interest in the garden alive.

Check Stored Vegetables

After all the hard work and excitement of growing and harvesting your crops, it’s such a shame when they rot or become diseased in store. Taking care when preparing fruit and vegetables for storage is essential to avoid this unfortunate scenario, and almost as important is regularly checking for developing rots or the onset of diseases. Why not split the class into groups and draw up a rota for checking? If you are unfortunate enough to discover something unpleasant growing on the fruit and vegetables, try to identify what it is, how it develops and how to prevent it – in our experience, children are spellbound by the sight, smell and growth of fungus!

School Garden Project here's how you do it! Click here to find out more

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