Pupils of Horsell Village School have been growing potatoes this spring as part of a Squire’s Garden Centres’ popular Grow Your Own Chips initiative.
The children visited Squire’s Woking where each pupil was provided with their own pot, compost and chitted seed potatoes. Guided by Squire’s plant experts, pupils learnt how to plant and care for their potatoes over the coming months.
The fun doesn’t stop there – pupils will return to Squire’s Woking in June for the big potato weigh-in, where they’ll find out who’s grown the heaviest crop!
The potatoes will then be transformed into delicious, freshly cooked chips by the Squire’s Café Bar team, giving children the ultimate taste of their own efforts – from pot to plate in under an hour. The child who grows the heaviest crop will win a special Squire’s goody bag.
Sarah Squire, chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, said: “Our Grow Your Own Chips initiative is a brilliant way to inspire children to get growing and to show them just how rewarding it can be.
“We love welcoming schools to our centres and sharing our passion for gardening. It’s all about planting a seed of curiosity. We hope that the sense of fun and learning they experience will grow into a lifelong interest in nature, food and gardening.”
Part of Squire’s ongoing programme to support schools and community groups, Grow Your Own Chips 2025 has welcomed over 150 children from local primary schools this spring to get involved in a fun, hands-on learning experience that connects them to where food comes from and encourages sustainable habits from a young age.
Squires also passed on top tips for growing potatoes: Keep your potato pots in a sunny spot; water regularly – potatoes don’t like to dry out; add more compost as the plants grow to cover new shoots; and be patient – the real treasure is underground.