Potato Day Seeds New Growth

Potato Day set the annual growing season off with a spring in its step – after all its just around the corner and green tips are pushing up already.

Transition Loughborough held the event at John Storer House in Loughborough and is one of a network of community groups throughout towns seeking local solutions to the energy and climate crises.

Martha Worshing of Transition Loughborough said the event was selling out fast and busy with people collecting pre – ordered seed potatoes, onions and peas and others buying from the range on sale.

“A lot of people are moving towards growing their own vegetables and Potato Day offers the chance to source tubers grown sustainably,” said Martha.

Janet Smith, another volunteer said a lot of people turned up to collect bags of seed potatoes, now stitched in cloth and all proceeds go towards supporting the work of the group.

Transition Towns is a grass root movement aiming to provide local and appropriate solutions to the problems we face due to declining oil supplies, climate change, waste disposal, food production, energy price rises and transport.  

The group said whilst many of the problems are global, the Transition Towns’ movement aims to tackle them using local people, local ideas and local projects.

Jon Knight was selling tubers at 20p each. He’s worked with the group for some time and said it was busy at its allotment preparing beds for potatoes.

“There was a workshop on composting earlier this month and the next one is on pruning; fruit bush pruning of raspberries and blackcurrants for anyone who wants to attend, ” said Jon.