Planting and growing food

Prior to making changes to your space, help learners voice their opinions and make decisions on what they would like to do and see. Planning our green future encourages learners to share how they feel about different features in their space and what changes they might like to see. Imagining our space uses storytelling to discuss and visualise different improvements, while Plants and their jobs introduces the benefits of different plants for both people and nature.  

For more in-depth guidance on growing flowers and food to improve your space, see Change grey to green: Buffets of flowers. 

Growing in pots or containers

1. Ensure pots have drainage holes to allow excess water to flow through.
2. Fill pots with peat-free compost.
3. Encourage learners to sow seeds in their pots, taking care to sow them at the suggested depth and spacing to give them enough space and the right conditions to grow.
4. If planting young plants, learners can dig a hole in their pot to gently place the plant in – choose smaller crops that won’t outgrow your containers. Fill in the spaces around the hole with compost.
5. After planting, learners can water their new containers. Containers need watering more regularly than plants in the ground. 

Guidance on growing in pots from RHS:

• Crops in pots
• Vegetables in containers
• Easy herbs to grow in a school setting
• How to grow potatoes in containers
• Growing fruit in containers 

Growing in the ground

1. Explain that plants need carefully prepared soil to help them grow. Learners can use forks to break up the soil, creating an opportunity to explore what lies beneath the surface.  
2. The next step is removing weeds and any old plant material – a great activity for learners to explore plant parts.  
3. Rakes can be used to gently smooth the surface of the soil ready for planting.  
4. Encourage learners to sow seeds in the prepared ground, taking care to sow them at the suggested depth and spacing to give them enough space and the right conditions to grow.
5. If planting young plants, learners can use spades to dig a hole to gently place the plant in – take your time with this part, it is a powerful learning experience. Fill in the spaces around the hole with compost or existing soil.  
6. After planting, learners can gently water in their new plants or seeds.  

More guidance on food growing from RHS:

• Grow your own
• Growing vegetables in schools
• Edible flowers
• Food growing: Autumn term
• Food growing: Spring term
• Food growing: Summer term 

Tips

• Create a watering schedule or assign ‘plant monitors’ to ensure the plants stay hydrated. Children can dip their finger in the soil to feel how moist the soil is and when plants need watering.
• Why not leave a pot or space open so that children can explore the soil throughout the seasons?