Rochdale residents reap what they sow

Cheryl Nield

When Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) challenged residents to grow the borough’s finest vegetables they picked up their trowels and put their green fingers to the test.

The Grow ‘n’ Show Fun Day, which took place on 2 October, was open to anyone who lives on a Rochdale Council estate as a tenant or resident. People of all ages turned up to showcase their prize vegetables and take part in the day’s activities.

Among the winners for the best veggies were Emma Lord from Castleton, Rochdale, who won a prize for the best beans and Ken Wilson from Moorclose, Middleton, whose home-grown tomatoes greatly impressed the judges.  Matthew and Chloe Salter from Castleton, Rochdale, were the proud winners of the funniest looking vegetables, which they had decorated themselves at home.

The competition was the climax of a range of Communities First growing projects, designed to bring communities together through fun and healthy competition. Estate based tenants and residents associations were given Grow ‘n’ Show packs over the summer which included seeds, pots, a guide book and compost. Both adults and children then became actively involved in growing a range of vegetables.

RBH Communities First Co-ordinator, Sue Kershaw, said, “With the poor weather over the summer it has been really difficult to grow vegetables this year so it is all credit to those who had a successful crop”. 

Other activities on the day included quizzes, a raffle and a competition to guess the weight of a watermelon.  The children were given the opportunity to draw their favourite healthy dinner and make some fruit kebabs with the help of Cheryl Neald from the Healthy Living Initiative.  And, as a final treat, those who attended watched a demonstration by chef James Donnelly from the Healthy Living Initiative who cooked up a tasty sweet and sour vegetable stir-fry and feta salad. Everyone had the opportunity to sample the delights in a bid to encourage them to use more fruit and vegetables when preparing their food.

 “Activities like this are a great way to encourage different sections of the community to come together through a shared interest.  Everyone who came to the fun day had a great time and they were keen to try out the recipes at home.  We hope to make this an annual event and the children have told us that growing tomatoes is top of their list for next year,” added Ms Kershaw.