It is the beginning of March and year 11 students at Sir John Leman High School were itching to get growing in their school garden today. 

Students dug out the compost that has formed over the last year - a collection from the school's food technology department   fruit and vegetable waste.Tiger worms are still active at the top of the compost.

but underneath we dug out a rich brown crumbly compost - ideal for adding into the school's beds where potatoes will be grown.

Thanks to the Morrison's 'Let's  Grow' scheme Sir John Leman High School has benefited from  lots of useful gardening equipment such as cloches, tools - even seed potatoes. The scheme has closed for this year - but if your school is near a Morrison's it is worth looking out for the tokens later in the year.

So having dug in the  compost, the beds were raked level and sowings of carrots and beetroot were made. The soil is still very cold but plastic cloches were placed over the rows of seeds to help warm the soil and protect these early crops. 

You can make your own cloches with recycled water pipe - or even old hoola hoops cut in half and plunged into the soil. Plastic or fleece can then be laid over the hoops to creat mini tunnels to protect your early crops from cold. For more information about warming the soil follow the link to the RHS Campaign for School Gardening website