Gardener,93, teaches March pupils how to grow plants

A 93-year-old gardener has been teaching primary school children how to grow their own food.

Don Bradshaw runs a garden in March, Cambridgeshire, growing produce for the town's community fridge.

He said he was "amazed at the interest" shown by the Year 6 pupils from All Saints Interchurch Academy.

Teacher Hannah Orbell said they were "learning a lot and really, really enjoying being part of something for the community".

The garden was recently opened by Fenland Association of Community Transport, which also runs a community fridge - a group which shares food and helps prevent waste - and a befriending club.

Ms Orbell said: "We talk a lot about our community family and we thought it would be a fantastic idea to come down here, see what happens and for the children to quite literally get their hands dirty."

Former farmer Mr Bradshaw, who has been "working with Mother Nature" since he was six years old, asked the children to aerate the soil in a raised bed before showing them how to sow seeds and plant on marigolds.

He said he hoped the session would inspire the children to "carry on doing a bit of gardening in the future".

Hannah,10, said: "I found out that carrots have seeds, I never knew that. I thought they were like potatoes."

She planned to "ask Santa for a hoe and a rake" so she can grow some vegetables of her own next year.

Aston, 11, said: "I might get one of those trowel sets and a little bit of my own plot in the garden and do some digging and planting."

The children were also fascinated to learn runner bean seeds were pink and black rather than green, added Ms Orbell.

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