School garden in race for top crop

The garden and orchard created by Featherston School pupils has won high praise from the judge who viewed their handiwork yesterday for the finals of a national contest.

Glenn Quinn, Tui Products territory manager, said the school garden is one of only four finalists in the annual Mitre 10 Mega and Tui School Garden Challenge.

Mr Quinn said yesterday morning he had judged a garden at St Anthony's School in Pahiatua that had won a finalist berth in the intermediate section of the national competition.

He said the Featherston garden, which features a garden and orchard complete with an irrigation system and a hydroponics unit, was outstanding as produce from the hard work of pupils, teachers and members of the school community was already gracing tables and retail counters within months of the garden being laid out.

"Usually it takes from two to three years to get a garden really productive but at Featherston it has all happened so much quicker."

Mr Quinn said that the productivity of the finalists' gardens is taken into account in judging, along with innovation and crop abundance and quality.

Mr Quinn said the Featherston garden was the only garden in the contest, as far as he was aware, that also had an operational hydroponics unit.

Sally Addis, garden centre manager at Mitre 10 Mega in Masterton, was also on hand for the judging at the southern Wairarapa school yesterday and teacher Felicity Pickering, who was central to the establishment of the garden, accepted prize packs of gardening books and equipment and a finalist certificate that was donated by Mitre 10 Mega and Tui Products.

Winners of the garden challenge will walk away with gift vouchers of up to $1000 each and a range of garden products.

Winners will be announced this month.