Frome Potato Day and Seed Swap

Sunday 18th February 2024, 10am – 2pm at the Cheese and Grain. Tickets are £3 (kids go free)

As the days gradually lengthen and the first signs of spring emerge, gardening enthusiasts and green thumbs alike eagerly anticipate the return of the Frome Potato Day and Seed Swap.

The Frome Potato Day and Seed Swap brings together gardening enthusiasts, local businesses, and community groups to celebrate the joys of gardening. With a focus on sustainability, health, education, and community engagement, the event aims to inspire individuals to cultivate their growing spaces and foster a deeper connection to the environment.

This event has become a cherished annual tradition, offering a one-stop-shop for all things gardening. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting, Potato Day provides everything needed to kickstart the growing season.

What’s on at Frome Potato Day and Seed Swap?

• Gardening Stalls: with a magnificent selection of seed potatoes, bulbs, seeds, plants, fruit trees, and tools.
• Community Seed Swap: participate in the Community Seed Swap by bringing your excess seeds in clearly marked paper envelopes. Swap seeds with fellow gardeners and find exciting new varieties to diversify your garden.
• Community Groups: find fun ways to connect with your community, exchange tips, tricks, and experiences.
• Fun Kids Activities: nurture the love for gardening in the younger generation with engaging activities designed just for them.
• Free Workshops: gain valuable insights from expert-led workshops.
• Pre-book here for workshops: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/frome-field-2-fork-cic-34472155696 or call 07857437608 if you can’t access internet.

• 10:30m: Wood for the Trees UK: What is holding back woodland creation in the UK?

Frome based film maker Charly Le Marchant returns to screen her new film. Experts from all fields, involved in both trees for life and trees for wood, share identify barriers and suggest actions to broaden access to the provision of both the scale & diversity of solutions required to succeed in our tree planting ambitions.

• 11am: Launch of Nature Prescribing Frome

The new ‘Nature Prescribing Frome’ partnership represents a pioneering and collaborative effort in the realm of nature prescribing. Bringing together a diverse array of local organisations committed to harnessing the healing power of nature, the network offers accessible opportunities for improving mental and physical health. Find out about the organisations involved and how they will be working together to provide synchronised opportunities, signposting, and progression through organisations, and increase awareness of nature prescribing with the public and within the NHS.

• 12pm: RhizoPhyllia: Eddie Bailey on micro-organisms and the Soil Food Web.

Heading over the border from Wiltshire, Eddie Bailey is a chartered consulting geologist and organic allotmenteer with a microscope in tow. Eddie has presented soil science workshops at River Cottage, analysed, and compared dig and no dig microbiologies at Charles Dowding’s Homeacres, and more recently advised at Roots Allotments, Bath.

He will help us to understand the essential role of soil & compost micro-organisms in plant health, sustainable growing, and nutritious food. How insights at this micro-level into our compost & soil allow greater insights into soil health and any rejuvenation options required to optimise results. With an opportunity for hands on observation of local compost samples under the microscope.

• 1pm: Pennard Plants: How you can best grow potatoes in your garden.

Learn the ultimate potato-growing secrets from Master Gardener Chris Smith of Pennard Plants, Chris will share his top tips and tricks for cultivating delicious spuds. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out, this event is perfect for anyone looking to improve their potato-growing skills. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn from the best!

• 2pm: Psychosynthesis Trust: Exploring anxiety through nature connection. PRE-BOOKINGS ONLY.

This session is for people experiencing anxiety, managing teams of people or those working in mental health, to access practical techniques. You are invited to explore how nature can have a positive impact on reducing anxious symptoms and increase wellbeing in this interactive experiment. The Psychosynthesis Trust has over 40 years of experience in offering psychotherapy, counselling, and support.

Kelly Tyler will guide a small group (12 max) through this workshop meeting at the Cheese & Grain and taking a stroll to a nature location close to the venue, warm clothing and footwear suggested. In this 45-minute workshop you will be guided through relaxation techniques and ways to build a deeper connection to yourself, whilst looking through the lens of nature. Nature doesn’t judge, is accessible to all and can act as a guide to help us become grounded, whilst illustrating how to live within a supportive ecosystem