HIGH-school students will make their way to this year’s Agfest with their bags full of radish, but not for snacks.
The vegetables are destined for a weigh-in ceremony with the weightiest radish scoring a prize for the winning school.
The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture is holding a vegie growing competitiom, Let It Grow, for Tasmanian schools as an initiative to create excitement and interest about a career in the agriculture and food industry.
Seven participating schools have been provided with daikon radish seeds and instructions to use only organic fertilisers and to harvest plants no later than May 3, the day before Agfest kicks off.
The school that grows the largest daikon radish will receive a Subpod grow bundle valued at over $500 and a workshop with a TIA soil scientist..
Students are putting their agriculture science skills into practice and trialling different growing methods.
At the St Mary’s District School students are using worm tea from their own worm farm at the school to fertilise seedlings
Students at Burnie High School are trialling five different growing regimes including seeds sown directly into garden beds, and pots located in a hothouse and outside.
Scottsdale High School students are using the competition as a plant-trial project for their Year 11/12 agriculture enterprise class.
The Let it Grow weigh-in ceremonies will happen at Agfest at 1pm on Thursday May 4 and Friday May 5, with the overall winner to be announced on the Friday.
You can join in the fun by visiting the University of Tasmania Pavilion in Shed I.