Beetle along to The Edible Garden Show

London – March 13, 2015: The Edible Garden Show is a chance for companies to showcase a plethora of products for all gardeners from the avid to the novice but beetle poo must be one of this year’s quirkier offerings.

Ecothrive Charge is an organic soil conditioner and growth booster made in the UK and Soil Association certified.

Gareth Hopcroft of Hopcrop which developed and makes Charge said: “It’s basically insect poo! It comes from beetles, more precisely mealworm larvae, and is a great soil conditioner and growth booster for plants. Being a beetle poo product, it’s quite quirky and is a good talking point with new clients. I’m planning on having a big tank of live beetles at the show at their different life stages, which should turn some heads!”

Gareth developed Charge himself after an interest in insect breeding led to him researching a number of different insects’ byproducts: “I was looking to develop more sustainable gardening methods and mealworm larvae produced far and away the best results. Not only is it an excellent fertiliser for growth, it also boosts the plant’s immune system as it detects what it thinks is the presence of insects and boosts its immune system for protection.”

Gareth believes TEGS is an ideal fit for his product, adding: “The show attracts a wide range of gardeners, especially those who are keen to grow their own food. I’m also an avid gardener myself, I have three allotments. It’s a great location and the perfect time of year for gardeners to explore new products and methods.”

The show runs from March 20-22 at Alexandra Palace with more than triple the number of attraction areas and a huge variety of experts sharing their passion for grow your own.

And for the first time organisers are also launching a brilliant new lifestyle event, Good Life Live, to run in tandem with TEGS. Good Life Live will showcase a vast range of outdoor living experiences with areas dedicated to adventure activities, country pursuits and home comforts, as well as livestock.

In the Experts Theatre Pippa Greenwood will explain how to grow great veg while James Wong shares simple scientific tips and tricks to supercharge the flavor and nutrient content of home grown crops. The HIPPO Potting Shed will feature edible hanging baskets, advice on organic gardening, a talk from Debbie Bourne, the High Heeled Gardener and, for the tech-savvy, bloggers Sean Cameron and The Skinny Jeans Gardeners.

Once you’ve learned how and what to grow, Rachel Green and Mark Lloyd are among the famous chefs providing chic ideas for conjuring yummy, healthy meals from plot to plate. Rachel comes from a long line of farmers and is passionate about food production and making the best of what we grow. Mark set up the River Cottage Canteen with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and is a great believer in using every part of the animal from nose to tail.

You can also pop along to Make It! to learn how to make not only your own jam, bread and sausages but also bath bombs, soft cheese and bacon at workshops run by Paul and Diana Peacock and Di Hammil of Wild Harvest.

The show also has an ‘egg-cellent’ area dedicated to all things poultry. The Chicken Coop will feature talks on breed types, rehoming battery hens, hatching and the best recipes for your egg crop.

Getting children geared-up to gardening is a big part of this family-focused show and CBeebies’ popular, green-fingered Mr Bloom from Mr Bloom’s Nursery will be popping into the Experts Theatre on Saturday, March 21 to inspire the ‘tiddlers’ with his high-energy show.

To book your tickets, which give access to both The Edible Garden Show and Good Life Live, please call the ticket hotline on 0871 230 3451 or visit www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, IMAGES, COMPETITIONS OR TICKET OFFERS, CONTACT
PAUL SMITH ASSOCIATES ON: T: +44 (0)1420 22532 or theediblegardenshow@paulsmithassociates.co.uk

PAUL SMITH ASSOCIATES
13th March 2015