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Despite the rising popularity of the 'grow-your-own' movement, the majority of the population is in the dark about when to plant some of the most popular fruit and veg, according to research from Gardeners' World magazine. Kicking off its Grow Yourself Healthy campaign for 2010, Gardeners' World magazine questioned a cross section of 1,775 readers of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Magazines about the best time to plant 20 of the most popular crops. More than 50 per cent of those surveyed either had no idea or were incorrect on 9 out of 10 fruits listed and 6 out of 10 vegetables. This suggests a great deal more support will be needed if the nations’ growers are to get the best results.

Some of the key findings were:

• With fruit, people were least knowledgeable about plums, with just one in five aware that October and November were the planting months. Second lowest knowledge was for blueberries with just 30 per cent getting it right, followed by raspberries with just 35 per cent correct;
• People had the most knowledge about strawberries, with 55 per cent of people getting the planting season right (March to September), although the larger time window may have been a factor;
• Gardeners' World magazine readers have previously voted the runner bean the best vegetable to grow, but just 26 per cent of those surveyed knew that May and June were the right months to plant. 32 per cent of people were unable to even hazard a guess and 42 per cent guessed wrongly;
• Onions were the vegetable people knew most about planting, with 53 per cent getting it right, followed by tomatoes with 52 per cent. But despite this, one in four of people still couldn’t guess that March-May was the planting time for this perennial, grow-your-own favourite.

According to Adam Pasco, editor of Gardeners' World magazine: "It is perhaps not surprising that there is a great deal of ignorance about when to plant and grow, particularly given the 24/7 availability of so many vegetable and fruit in supermarkets. Perhaps this is also a reason many people are not as successful as they might be when giving it a go, but as we will show you in 2010, with the right knowledge, the results can be sensational. The wall chart to kick off our 2010 campaign will put readers on the pathway to success and an easy way to their five a day."

The January issue of Gardeners' World magazine contains a Grow your own year planner, with the optimum dates on when to sow seed, plant and harvest. The Grow Yourself Healthy campaign centres on encouraging experienced gardeners to pass on their knowledge to less experienced gardeners with a week of activity planned for a Grow Your Own Week in late March.

NOTES TO EDITORS
The crops chosen for the survey were the 10 most popular fruit and ten most popular fruit to grow, chosen from the inaugural Gardeners' World Awards and voted for by more than 10,000 Gardeners' World readers. The online survey of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Magazines' readers took place in December 2009.

About Gardener' World magazine
Gardeners' World magazine is the market-leading gardening title, providing readers with key practical advice and tips on gardening. It has 266,179 monthly readers according to the last ABC figures (Jan-Jun09).

Toby Hicks