Schools Carrot Competition

The British Carrot Growers’ Association launches School Carrot Growing Competition with Elsoms Seeds

A nationwide competition to encourage primary school children to grow, harvest and menu plan with carrots is launched today.

In partnership with Elsoms Seeds, a UK independent seed company, the British Carrot Growers’ Association aim to inspire young people to increase their knowledge of growing food from seed to plate and encourage healthy eating and creative cooking.

Applications to schools are now open and will work on a first come first serve basis, attracting up to 20 schools across the country.

The deadline to apply is Thursday 30 April and each successful applicant will receive their seeds and QR code with further guidance and resources shortly after submission.

The competition requires submission of:

• A carrot diary. Judges will be looking for the most detailed and creative log, with writing and imagery to demonstrate the pupils’ understanding of growing their carrots. A written and photographed log at each stage of growing the carrots – points will be awarded for demonstration of the participants understanding and care for carrots.
• A three-course carrot menu. Judges will be looking for the best presented and creative recipes to be cooked by a professional chef and posted on social media.
• A carrot harvest celebration photo. This can be before or after washing carrots and displayed as creatively as you like with both the carrots and pupils. The winning image may be used on the BCGA’s next Facebook cover image.

A member of Elsoms Seeds and the BCGA will judge the entries based on:

• The best designed and detailed ‘carrot diary’
• Creativity in their recipes and best presented menu
• Knowledge and understanding of growing carrots
• Best image of carrots

The winning school team will win a digital certificate to download, a £200 National Garden Gift Card’, and a fully funded opportunity to visit a farm, depending on location, to meet with a farmer and discover more about growing carrots on a farm scale.

To apply for this fun and exciting competition, please enter via the form  here.

The competition closes on 30^th October 2026

The BCGA and Elsoms Seeds will jointly promote the competition to primary schools, providing resources on carrot growing and care – including recipes for after harvest, tips and tricks, and what they need to do to win the challenge.

“The objective is to increase national awareness of carrots as a British crop, particularly through encouraging children to get outdoors, increase their understanding of where their food comes from and get creative at mealtimes with carrots.

“Many commercial growers in the UK buy their seed from Elsoms Seeds and we wish to promote their varieties as reliable, fast germinating and fun to grow for school gardening.

Together with the British Carrot Growers’ Association, we are creating a supportive, experiential learning experience to connect children with the environment, nutrition and to stimulate the joy of growing food.”

Martin Strickson, Elsoms Seeds

A mighty bunch – 10 facts about British carrots

1. The first recorded carrots weren’t orange – believed to have originated in Afghanistan in 7^th Century AD – carrots were purple or yellow, with orange developed in the 16th century in Holland. 
2. To keep them cosy over winter and free from frost, carrots are covered with beds of straw
3. Carrots like fresh soil and a new place to grow each year. To protect them from disease, carrots can only be grown in the same field once every seven years, so farmers ‘rotate’ them around their farm
4. A love medicine: The Greeks called the carrot “Philtron” and used it as a love medicine
5. Carrots like sandy soils, growing wonky if the land is stony. 
6. A lot of research, innovation and technology goes into growing the best carrots in the UK, from making sure the seed grows well in the soils we have, to improve nutrient value – today’s carrots have 50% more carotene that those of 1970 – and to make sure they last well on shop shelves. GPS is used in tractors to plant the carrots perfectly straight lines and robots are used for weeding and sorting
7. Muddy carrots stay fresh for longer and can be kept in a dry, dark place like a kitchen cupboard. To keep ready-washed carrots fresher longer, remove from the packaging, wrap in kitchen roll and store in the fridge.
8. Today’s carrots have 50% more carotene than those of 1970 – and the vitamin A in carrots are good for eye health (old wives’ tale is they help you see in the dark)  
9. The UK is 97% self-sufficient in carrots – freshly harvested carrots are washed, packed and distributed to nearly every shop in the whole of Britain almost every day of the year.  
10. And, you’ve guessed, Beatrix Potter was right – rabbits are always trying to steal them! Rodger, who read Engineering at Oxford before returning home to the family farm near York, has even invented a special fencing machine to try and protect his carrots from burrowing bunnies. Interestingly, they are not healthy for rabbits to ingest.