Plus fruit growing resources, homes for hedgehogs and more!
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Spend time in nature this World Mental Health Day
For many of us, gardening and getting outdoors is a way to escape the hustle and bustle of our everyday responsibilities. Spending time in nature each week has been proven to reduce anxiety and depression, as well as improving confidence and self-esteem.
On Sunday 10 October, it's World Mental Health Day. Whether you're pulling up some carrots, deadheading autumn flowers or simply having a cup of tea on your balcony, a short break in nature can go a long way to nurturing positive mental wellbeing. Why not take some time on this day to put pen to paper and create a poem that reflects what being in nature means to you? Share it with a friend or post on social media to help others explore the mental health benefits of getting outside!
Explore your fruit expertise
In October, you'll be able to harvest many of the delicious fruits that have been growing and ripening in your garden during the warmer months. There's no better time to dig into your harvest than Apple Day, which falls on Thursday 21 October. Make a day of it with some of our fun apple themed activities!
Become a pomologist
Become a fruit expert by using your senses to describe the taste, texture, colour and shape of apple varieties.
What is a fruit?
Learn some basic botany terms by exploring different types of fruit and learning how to identify their seeds.
Plan your fruit garden
Grow your own fruit using our planner, with advice about the space, soil type and temperatures you need to consider.
Get set for success in the garden
Our Year in Your Gardening club training courses are coming back to RHS gardens this month and we'd love to see you there!
Join our experts for the day to get clued in on how to keep your gardening club flourishing in all weathers, and learn basic horticultural skills to support your group.
Spaces on the courses are limited, so book now to secure your spot!
Help protect our hedgehogs
Our spiky garden friends are sadly in decline in the UK, but you can help encourage them into your garden by creating a safe, cosy space for them to live using recycled materials.
Put your pumpkins to the test this Halloween
Pumpkins grow in all sorts of amazing shapes, colours and sizes. Some can even grow to a giant size - the World Record for heaviest pumpkin is currently over 1000kg!
If you've been growing a giant pumpkin and have your sights set on breaking the world record, use our measuring guide to help you estimate its weight.
From soup to pie, there's a number of ways you can put your pumpkins to use once you've carved them for Halloween. We're partial to some pumpkin houmous, and teamed up with the social enterprise Green Squirrel to help you make your own. Check out our quick video for the step-by-step recipe.
Gardening jobs for October
Autumn is here and there's lots of fun jobs to do in the garden! Check out our top ten jobs for October to complete with your students.
An update about the Big Soup Share 2021
We're busy developing some exciting new projects to get you growing, so we've decided to put the Big Soup Share on hold for 2021. You can still host your own Soup Share using our resources, and we'd love to see what you're up to, so make sure to use #BigSoupShare when posting on social!
