Kindergarten kids top of their crop | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

They're a green-fingered bunch at Gonville Kindergarten, and to prove how good they are in the garden, they entered their vegetable plots in the River City Garden Awards.

The judging panel liked what they saw and awarded the "Gonville Greenies" pre-school gardeners a gold award.

Teacher Moliga Taylor said the children, helped by parents, have seen their vegie plots grow and now have three areas dedicated to growing.

Ms Taylor said while parents did the heavy work, the children did the planting. Another of the parents set up a worm farm to help get nutrients back into the soil.

"This was really hands on for the children," she said. "It involves them going around to Gonville Garden Centre to select the plants. The garden centre has been great providing us with compost, plants and advice."

Help has also come from the Whanganui District Health Board's HEHA (Healthy Eating Healthy Activity) programme.

The gardens boast healthy rows of potatoes and kumara, beans, cabbage, cauliflower and silverbeet along with some tomatoes.

The children also had to maintain a diary of their efforts, part of the judging criteria.

Ms Taylor said the bonus was the produce from the gardens is put into the manaaki basket at the kindergarten and families were free to take what they want.

"And we often have local gardeners dropping off vegies as well."