Summer has truly arrived, and that means one thing for brassica growers: perfect growing weather for your winter greens, and harvest time for your summer greens. The sunshine (when we get it), the warmer temperatures and showers are here to nourish our veggies, and as harvest times approach, we’d like to remind you of our virtual village fete.

There’s nothing more satisfying for people who cultivate their own vegetables than pulling them out of the soil to see how they’ve done. Whether you feel proud of your huge cabbages, amused at your crooked broccoli, or downright shocked at how your swede bears a striking resemblance to your favourite celebrity, we have a category for you to enter.

Not only is our virtual village fete a chance for you to show off your growing skills and for us all to have a few laughs along the way, it is a chance for your greens to be judged by none other than some of the UK’s finest brassica growers. First of all, we have Nick Ash of JP Ash & Sons in Kent. With 190 acres of cauliflowers to cultivate, Nick knows what he’s doing and knows what to look for in a good quality green. Next we have Thomas Gilpin of Gilfresh Produce, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Basically, if it’s green, he grows it, and his keen eye can spot a winning brassica from a mile off. Finally, we have Tom Wilson of T Wilson & Sons, Merseyside, who also loves his greens and only looks for the best.

Our categories include: what a whopper!, I’ve got the green giggles, and animal vegetables. We’d like to see your biggest brassicas, funniest greens, and how you can create an animal by using your greens. From cauliflower sheep to swede owls, we want to see you get as creative as possible. It’s also a fantastic way to get the kids involved, and we can guarantee an afternoon packed full of giggles. To enter, simply fill out the entry form on the fete page of our website, upload your pictures and send away. You will be in with a chance to win an e-reader, where you can also download our free e-book, Love Your Greens. Handy, right?

However, if you don’t grow your own greens, or want to but don’t know how to get started, we have some handy growing tips for you here on this very website. From when to sow your seeds, where to plant certain greens and when to harvest, our easy guides are sure to get you growing soon enough. There’s also still time to get growing, as it’s this time of year that you can start planting your winter greens, such as savoy cabbage, swede, winter cauliflower and broccoli (if you’re quick). There’s also plenty of tips and tricks on Love Your Greens TV, where we have some of the UK’s best brassica growers giving advice from their first-hand experiences.

So, get growing! We can’t wait to see your greens!

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That’s right, we’ve launched our very own TV channel, where you can stream the latest videos on how best to love your greens.

Here at Love your Greens, we’re passionate about our green veggies. Not only are they packed full of goodness, they’re incredibly versatile, have bags of flavour and are really rewarding to grow and cultivate yourself. Love Your Greens TV is a new and more interactive way of keeping up to date with all things green.

On Love Your Greens TV, there will be videos from celebrity chefs showing us how to cook our greens to utilise their wonderful flavours, textures, colours and health properties. So, if you ever need any inspiration in the kitchen when cooking healthy, look no further than Love Your Greens TV! You can stream away on your laptop, tablet or smartphone, so there’s no need to worry about being near a TV set when you cook.

Broccoli

Along with green culinary expertise, there will also be tutorials on how best to grow and cultivate your broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts, cabbage, swede, and a host of other greens. If you’re having a hard time in the garden, have a quick look on LYG TV to see if we can lend a helping hand. Our own fantastic growers may even make appearances from time to time! You can stream our videos straight from the vegetable patch without having to go in and out of the house.

Be sure to head over to the TV page on our site and check it out. We update it regularly, so be sure to visit us as often as you can.

And remember, Love Your Greens!