Hundreds of Salopians pay homage to the humble spud at gardeners' Potato Day event
Hundreds of Salopians turned up at a village hall to pay homage to the humble potato in a beloved annual celebration.
The Shropshire Organic Gardeners (SOG) annual Potato Day has been running for 17 years and the organisers think visitors were really happy to be able to attend an in-person event again.
"It was absolutely fantastic," said Rachel Strivens, the SOG chairwoman. "There were far more people than expected and the atmosphere was really buzzing."
They think around 400 people passed through the doors for Saturday's event at Wattlesborough Village Hall, which sits on the Shrewsbury to Welshpool Road, and Ms Strivens says people were "letting their hair down."
Some of the 100 members of SOG had first choice of their tubers on Friday before Saturday's big day.
A 10kg bag of Duke of York first earlies proved very popular and the members snapped them all up before the public had a chance.
But there were about 27 organic varieties to choose from, all with their different flavours, shapes and colours.
"Potato growing took off during lockdown," said Ms Strivens. "A 20p tuber can produce a good crop of potatoes, and they can be grown in boxes and in a bag of compost - all you have to do is water them!"
The most popular variety proved to be the Charlotte, which produced salad potatoes.
"I think people who turned up at 2.30pm were a little disappointed because most of the tables were bare by them," said Ms Strivens. "There is huge demand for some tubers and you have to beat the rush!"
It is hoped that the event will be able to raise money for charity, too.
The organic gardeners hold monthly meetings and further details can be found on the group's website at shropshireorganicgardeners.org.uk/.
A successful click-and-collect operation was also organised as part of the group's continuing mission to spread the word about organic growing.
