UK's largest Edible Open Gardens event offers a glimpse of urban food-farms in Greater Manchester - and a chance to get your hands dirty!

Allotments and community food-growing gardens in Greater Manchester will open their gates to the public during September 2012, in the largest open event of
food-growing spaces ever seen in the UK.

Local gardeners and growers, both locally and nationally, are gearing up for The Edible Gardens Open Day, which takes place on Saturday 15th September, providing members of the public with a glimpse of the green spaces on their doorstep. Over 5,000 people expected to participate in events and activities throughout September as a result.

The day is part of the Big Dig - a kind of match-making service, bringing together people who want to grow fruit and vegetables, with community food-growing gardens who need help from local
volunteers.

Clare Horrell from The Big Dig, said: "The Edible Open Gardens events will be the first time many of these gardens have been opened to the public. Gardens have been created in some unusual spaces. What they all have in common is that they are run by local people and grow fantastic, tasty fruit and vegetables right in the middle of their communities. We want everyone to come and visit, taste what is growing and be inspired to get involved themselves so that food growing sites become a part of every urban community."

Many of the participating community food gardens will be putting on activities such as garden tours, talks, games and barbeques, as well as selling garden produce and home made food.

A churchyard in Charlestown, and the Harpers Lane allotment site in Bolton are just two of the
food-growing gardens in Greater Manchester that have already signed up.

Details of participating spaces can be found on The Big Dig website lwww.bigdig.org.uk - though we're only just about to start adding sites now, so maybe wait until the end of August!)

Alternatively if you fancy getting involved and volunteering for a food growing space (from little
gardens to field scale farms) before the 15th September, please register your interest.