Grow’em big and win cash

BUDDING greenthumbs can win cash by growing hefty sunflowers for The University of Queensland’s sunflower competition.

The sixth annual School of Land and Food Sciences’ Sunflower Growing Competition is open to all UQ and Queensland primary and high school students from March 29.

Competition organiser Andrea Adkins said students have played music to their plants to spur their growth and experimented with mushroom compost and fertilisers in past years.

“They grow them on the balcony or in their gardens at home or at uni,” Ms Adkins said.

A first prize of $275, $75 for second and $50 for third, will be awarded in two divisions to UQ students and school students.

A 1.8kg sunflower, grown by UQ student Kate Riggs, won last year’s competition but the record stands at over three kilograms.

UQ agricultural student Peter Kopittke grew the 150 centimetre recordholder weighing in at 3010 grams.

Sunflowers will be weighed, from above the soil, at the Abel Smith Lecture Theatre at St Lucia on June 7.

The smallest flower grown between March 29 and June 7 will also win a prize.

All plants will be considered. Organisers may even award prizes for the most bizarre plant, for example, the one with the most sunflower heads.

Lecturers will also talk to students about plant science, food science, nutrition and soil and environmental science.

Students from 17 schools and agricultural colleges entered the competition last year.

Plants must be grown from allocated seeds in containers no bigger than 11 litres in capacity.

They must be ready for random checks and grown in a solid medium, which rules out hydroponics.

To register and pick up your start up kit, visit the Hartley Teakle Building (room 319A – building 83) at St Lucia on or before March 29.

For more information contact: Sunflower competition organiser Andrea Adkins on (07) 3365 1175, a.adkins@uq.edu.au or UQ communications officer Miguel Holland on (07) 3365-2619, m.holland@uq.edu.au