POTATOES were planted as residents got involved in the national Big Dig campaign at a community garden.

Spades were put into use turning the soil at the Slades Farm garden in Bournemouth, which is open to all to grow fruit and vegetables.

The get-together was moved back a week due to the weather and Sarah Speakman-Jones, 36, from Moordown, said they have also been planting fruit trees already.

She said: “There is a lot of work involved but people are starting to want to know where their food is coming from, especially following the horse meat scandal.

“And it’s just nice to get out and get some exercise.”

Fellow gardener Cherry White, 53, from Kinson, said having the space gives free reign to their imagination compared to using their own gardens.

She said: “We can try different techniques and incorporate things into the design that you can’t do in a domestic setting.

“Community gardening is such an important idea that this should be just the start.

“There ought to be more of these opportunities at events throughout the borough.”

A total of five community gardens were registed for the Big Dig this year in Bournemouth and Poole.

These were the Smile garden and the Tatnam Organic Patch in Poole, Slades Farm, the New Leaf Community Allotment in Muscliffe and the Townsend Youth Centre Garden.

The national Big Dig campaign is run by the charity Sustain, aiming to get more people involved in community gardens.

For more information visit bigdig.org.uk