Show off your kooky veggie patch and win

Sunshine Coast residents growing food in the backyard, balcony, school patch, community garden or even the windowsill have the chance to impress the nation, as entries open for the annual Grow It Local Awards.

Judges include Gardening Australia’s Costa Georgiadis, River Cottage's Paul West, permaculture legend Hannah Moloney, world record-holding large vegetable grower Kevin Fortey, and composting coach and author Kate Flood.

Supported by Sunshine Coast Council’s Living Smart Program, the Grow It Local initiative aims to bring fun and creativity to food growing, with the awards featuring quirky categories to engage growers of all means and expertise.

Grow It Local co-founder, broadcaster and author Paul West said growing food was a practical and accessible action for anyone to live more sustainably.

“Collectively, home growers are powerful positive change agents — our awards are a way to celebrate and uplift this great work,” Paul said.

Grow It Local ambassador Costa Georgiadis said he looks forward to judging the awards each year.

“Cultivating diversity is central to the Grow It Local vision in our gardens, communities and for the planet too, and these awards really highlight the brilliant positive work of diverse gardeners across Australia,” Costa said.

Entries close on Sunday March 31, 2024.

The 2023 Australia's Best Chicken Name winner: Hilary Fluff, Hennifer Aniston and Meryl Cheep.

To enter the Grow It Local Awards, gardeners must:

Be a member of the Grow It Local community, with registration a free and easy process at growitlocal.com
Post a photo showing their entry with the hashtag #GrowItLocalAwards2024 on Instagram or Facebook
Tag @growitlocal
Mention Sunshine Coast Council and the award category in the post caption.