My potentially great idea!

DaftyDuck

Well, anything to keep you busty, as I said earlier....

lisa110rry

Lol Dafty, you do make me laugh!

I know little about lemon trees, is there a particular type which will grow best in the UK?

Also, does anyone know if schools are VAT exempt? And if so, is the exemption "over the counter" or a contra-charged? I'm thinking that I don't particularly want to incur cost for the school, so I'm content to buy a few things, but if the school is VAT exempt, I'd like to take advantage of that (for the things the students want to grow).

Farway

If space, how about a dwarf peach in pot? A bit of exotic but easy to grow, and nice to eat

DaftyDuck

There are several different lemon trees commonly available in the UK. Most sellers don't stipulate what it is they're selling. Homebase sell them all through the year, and they are about £30 for a tw0-foot tree, so quite expensive. Aldi sell them in early March, so you've missed them, for this year, but they are only £15, and are a decent bit larger than Homebase. If you have a "The Range" near you, they also sell them cheaply. Many local garden centres do have them, but I've rarely seen bargains. There's an online garden centre called tropical Britain, quite good value, and they sell them, I think. There are specialist nurseries, mainly in the south, that specialise, but they do cost. I mean, serious cost, can be a few hundred quid for a twenty year old tree....

lobbyludd

I've a lemon tree from T&M that I bought using £15 of clubcard vouchers (using the 3x boost). It was not well packaged for the journey but has bounced back and is flowering away in my bathroom with some lemons set.

I am FULL of admiration for what you have done, the children who work with you will gain so much, as will the school as a whole.

lisa110rry

Thank you Dafty, and such a kind comment Lobby.

Farway, the dwarf peach in a pot is a grand idea. We used to have one in the garden when I was growing up in Illinois. Mind you, we also had a truly massive and venerable Mulberry which was the bane of Mum's existence at certain times of the year (purple bird poo).:eek:

Coming back to lemons, we do have a "The Range" nearby and the owner (or former owner, he may have sold now) is a friend of my boss (not that that will get me anywhere). I'll have a look.

Currently I'm waiting for the few broken panes to be mended so that we can get started (needs to be safe for the youngsters). My personal greenhouse is stocked to the brim as I have the donations there, together with five hanging baskets for my home, my nine tomato plants and one cucumber, and random tender items waiting for "May to be out" as in "cast not a clout".

REEN

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rocket-science-turning-uk-children-into-space-biologists

This could be an exciting experiment to get involved in.

lisa110rry

Oh thank you reen! I have forwarded the link with a short explanation to the science teacher and the DoE Award leader by email!