PRIMARY school children are being encouraged to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, launched the Capital Growth schools competition across London.

He has written to all 2,300 primary schools urging them to create food gardens.

There are three categories which include Bugs and Slugs, a garden focused on biodiversity, Collect and Create, which encourages the re-use of waste items and Climate Cool, a garden designed to cope with a changing climate.

The winner from each category will be visited by a celebrity gardener and they will receive £500, plants and a wormery.

There will also be prizes for 12 runners up including fruit and vegetable packs and gardening tools.

The first 50 schools to register will receive a spring sowing selection of organic seeds from Duchy Originals.

Capital Growth aims to create 2,012 growing spaces in London by 2012.

For more information or to register, visit capitalgrowth.org/schools