AS the days grow longer its time to think about getting your fruit and vegetable patch organised for the spring, and Cotehele and Tamar Grow Local's Graft, Sow and Grow extravaganza will help you do just that.

The two day event will run on March 1 and 2, from 11am to 4pm at the National Trust's Cotehele Estate.

BBC Radio Cornwall's Tracy Wilson will be hosting her Sunday morning show live from Graft, Sow and Grow and Cotehele's head gardener David Bouch will be helping Tracy to answer listeners' gardening questions live on air.

Cotehele's orchard manager Chris Groves is looking forward to talking to local growers and giving workshops to help get things growing.

He said: 'Whether you're new to cultivating your own food or an old hand at it there will be plenty to excite and inspire you at Graft, Sow and Grow.

'Come along and swap some stories or let us show you how to graft your very own apple tree.'

Organisers have arranged for plenty of expertise to be available during the event together with talks by a range of guest speakers, including 'Beekeeping for Beginners', 'Creating and Caring for Your Own Orchard', 'Growing Vines for Wines', 'Saving Seeds' and 'Creating a Wildlife Garden'.

Simon Platten for Tamar Grow Local said: 'After last year's bumper apple harvest, we're hoping that people will be enthused to plant more traditional Tamar Valley varieties of fruit trees to increase the number of small orchards in the valley.

'Apple trees and orchards are fantastic for attracting a wide range of wildlife to your gardens, especially bees, which are important for pollination and the health of your garden.'

If you are looking for graft material then there will be rootstock and scions for sale and visitors are invited to bring along any left over seeds from last year to swap for a new selection for this year's garden.

Visitors can also enjoy free entry to the gardens at Cotehele over the Graft, Sow and Grow weekend. Cotehele's Barn Restaurant, pasty kiosk, shop and gallery will be open.

Graft, Sow and Grow is a free event organised by the National Trust and Tamar Grow Local.

For more information and details call 01579 351346 or you can visit the website at http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cotehele">www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cotehele