Holiest Pants Competition

Sustainable Bourne Valley held the Holiest Pants Competition at St Mary Bourne Flower Show and Fete.

Last summer (2022) the series writers of The Archers included a Holey Pants Competition in that well known radio drama. Having checked out that this was based on scientific research, which it was, SBV decided to raise awareness of soil fertility by holding a similar competition, The Holiest Pants Competition, at the SMB Flower Show 2023.

Participants were asked to bury cotton underpants in their soil, 6 weeks - 2 months before the Flower Show, and then dig them up and bring them along for judgment!

What does burying your cotton pants in the ground and digging them up again 6 weeks to 2 months later show about the fertility of your soil?

• There are millions of soil microorganisms that live amongst the roots of our plants.
• If the soil is healthy these microorganisms will devour the cotton in the pants leaving just the elastic

So, if after your six weeks are up, the pants are still wearable and will protect your modesty then your soil needs attention. If they are ragged and rotting then you’ve lost a pair of pants, but can rest assured that at least your soil is alive and well. You should have good healthy flowers and vegetables. Apparently, the optimum season to try this experiment is in the summer months when the soil’s biology is more active.

For more information about the competition and how to improve the quality of your soil, click here!

THE RESULTS OF THE SMB HOLIEST PANTS COMPETITION 2023

The winner of SMB Holiest Pants Competition 2023 whose pants showed that she had the healthiest soil out of all the entrants was Harriet Dickinson. Her prize was a recycled engraved spade. The person whose pants were still wearable was Lulu Vallings so she received a bag (made of recycled material) with alpacaca poo to help improve the quality of the soil in her garden.

SBV intends to run this competition for the 2024 SMB Flower Show, so get going now by making and adding your compost to your soil.