Yesterday, from 1pm-4pm, we had the first of our regular Sunday work parties. We had a great turn-out and it was lovely to see some new faces. This session was particularly exciting as it was part of the line-up of a community festival, Conversations with the Earth, who we were thrilled to team up with.
With the plot still in its formative stages there was lots for everyone to do. One of the most pressing jobs was to get the garlic that had been growing in pots on a windowsill for the past month and some Jerusalem artichokes that were sprouting into one of our new beds. We also planted purple carrots, chicory, land cress and mixed salad leaves in rows into our biggest bed that we prepared with our lovely compost that was delivered last week.
We also created a makeshift water butt by placing an unused plastic bin under a drainpipe leading off the old sports shed and made a third compost bin out of pallets and bicycle inner tubes cut into strips to tie everything together. The wild hops that are growing down the outside walls of the old sports shed had to be tied up and secured out of the way of our temporary ‘water butt’ and we collected a large quantity of seeds that were ready to be gathered from the hop plant itself. OxGrow Organic Home-Brew, anyone?!
Last but not least, and probably most importantly, our creative OxGrowers devised an ingenious way of creating a fence to block off the 14m gap in the metal fence around the plot by using the old tennis nets and supports that had been left on the sports ground. That should keep out those pesky muntjac deer! We finished off the day by relaxing in the disappearing sunlight and reflecting on the great success of the day. Well done everyone!
Our regular work parties take place between 1pm-4pm every Sunday. Feel free to pop by!
Annabelle
OxGrow 