So many things happening on the acre in the past week it seems as if we’re competing with the spring flowers to come to bloom! The benches are now almost finished thanks to Aniello's hard work and they look so good that Waverley might want them back - they'll struggle to move them mind you as they weigh an absolute ton....in fact I'm not entirely sure how we're going to shift them to their various spots! We now have the greenhouses completed thanks to the sterling efforts of Brendan and John who fitted the new glass. Inside are tray upon tray of seedlings, all coming along nicely in their warm surroundings.
Nick, Marianne and Sarah visited Hazelbank Nursery in Tilford armed with the donation from Transform Housing on Wednesday. This money has enabled Sarah to plant out the Transform bed and, as she is off with the Princes Trust for three months, she has left the remaining planting in Marianne's more than capable hands.
The vegetable plots are looking great and Gerrard and Isobel have a planting plan - Gerrard seeded a bin with parsnips which now have the depth of soil they need to hopefully be prize winners! If you pass the vegetable strips you will also notice that our potato's have poked through the surface, as have the beetroot, so its looking good for a great display of Acre grown produce this year. Gerrard was also at it with the fork and spade, turning over and breaking up the soil in the remaining beds - a big thank you as its an arduous job that many of us wouldn't take on lightly.
The indomitable duo, Don and Gill, are making a tremendous difference with their work on the acre. Many of the seedlings, that are doing so well, have been planted by Gill and over the coming weeks she'll need a hand " pricking out ". This will lead to more seed trays being available to plant out so that we have an abundant source of plants this year. The masterplan is to use what we need on the acre and any surplus could be sold at a plant sale to create some funds for the project. Important work, so thank you Gill. The other half of the duo was cracking through the concrete like soil that runs behind the new cabin, adjacent to the path. which was looking very neglected. Not any more! It's now nicely broken up, with a good helping of compost added, and Don has sprinkled the soil with donated seed so it will add a splash of colour for the Farnham residents using the path to go to and from town. A fantastic effort and another new project well on it's way to being ticked off.
I've hardly mentioned John so far but don't worry, he's been all over the acre getting involved in just about everything going and is now digging out our " bog garden ". This is a new project which will involve the children of the local School as they'll be helping to plant it out under Pete Bickfords guidance. A rather unique watering system is being devised which will be a bit of fun but also practical and functional so watch this space!
To round off the week a group of us attended the launch of " Farnham in Bloom ", held in the lovely restaurant at Forest Lodge Garden Centre on Thursday evening. We were handed a generous cheque from Iain in his capacity as the new head of Hale Lodge. A big thank you from us all at space2grow for having the belief to back us as we continue to grow, helping and assisting more and more people and groups as they hear about our magical acre.