All in the balance...
Natalie's Friday session had a challenging task of tackling the large leylandii that runs next to the path. It had become very overgrown and it needed a good prune to bring it within ‘arms length’ and hopefully more manageable for future trimmings. There were lots of balancing acts and circus tricks performed to reach the highest ones! It's made a tremendous difference and the Wednesday team who have started weeding the long bed, adjacent to the public path, really noticed the difference with the additional light.
Pizza oven roof addition!
The pizza oven has gained a new addition of a temporary roof to try and help it dry. It's quite a joy seeing the changes and the ingenious solutions that the 'Men in Sheds' team are trying during this project and the challenges it poses. This is certainly a job where the journey and the process undertaken is a delight to spectate. (...And we rather like the latest look of it's temporary roof looking temple-like in the morning sun!)
Leeks and Onions
Wednesday saw some new volunteers join the group and they got stuck into weeding the flowerbed under the recently topped Leylandii. Gerard then gave us all an onion planting lesson which got planted by the volunteers on their first day. (special thanks to Emma) It was a fun and satisfying morning - made all the better by Marianne's cake!
We also welcomed old faces on to the acre, great to see Diane & Chris who had not been since before lockdown and we're looking forward to when Malcolm will be able to come again. Behind the scenes we've also been working hard with various local organisations such as Transform, VASWS, Surrey Choices and the UCA to bring more volunteers on to the acre. It's great to able to offer people outdoor activities, some time in nature and a bit of an escape from it all. Please remember to email info@space2grow.space prior to visiting the acre so we can manage everything safely on the project.
Recipe for leak & potato soup and soda bread
This was a recipe that Kate's family tried with the leeks from the acre last weekend - click here . Very simple, made with only 3 leeks, 1 onion, a handful of potatoes and a little butter. They didn't add any cream or milk, the soup was creamy enough just from the potatoes and the children absolutely loved it too! Couldn't eat it fast enough...
Sharmilla also wanted to share this recipe for Irish soda bread - click here - that goes wonderfully with soups, stews and when toasted, a bit of smoked salmon, avocado and poached egg. Sharmilla made it a couple of times over the lockdown, the whole family really enjoyed it.
If you have any recipes you can share that have worked well, please let us know, especially ones that use produce from the acre or vegetables that you are growing at home, we'd loved to hear about them.
There are still spaces in our yoga classes on Tuesday (just get in touch with Isobel directly isobel@roots-yoga.co.uk) and in the volunteering sessions, to book a space contact info@space2grow.space We would love to have you join us for a dig and a chat.
Stay in touch, stay safe and we hope to see you on the acre soon.