For this session we needed to move some tomato plants before clearing a bed in the greenhouse (shifting the contents into ton bags). While half the group did this, the other half mixed up some compost. We finished up with feeding the cows and goats.

6 Good Gymmers arrived at the farm and were soon put to work by task owner, Kate, sifting and refining some recently produced charcoal for further use on the farm. This required a three phase production line. 1) Sieving the charcoal; 2) crushing it in a scritcher and 3) pummelling it by hand. All in all, it was a very effective workout. We organized ourselves efficiently and completed the task to time. After that, we were rewarded with a tour where we met the new pony, Joey, and the one-month old piglets and kids.

On a personal note, this was my last session at the farm for the time being as I’ll be traveling for work. I’ll be handing over Taskforce leadership to Olive and Andrada. Thanks to everyone at the farm for always being so welcoming and supportive of Good Gym!

4 intrepid Good Gymmers arrived super early at the farm ahead of the Spring Fair. Gemma, farm manager, set us to work on an assortment of tasks including gazebo assembly, outdoor furniture feng shui and plant identification. The latter was surprisingly complicated and I’m sure we all discovered new varieties of tomatoes! It was another great session at the farm and we look forward to returning to our usual Sunday slot in 2 weeks.

Had a great time. The farm is a lovely breath of fresh air in London. Pat was great, the team friendly and the farm animals very charming. The work was very manageable but rewarding and it was followed by feeding the pigs, hens and walking the ferrets, which was a perfect end to the session!

It’s springtime on the farm and that means there’s a lot to do, as ever! 3 Good Gymmers and Farm Manager, Gemma, started off by mucking out the sheep pen. This is home to 9 very pregnant ewes. Once we had cleaned their living quarters, we took the manure and dirty hay round to the compost where it will decay before being bagged up and sold in the Farm Shop. Then we just had time to de-weed one of the paths before taking the ferrets out for their daily exercise. This was a lot of fun as they are very inquisitive creatures. We will be back in 2 weeks and hope to see lots of newborn lambs!

Great day shovelling compost for Surrey Quays farm