Four Goodgymers answered the call from Marston Forest Garden to remove an area of grasses and weeds with the aim of sowing other seeds.

Most of the session was spent uplifting the grass, roots and all, and filling up the compost heap. This was aided by some excellent vegan carrot flapjack from Isabelle meaning we managed to clear the area ready to rake and sow the seeds at a later date.

It turned out many hands do in fact make light work!

While we were digging, there was a small group doing a survey of the worms in the Forest Garden as a way to check for the soil quality. It turns out there are many different types of worms (size, shape, anatomy) even in such a small area. We unearthed quite a few larger varieties in the area we were working, although this maybe helped to feed the local birds particularly a robin that seemed very interested in our work!

Anthony is always full of interesting snippets of information and talked a little about removing brambles and weeds with his trusty Lazy Dog tool, which turns out to be the company name rather than work-shy mutts. Jenny took up the additional challenge to help Anthony remove some very persistent weeds and bramble roots in another section of the Forest Garden after the introduction to the Lazy Dog.

Marston Forest Garden is a part of a larger collection of groups under the banner of Marston Community Gardening. There are various orchards, chickens, allotment spaces, an Eco Hub plus much more so read about it on their website via the link above or via their community group that can be found on Facebook.

Welcome to both Jenny and Jamie for your very first Goodgym Oxford experience! I hope you enjoyed the session and hope to see you at another session soon!