We were delighted to be going back to support Coton Loves Pollinators at their allotment this week.

Meeting in central Cambridge, we took a lovely cycle out to Coton and were greeted by a lovely sign welcoming us 😊 Naturally, we stopped for a quick picture. We said hi to Bridget and were soon down in the allotment having briefing on the jobs for the evening. We were all struck by the beauty of the pollinator patch with the variety of flowers creating a stunning mix of colours and textures. And most satisfying was seeing the huge sunflowers with hundreds of heads, the result of our last visit were we spent some time planting them 🌻

After many photos, we got started on our three jobs for us this visit:

Caroline and Chris were gathering fresh compost (any excuse to use a wheelbarrow) before planting out allium and irises. Guided by local, Annalise, the result was an incredibly neat bed, pictured beautifully by Caroline under the moon. 🌝

I was working with Becky and Izzy to carefully remove a vast amount of verbena that had taken over one corner of the existing pollinator patch, to transfer to a new patch in the orchard were it will support bees and other pollinators. Being a pretty robust plant, the existing patch will be a burst of colour again next year too. 🐝

The third task was levelling the ground under the polytunnel ready to create growing spaces. It required the big guns, both our own and the tools, to break the very dry earth with a mattock. It was very physical work, so we took it in turns, passing the mattock like a relay baton. In around 40 minutes, the area was looking much flatter, and Izzy finished off the job by covering it in old sacks. We very much enjoyed the stress release nature of this task! ⛏️

We really noticed the season change this evening, finishing the task in the cool twilight, under the light of a very bright moon. Head torch season is coming!

At the end of the task we were treated to tea and delicious homemade scones, warm from the oven. With lashings of butter, they really hit the spot after some hard graft. We enjoyed hearing about bat sightings (we even saw one ourselves 🦇) and the bat surveys that happen in the orchard, as well as Bridget's echinacea purchasing - why by one when you can buy 60?? Exciting plans and we look forward to seeing how the patch looks in the spring.

The last Thursday of the month is social night, so if this wasn't enough fun for one evening, we stopped via the pub on the way home where it was a pleasure to meet new GoodGymer, Giugiu, who came along to meet us before joining a task soon 👋

A truly special way to finish our Thursday night allotment sessions for the season 💛

This week, we visited St Laurence's Catholic Church for the first time. What a day for it, too! Because of the >35°C heat, we cancelled the run element and met at the task under our own steam - which turned out to be bikes all round! 🚲

The team this evening comprised Alan, Catherine, me and the returning Izzy. Welcome back! 🙌

Our task began with a few moments of serenity, enjoying the shady garden. It was lovely to take a pause and unwind after a busy day! The green-fingered Alan keenly set about identifying various plants using a cool app, and was one step ahead when we received our instructions 🔎

Today, we were to pot on various small plants to help them reach their full potential, and hopefully produce bountiful crops to be shared amongst the community. Alan made light work of turning the soil while Catherine, Izzy and I transferred some peppers to planters. We then made a highly efficient and somewhat organised production line (dig! water! potting mix! plant! cwtch! water!) to plant the aubergines and tomatoes into the freshly prepared ground 🌶🍆🍅

We hope these little plants handled the move and grow big and strong to yield fruitful crops! 🌱🪴🌳

An evening of firsts for GoodGym Cambridge.

Firstly, a new task, joining Coton Loves Pollinators at their pollinator patch allotment site.

We welcomed Izzy and John to their first GoodGym session 👋 (Spoiler alert: It was a great one!)

In another first for us, we met to cycle to the task. Surprising considering we live in the city of cycling! We enjoyed a beautiful route (including the new cycle street) out West of Cambridge through the countryside.

As we got into Coton, a fantastic personalised sign greeted us and led the way to the site. We met the brilliant Bridget who showed us down to the allotment to meet the rest of the group, who had already been busy getting the polytunnel frame up!

John and Izzy used their height advantage to help with the polytunnel cover. In just 20 minutes the polythene was on and held taught by Izzy's very satisfying wire work. Eventually, the tunnel will be covered in transparent photovoltaic panels, generating electricity from UV, whilst allowing visible light though to grow plants. Very clever ☀️

The rest of the group got started on planting in a new patch, extending the growing space. As we were breaking new ground, gadget expert Anna, let us use an earth auger to drill the holes for the plants. Naturally, we all wanted a go...the ease, the power! Sandra and Alice led the drilling and Ilse took the lead with planting. Going in were beans and sunflowers, a companion planting dream, with the sunflowers providing a growth surface for the bean vines and the beans fixing nitrogen in the soil for nutrition. Win,win. 🌻🫛

With yet another fun tool, Anna gave us a plant taping machine (definitely not a label maker) to attach the stems to the support pole for the early growth stages. Once we'd got the hang of it, it was another very satisfying job.

With 40 plants in the ground and the main polytunnel up, we paused to admire the beauty of the pollinator patch, and just when we thought the evening couldn't get any better, Bridget arrived with scones and tea! All homemade and warm from the oven, what a treat. We couldn't ask for better way to enjoy the end of a beautiful evening 💛