Treely

We wielded secateurs and loppers, and even a saw, to pollard an unruly willow tree. It'll grow back abundantly in the spring thanks to a September haircut.

Madly

We ripped plastic tape off a heap of cardboard boxes and created a weed-suppressing cardboard lasagne, with a side of coconut matting. Might not seem too mad to GoodGymers, particularly once you understand it's power to stop nettles in their tracks, but your average passerby would probably think it was a bit of an odd activity.

Deeply

It was mattocks and spades at the ready again this week, this time deepening the trenches around the Medicine Circle. We started digging the trenches during some of our winter tasks - memories of plenty of mud for very little progress! - so we were pleased to find the soil a bit easier to work at this time of year. Never thought I'd see the day when we had GoodGymers sawing tree roots in a muddy trench, but 'expect the unexpected' is basically the unofficial GoodGym motto, so there we were, and Jocasta cut through those roots like she was born for the job.

As a bonus task we sent Amy and Meysam hunting for buried treasure - forking over a patch of the path to find the bulbs which need salvaging for replanting somewhere more appropriate. We had mixed success on this one, but a handful of bulbs were uncovered. We needed a treasure map really!

You can read a bit more about the evolution of Marston Forest Garden since it was established in October 2019 here.

Thank you Isobel for the tea loaf - we always appreciate tasty snacks!

Well done on reaching your 10th Good Deed Sophie!