Yet another chilly but dry start to the day. The full skip was due to be removed today and once this had happened we could see the full effects of the site clearance that had taken place over the previous two weeks. The car parking area looks so much larger and the new flower beds with their sleeper surrounds look very attractive.

We reckoned that 8 tons of topsoil remained where Bury Hill had tipped it the week before. We had estimated that we needed between 17 and 20 tons of topsoil to fill the beds but had only been able to bring 10 tons to site at any one time. So our plan for this week was to clear all of the topsoil to the beds and firm up on the estimate for the next load. As we shoveled the soil to wheelbarrow we reflected how much harder this would be if we hadn’t covered the soil with tarpaulin the week before – and we had been tempted not to do this because we were so tired!!

Whilst this was going on we carried out a quick check on the beds to make sure that they were sufficiently clear of rubble. You may recall last week the end bed could only be cleared by using a pick axe. In turning it over it was obvious that a substantial amount of rubble remained under the surface, so the pick axe was put to work once again! An hour and several heavy pieces of brick wall later the bed was declared clear. The clay is quite clumpy in this bed, so we have decided its first crop will be potatoes.

Back at the mound of topsoil we had been joined by a Ruth and her son, Owen. Ruth runs B@titude in Kingston Road Leatherhead with a colleague. Established in 2005, the shop sells and donates babies and children's clothes and has a small cafe area, where refreshments are sold at very reasonable prices. At the back of the shop is a play area for young children and a garden with a Wendy house and seating area. The shop is a focal point for local Mums and provides an invaluable range of services and help. If you have any surplus babies and children’s clothes B@titude will find new homes for them in the local community. For more information visit their website on www.beatitude.org.uk or telephone 01372 374666.

The soil to barrow to bed conveyor belt worked methodically for several hours. To make it more exciting we tested different ways of filling the barrows – was it easier from the right or the left (the consensus was that for all of us right handed persons it is easier on the right …. no real surprises there but it killed the time!). We talked about which vegetables we’d like to grow most – carrots and broccoli were high on the agenda. And Owen had the fun job of collapsing the mound when we needed more soil to work with.

One of our team concentrated on raking over the beds as the three barrows deposited earth continually. Raking is one of those tasks which always looks easy but when you try it for any length of time you realise how tiring it is on your arms and upper torso! Well that’s what “the raker” declared – and the rest of us weren’t minded to test his declaration!

By 1.30pm the mound had disappeared and all but two beds had been mostly filled. We estimate another 6 to 7 tons of soil is needed for next week. Some beds are to be increased to about waist height for ease of access for those that cannot bend. Finishing the bed surrounds is on the list for next week.

As usual there was a very tired but content group of individuals that left the site today

Another day and another milestone to attain! A team from Rotaract had said they’d join us so we started off with some high expectations for the day. To cap it all there was no snow, no rain and the chill even abated every so often!

At 9.00am we took delivery of some beautiful black organic top soil from Bury Hill in Westcott (check out www.buryhilltopsoilandlogs.co.uk). The driver, who is an accomplished vegetable grower himself, explained that the dark colour is due to the mushroom based organic matter that is added to local fertile loam. Known as “Bury Hill Black” apparently this very fine topsoil is the only certified organic topsoil produced in Surrey and is used for school vegetable gardens and more throughout the county.

We mused how little we knew about the skills and resources in our community before we had started this project – and what an eye-opener this project is. Recycling seems to be a common theme with many of our partners: Bury Hill loam is a bi-product of the de-silting work that took place at Bury Hill fishery some 15 years ago, Compost Works promotes the re-use of pallets and that wonderful website Freecycle has resulted in many gardening and kitchen items.

But enough of musing – let’s get back to work. The plan for the day was twofold – clear the rest of the excavated soil and rubble and complete some of the beds. With 3 wheelbarrows in action, work commenced with gusto on re-locating material from the patio area to the skip. Wow, this was arduous work. Taking it out of the ground with the digger was so, so easy in comparison! We needed extra hands…and right on cue Rob and his team from the Epsom Rotoract turned up. After a quick introduction some of the team set to work on the skip filling. Three beds were ready to be filled with top soil but three on the south side of the site hadn’t been touched and needed to be dug over. The beds on the north side of the site had been full of building rubble so we were very pleasantly surprised to discover that two of the beds on the south side were pretty much rubble free and moreover the soil is beautiful crumbly clay. This clay has obviously been worked a lot in the past so perhaps this is confirmation that this area had been allotments previously. In stark contrast one of the beds on the north side – the very last one of the twelve to be worked was so full of rubble – and frosted lumps of clay – that the only way to work it was by using a pick axe. A quick phone call to the Leatherhead Horticultural Society concluded with a decision to add some gypsum to the bed with solid clay.
A quick and excellent lunch from Chimes (those olives were gorgeous) allowed us to learn more about Rotaract. Rotaract is an organisation aimed at 18-30 year olds with clubs throughout the world. It enables members to meet people, try new activities, and make a difference in their local community. The Epsom club covers a very wide area. Each year they select a charity to support through fundraising events such as Race Nights, Raffles, Sponsored Walks and stalls at local fairs. Their selected charity for 2009/10 is the Firefighters Charity. You can find out more from their website www.epsomtoract.org.uk.
As part of their community involvement they have agreed to help us out and will join us again later in February. Their help was invaluable. We achieved so much. We reclaimed most of our grandly named “Patio Area”, the skip was filled, the beds are now all dug over and two beds were filled with topsoil. Thank you so much, guys, we look forward to you joining us again. Very dirty, very tired but also very elated we shut up shop ….and headed for a shower!