On my second visit to the allotment, I found myself handling more intermediate tasks. Ok, still brainless busywork, but I at least felt that I was gardening. My job was to sow seeds into black plastic trays, each tray containing mid-size holes filled with dirt. I sowed 2 trays of sweet corn, 1 tray of sprouts and 1 tray of squash. Each tray consisted of 84 holes for planting; with 4 trays planted, we’re talking about a lot of potential food.
Just before I left the allotment for lunch, the initiative supervisor Mahesh, showed me what would be my project for the rest of the week. He showed me a patch of grass that ran behind four plots, overgrown with grass. This patch had once had plants growing there, and it was my task to dig out the weeds, leaving bare soil for planting. I thought back to the seeds I had spent the morning sowing. My space to clear was about 4 feet by 25 feet, so, again, we’re talking about a lot of potential food. Mahesh gave me a pair of gloves and said “The shed is always unlocked, so you can come down here whenever you like to dig out the grass.”
I took a break at my flat, ate some beans on toast, and then headed back to the allotment to get started on my task. I prefer tough manual work rather than small busy work, so I was glad that I had a big physical task that would take me awhile to complete. I spent the afternoon digging out a patch of grass, shaking out the soil and chucking the remaining grass and its roots in the compost.
Date: 4/5
Time: 10:00-13:00; 14:00-16:00
Location: Grown-Our-Own Allotment
Hours: 5
Supervisor: Mahesh
