Chop-and-drop: preparing for Shroom season 🍄

One GoodGymer runner ran from his home in East Dulwich to Thorlands Community Garden to meet up with task owner, Simon.

This food growing club based on a housing estate in Camberwell aims to promote community growing and slow foods through methods of their zero miles food project on unused and unloved brownfield spaces. Slowly, but surely they aim to open up their space to be grow fruits, veg and herbs sufficiently enough to be called an urban farm.

Tonight, Simon had Sam helping out with building up the patch where the mushrooms 🍄 will be growing. Simon taught him about the "Chop-and-drop" method of composting and creating a new bed without digging and eroding the soil. The way to do this is to chop any overhanging branches and cut off leaves, put it in a pile on the ground and then cover it with cardboard (as it is bio-degradeable) and then woodchip, but the layering must be at least thick (20 centimetres). This will ensure no weeds will grow through and the bedding will be ready for mushrooms to grow once Simon gets a few logs and some serum to help the mushrooms grow!

The evening was spent chatting away on topics like vaccinations to the future of urban growing as we used the hour and a half to implement the "chop-and-drop" method of gardening.

The "Taller" portable floodlights came in handy as the night became darker. Simon was impressed with the gadget that he may look into purchasing a couple.