Peter and Ben both decided to combine a foodbank run with another ivy clearing and planting session at Gorse Hill Studios. We joined Katie, Duncan, Cathy, and Rebecca.

We dug, hacked, chopped, cut, pulled, sawed, and pickaxed our way through the never-ending ivy growing around bushes and fences.

We burned some of the vegetation and piled it ever higher. We found lots of spiders 🕷 and saw the plans and prep for the pond. The cup of tea 🍵 and a kitkat also helped on a warm and sweaty evening ☀️ There was also some planting of other plants 🪴 in between the hedge trees 🌳 we had planted a few weeks ago.

Following the session, Ben took a collection of tins 🥫 milk 🥛 crackers, strawberry 🍓 and raspberry jam, rice pudding, tinned fruit and veg, and some spaghetti 🍝 hoops to a nearby drop off for Manchester South-Central foodbank.

Peter and Ben joined Katie from Gorse Hill Studios to help out at the allotment where EVERYTHING had grown, including the weeds 🌱

We arrived to a green carpet mostly of bindweed and other weeds, plus the polytunnel tomatoes 🍅 had grown out of control.

While Katie tended the polytunnel, Peter tended to his pumpkin 🎃 patch, which was looking very good and growing, and Ben aggressively attacked the weeds around the site, forming big piles in his wake.

We made friends with a few frogs 🐸 caterpillars 🐛 slugs, ladybirds 🐞 and a few spiders 🕷.

In just over 2 hours, we made serious progress, even planting out some chilli 🌶 and salad 🥗, and harvested plenty of plums, apples 🍎, and a courgette. The onions 🌰 were left out to dry too.

Great effort 💪 just imagine how much we could do with a bigger group.

Despite the stormy weather and circulating thunder ⛈️, Peter and Ben rolled up their sleeves for a strenuous weeding session at Gorse Hill Studios 🌱

Along with Rachel, Cathy, and Duncan from the Studios, we were tasked with removing as much ivy and weeds as possible from the border. It was no small task and with the thunderous background, we set to work with loppers choppers, saw, and secateurs ✂️

We unearthed a lot of roots, rubbish 🗑 tennis balls 🥎 and a broom end (we initially thought it was a hedgehog 🦔). We freed the planted bushes and a rose bush and left the area in a much better state than we found it. Meanwhile, the compost pile is now huge and Rachel measured out the pond area.

Well hydrated with a cup of tea, we also blitzed some weeding at the allotment, watered the polytunnel plants 🪴, and planted cucumber 🥒 and more squash 🎃 in the garden. Job well done all round 👏 💪

Good session with Smithfield Garden Club, clearing lots of litter from an area near The Wheatsheaf in Northern Quarter 🚮

Welcome to Tyla for the first time, joining a bumper group for a rare Wednesday night task.

Louise and Phil were in charge with Robert, landlord at the Wheatsheaf, also lending an able hand. We got bag rings, gloves, bin bags, a makeshift sharps bin, and brooms with dustpan to do a loop of the area.

Some notable collections:

• battery 🔋
• mattress 🛏
• hoover
• various clothing 👖
• lots of broken bottles, glass, cans

We also trimmed one of the communal beds and had an introduction to the amazing work the local group had done to develop the area, including some of the planted areas that were looking good 🌳🌱🍃