Forking Fields on the Farm

Stepney City Farm is a Tower Hamlets favourite, after all whats not to love about spending a Monday night with goats, sheep, chicken and donkeys, and their respective compost!?!

A warm up run of around 2k saw 18 of us welcomed into the farm with two main tasks - shifting compost and forking fields. A big group of speedy composters took off with their wheelbarrows and shifted an impressive amount of compost from one side of the farm to the other. A second smaller group set about the fields with mostly forks to aerate it - I say mostly, because our kit also included one interesting and unusual pair of 'shoes'!? Aerating is very important as it improves the nutrient uptake in the soil, stimulates the soil microbes, increases infiltration rates of water and helps with the drainage, all of which ensures a green and pleasant field for the goats...though it is essentially making lots of holes in the ground.

After 40 minutes of shifting compost and forking fields we bid Simon a fond farewell and headed off to Mile End Park for a few drills, an interval session around the stadium and a pace train through the park and up the the Green Bridge hill! A short recovery walk down the other side and we were set off along the canal for a final hard and fast interval before heading back to base after a packed, but satisfying Monday nights work.

Emily