Fertile soil is the basis from which all good, sustainable growth stems. With figures from ReLondon showing that local production and farming account for less than 1% of the capital’s food supply, there’s never been a more important time to focus on greening for growing within the borders of our city. The soil care clinic aims to create a community facility offering free and low-cost soil testing for growers, community gardeners and anyone interested.

In 2023, our funding supported a pilot project for the clinic, with a view to developing a longer-term community facility. 25 volunteers were involved in developing the pilot project, all of whom received a chromatography training session and were supported in their work with the purchase of soil testing equipment including a refractometer and microscope. In all, soil testing was carried out at five community sites across London during the pilot. They were:

– Angel Community Gardens, Enfield
– Calthorpe Community Garden, Kings Cross
– Abbey Gardens, Newham
– Chingford Hall Community Garden, Chingford
– Ital Community Garden, Lewisham.