Lost

I did some baking 🎉 (it doesn’t happen very often).

Rhubarb, honey & ginger flapjacks

OK so it was only flapjacks but the recipe was specifically chosen to use rhubarb from the allotment and honey from Ivan’s hamper. The honey is locally produced and could include pollen from our allotment as Cobbs Farm is less than 3 miles away as the bee flies. I used this recipe https://foodstak.com/rhubarb-and-ginger-flapjacks/#recipe Adapted slightly; some olive oil as we didn’t have enough butter and a bit of Golden Syrup as I read that honey isn’t always sticky enough. Anyway, it was very tasty and just the right consistency.

The PSB is the only other thing we’re still harvesting though it’s beginning to flower now so not too many more servings to come I don’t think. We’ve been to the allotment every day and have been busy digging the trench for the climbing beans on Plot3 under the old polytunnel frame and I weeded and cleared up the garlic and onion beds.

I snipped off some buds that had grown on a few of the onions and gave all the plants a sprinkle of onion fertiliser. There’s a rogue potato in there so I’ve left it for now, though it did get frosted.

I’ve planted out the mangetout with some sweetpeas at each end and in the middle of the trellis. Hopefully the wire cage will stop the pesky pigeons. We’ve had some sunshine and showers and the plants have already responded quite well. We’ve sown nasturtium and calendula and at the weekend we direct sowed broad beans in the front bed we dug on Plot3 - they have their bottle cloches as mouse deterrent. The broad beans sown in modules haven’t emerged yet, but if they do grow we’ll use them as spares.

We also planted out the Baby Bear pumpkin on the manured hole in the weed suppressant that we dug a few weeks ago. It’s got 3 watering bottles as hopefully the foliage will be so rampant they’ll guide us to where we need to water.

On one really warm day I did some work on the HAHA Wildlife plot, which has been rather neglected of late. Honeysuckle is threatening to take over but there are lots of other plants just emerging which have more light and space now the old dead layer has been cleared. Here are a few of the insects I managed to photograph on there.

Back on our plots, the potatoes have all popped up now so we’re keeping a close eye on the weather forecast - we’ll earth them up today as a frost is forecast overnight. Our last frost date is 13th May, according to historic records, so not too much longer to live with the threat.

Yesterday I dug an area in front of the nursery section. I sowed some  Oasis turnips and transplanted a row of lettuce from the polytunnel - they always look so sad when first put out but hopefully they’ll perk up!

The plots are actually beginning to shape up now, but there are still large areas that need work and I’m not sure where the dwarf beans, carrots and some other items are going yet…

It’s all happening - what a fun time of year! 

The song is provided by the Goo Goo Dolls - we won tickets to see Reading vs Blackpool on Saturday.

By this stage it was pouring with rain and, well, Reading lost - the last match of the season.😞 

To the Moon and Back

The year is moving swiftly on. March has passed and the clocks have moved forward; the lighter evenings are welcome especially when we had sunshine on a couple of warm, dry days.

I was very excited to spot this morel (probably Common) mushroom in one of the communal flower beds! We’ve never found one in the wild before. They’re a highly prized fungus though this one looked passed its best so I wasn’t tempted to sample it - they always look like they’d be rather gritty but I’m assured that they are delicious. It would be great if we could get them to cultivate somewhere on site but they’re renowned for being tricksy; this spore/mycelia must have been imported with the compost or wood chips.

The daffodils and tulips are still looking good and our little pear tree has some lovely white blossom - I wonder if we’ll harvest our first pears this year…

We’ve visited the plots most days and made some progress. All the seeds, apart from carrots, have begun to germinate in the polytunnel and the California Wonder peppers have germinated at home. I dug a big hole for the pumpkin on Plot3. It doesn’t look that impressive but the earth was very compacted and full of tree roots so it was really hard work. I was ready to give up a couple of times but Jamie was directing and I’m glad it was completed in one visit. We filled it with well-rotted manure, some chicken manure pellets and the compost from last year’s cucumber pot before piling the original earth, minus the roots, back on top.

First stage when I wanted to give up!

Plot3 has provided us with another harvest of purple sprouting broccoli - this lovely lot was delicious in a cheese sauce with Arley’s plant-based pancetta.

We also enjoyed a few sticks from our rhubarb - the plant has flowered so I chopped the two flowerheads off to stop the plant being weakened.

I spent a bit of time splitting and potting on Rudbeckia plants. I know where one is going but the others will probably be saved for a HAHA plant sale. I’ve also done some Vinca Minor (Periwinkle) cuttings at home - they’re in water at the moment so I’ll pot them up when they grow roots.

Most of the perennial plug plants are ok in the polytunnel though some have died - unfortunately the Sharpie labels were less waterproof than I expected … 🙄 so it’s all guesswork now!

The wildflowers (I’ll call them that as they’re not all growing on our plots) are providing for the masses of bees and ladybirds (mostly 7-spots so far) and I was pleased to see a blue butterfly flitting along the hedgerow on the warmest day.

Speedwell, viola, daisy, ground ivy, dandelion and purple & white dead nettle

I did a bit of tidying around the garlic and onions - the onions are a bit weak, but hopefully they’ll produce something. I need to add a little Epsom Salts to the garlic as the leaves are yellowing - the addition of magnesium and sulphur aid photosynthesis. Storm Dave chased us away from site yesterday - it was extremely windy and we’re nowhere near getting the full force of it. I hope it blew itself out completely overnight as we’re meant to be having a picnic later.

Yesterday marked the 18th anniversary of my kidney transplant - forever grateful to the donor family and the NHS 💜

The (beautiful) song is provided by Savage Garden. Thinking of the Artemis 2 crew on their mission around the Moon which will lead on to further space exploration, but also prospecting the Moon, which seems like a bad move especially with the wrong people in charge.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Saturday’s warm sunshine encouraged us to have a few hours on the plot. The ladybirds and bumblebees were out in number along with this lone peacock butterfly which was sunbathing on the grape hyacinths.

The little flowers provide a nice patch of colour and spread like crazy so there are small bunches in various places around the site where I’ve re-planted bulbs over the years.  The nectar lovers are mainly seeking out blues and yellows at the moment. The yellows are provided by daffodils and dandelions on our plots and the paths.

These two tiny tête-à-tête narcissi sneaked onto the pile of wood chips which have been left in the communal area - they’re so sweet!

Look at that lovely blue sky over the blackthorn blossom - what a welcome sight!

Our little fruit trees have all budded - I wonder if this will be our first year for fruit … I think this is the pear, it needs a trim - I’ll leave it to late-Autumn now.

We managed a bit of clearing and even a bit of digging where the potatoes will be planted. There’s an area where I pulled the leeks, due to leek moth damage, where we’ll probably put a few more potatoes too. (As I write this, I remember that’s where the mangetout was going 🤔 I need a better plan) The onions look pretty awful but the garlic still seems to be growing ok so far.

But nothing is growing as fast as the grass, so I strimmed all the edges on Sunday as fellow plotholder Clint kindly mowed the paths for us.

Sunday morning arrived with a beautiful sunrise and from our window I could hear a Great spotted woodpecker tapping away somewhere nearby.

We bought a couple of raised beds for the polytunnel so put one of them together in the afternoon; need to do a bit more tidying before we can fit the other one plus chairs and seed racks (and all the other bits and bobs) in. The rain was torrential so I was getting a drenching due to leaky polytunnel seams, but Jamie was helping from the director’s chair - even after it split 🤭

No sign of frogs or spawn in the tiny pond which was also getting a hammering from the rain.

I also managed some meagre pickings of purple sprouting broccoli - mostly picked from second year plants which was a little bonus. Hardly a feast, but enough to cheer up a rather boring pizza!

It was so nice to get back to a bit of plotting, but my legs and back are feeling it today. A few more sunny days would be welcomed to progress a bit more - we have a lot to do over the next couple of months but feeling positive. I told Jamie that my retirement plan involves achieving one thing every day - don’t want to overdo it 😃 - turns out that’s an actual strategy; I thought I’d made it up! Also it seems I may actually receive some pension income this month, after my original form was ‘lost in the post’ hmmm…

Song title provided by Dinah Washington - an oldie, but sums up the weekend’s weather. Now try to get that song out of your head!

First Time

Yesterday: It didn’t rain and it was Valentine’s Day so here’s a 7-spot ladybird sporting a love heart (not AI!).

After more than 3 months of hibernation we took advantage of a dry, albeit freezing, day and visited the plot. I was pleasantly surprised at how it looked - my expectations were low but it’s definitely looked worse.

I was so pleased to see the daffodils are almost ready to bloom in the raised bed. And around the budding fruit trees in ‘the orchard’.

The Apsley mulch has really helped with weed suppression; there are thistles, dandelion and cranesbill but not the grass which is such a pain to weed. We still have a bag of mulch to spread and to replenish other beds. 

One of the last plot visits I made before Christmas was to pull the leeks which had been decimated by leek moth larvae. I was over the moon to see that the garlic appears to have got away without damage, though I think the onions haven’t fared so well.

This is the raised bed where the shallots did well last year - there’s a few of those weeds I mentioned…

They were easily pulled and after an additional layer of mulch and compost this year’s Yellow Moon shallots have been planted and surrounded by a sprinkle of onion fertiliser. We’ve covered it with enviromesh to help protect from various pests. 

This plot with irises and bulbs hasn’t been mulched and is trickier to weed - look at that mess - ugh - but hopefully the flowers will put on a pretty show to distract the eye (the 2 crocuses haven’t quite achieved that) 🤭

This brick provided the brightest spot of colour in the sunshine - look at that lovely moss.

I need to study mosses a bit more, they’re so interesting en-masse or up-close. Looking at the moss world website I think this is probably a common variety Ceratodon Purpureus but don’t quote me!

The birds (robins, blackbirds, long-tailed tits, magpies) were out in number and a kite was circling overhead. There were also two hot air balloons in the clear blue sky - brrr, it must have been very cold up there. We found a couple of 7-spot ladybirds, including that one in the top photo with the heart, soaking up the rays and this wasp was snuggled in the polytunnel.

Aah, she’s holding her antennae down round her face (it can only be a Queen if it’s hibernating). I’ve updated the wasp entry on my Wildlife blog, if you’re interested.

There’s the Sun receding back into the gloom, but it was a lovely couple of hours and we felt revitalised as a result - though we were very pleased to go home for a coffee and a nap.

The title song is provided by Macy Gray recognising the first visit to the plot in 2026 - enjoy ☺️ 

Transformation

We’ve been watching the cygnets this year and noticing the plumage changes as they move towards adulthood. They join in the feeding frenzy when we feed them from the canal or river bank, but only the adults seem to spot the feed that lands out of the water 😊

The war memorial is one of their feeding locations, with our fancy new memorial bench, this tree also puts on a fabulous transformation display. The fallen leaves just add to the display don’t they.

Our neighbours, who are also plotholders, have an excellent display of pumpkins - their largest was 36kg! Amazing considering how dry the year was.

Our display of squashes is rather less impressive but I am hoping to make this recipe from at least one of the fig leaf gourds, but I’m not sure whether they are ripe enough to have the spaghetti-like texture. Will find out, I guess!

We’ve had a couple of plot visits since my last post - I weeded the plot where the onions and garlic have begun to poke through and have done a bit more clearing. Spotted this tiny sunflower that’s made a late appearance - the flower is only about 10cm in diameter!

We’ve had a delivery of Apsley Farms mulch which I can spread once I’ve cleared the planned area, but I need to dig a trench for all the foliage from beans, squash, etc and I can’t face doing that at the moment - we’ve had such a lot of rain it may be a nightmare job.

We got an absolute drenching when we visited the Welford Park Spectacle of Light on Sunday.

Four miles of wandering amongst beautiful fantasy woodland with lovely musical accompaniment.

We really loved it, despite the rain. I really liked these conical lights amongst the trees.

And this area was where we sat having refreshments. The spheres were really great but didn’t photograph too well. But just look at those huge lit-up trees - stunning.

It’s only a few miles from Hungerford - it’s where the Great British Bake-off is filmed. It was fabulous, rather expensive but worth the visit, the drenching and the aching legs! More photos if you fancy a peek.

And here’s another cygnet photo showing a bit more white plumage - the brown feathers moult apparently, though it looks like they’re changing colour to me 🧐

So, you can see why this post’s song title is what it is - by David Gray.