That was 2016

This is going to be a positive post about 2016; highlighting ten good things about another lovely year within our allotment bubble.

In no particular order:

1. Star and heart-shaped cucumbers. The moulds probably work best with small, quick growing cucumbers, like our Rocky. They're apparently suitable for tomatoes too, but we didn't try that. They didn't work on courgettes.
   
   
2. Sunny picnics and some warm late nights on the plot. Summer started really wet with slugs and snails taking out a lot of early growth but July and August were delightful with plenty of sunshine.
   
   
3. A blue poppy. A gift last Christmas and I was so pleased when it actually flowered as the slugs had rather a taste for it initially! I hope there will be a further showing this year...
   
   
4. We grew a loofah. Well, that's cool, isn't it?!
   
   
5. Ratatouille - what a colourful meal - and it tasted good, especially covered in cheese and sprinkled with chopped nuts
   
   
6. Black tomatoes - Indigo Rose look so great but not a great flavour, this year we're trying some stripey ones. But we'll also be growing that tasty little red cherry variety Aviditas.
   
7. We found a coin - a 1744 farthing! For all our searching we've only found 3 in 7 years and this was the oldest.
   
8. Growing potatoes in bags - so pleasing to harvest. We used nematodes which we think worked well to keep the slug numbers down. Our favourite bagged variety was probably Orla.
   
   
9. Seeing a pair of bullfinches in the hedge - the first time we've seen them at our end of the site. We saw them later in the year too, which I hope is a good sign they'll be back next year.
   
10. The second HAHA/RBL Horticultural Show - such a great turnout, with over 300 entries. We're already looking forward to next year.
So, it wasn't all bad in 2016.
After all, at the beginning of the year we thought we may not have an allotment and then 5 days later we were given a reprieve....(which we're currently waiting on again....anyway, stay positive!)

I wonder what 2017 has in store...

Finding Things

We had a great afternoon on the plot in the sun today - digging, sitting and chatting. Jamie found a marble and a coin - always a treat! This is the third and oldest we've found.

The coin is very light and quite small 23mm diameter. After a bit of cleaning, manipulation in a photo app and a bit of web browsing we figure it's a farthing. Four farthings made a penny, so not too much to lose. This is Britannia 

George II reigned from 1727-1760. The coin is dated 1740-something, can't quite make out the last number. But, once you know, it is possible to make out part of GEORGIUS and the II. And, I think it may be 1744, because there is a U in his name, rather than a V.   Cool!

We also found that our broad beans have sprouted - hoorah!

And our potato chits are going a bit crazy, so we really want to get them planted out in the next week or two...

Finding Treasure!

Jamie was at the plot for most of the day digging plot 8B and finding more huge chunks of concrete, which is why he's aching beside me right now. Not sure where the concrete is from. Possibly a result of the canal dredging which was apparently done in the 1970s or 80s. He found this 1886 penny coin, which although not particularly rare, is rather exciting and in good condition.

Queen Victoria

Britannia

We did find an older coin on the site a couple of years ago  - it was another penny from 1797(!) with George III on it - such poor condition I couldn't get a photo of it though.

I joined Jamie in the afternoon but didn't do a lot of work, just a little digging but mostly socialising and taking pics. It's lovely to see that the hedge is now beginning to go green and these are blackthorn flowers - which will turn into sloes later in the year. Tiny little flowers.

Very pleased too to see that both our rhubarb plants are looking really healthy and have a substantial growth spurt over the last week - the April showers and sun have really done the trick!

Also, as expected the chives have all sprouted up. You can see it's separating already.

And, the garlic is looking happier with the added Growmore giving it a helping hand...

Lastly, the chives have gone a bit crazy over the last week and they've got flower buds - this is also a gratuitous picture of the grape hyacinths which keep getting a mention because they're such a pretty colour!