Drowned rats spotted at the allotment

Rebecca and I went to the allotment this morning to get the veg for Sunday lunch and as the weather was so bad it was not exactly crowded. The road was like a river and puddles everywhere. We were digging parsnips and sweed and pulling leeks with a thunderstorm over us. Good job they taste so good.

What a winner

Friday was the evening of the Old Basing Bowls Club annual dinner and prize giving. As I mentioned a few months ago, I was winner of the Lunn Cup (drawn mixed pairs) and the Grassi Shield (drawn pairs round robin). I was a fantastic evening and it was a struggle to carry them all home.

p.s. Nick got a plaque for being runner up in the Grassi Shield. He is more modest than me so no photo.

A comfort to us all

I know I keep on about how good 'Grow Your Own' magazine is but this month it has excelled itself. An article entitled ‘Weed between the lines’ extols the virtues of the weeds that we try to eradicate from our gardens and allotments and the uses to which they can be put. After reading about dandelions and their use for making tea, soup and insect repellent, I moved on to a subheading ‘Beauty therapy’. I know it sound dull but I must quote you directly – ‘Comfrey is a well-known ally for organic growers. It makes an excellent compost activator, plant food and mulch and contains nearly three times as much potassium (which stimulates fruiting) as farmyard manure. Bud did you know it was known for centuries ad knit-bone due to its alleged ability to fix bone fractures? Comfrey has powerful healing and soothing properties which makes it a perfect plant to pick for the bathroom. It contains allantoin, which binds tissues and stimulates cell growth, and is an ingredient in many moisturizers. Herbalist still use comfrey for eczema and psoriasis and it’s great for calming acne outbreaks.’

Well would you believe it – and I thought is was really obnoxious smelling stuff that tomatoes loved!

The first frost

Sunday on the allotment was a sorry sight as we had experienced our first frost since having crops. The courgette plants have produced their last, but they will provide a lot of composting. The beans are very limp and pathetic and the marigolds are black and floppy.


I took the opportunity to clear out the greenhouse and picked the last of the peppers as they will not get any bigger. We now have the pepper glut, I have filled a couple of bags of prepared mixed peppers for the freezer and hung up a couple of strings to ripen to give red peppers as they are all still at the green stage. They seem to turn overnight, although we are having to shiver in the kitchen as I have turned the radiator off so as not to spoil the onions and garlic.


We had a surprise visitor in the front garden at home last week. We usually only see him at night but he came out in full daylight when we got home. I am not sure if it is the same hedgehog that we have had for the last three years, or a new one each year, but there has been one living in the bushes under the office window. We don't feed him as I am sure he has a good supply of slugs and snails.

A final thing I must share with you, and a tradition with a promotion, is my new shoes. I have a passion for Camper shoes particularly their 'twins' range. As you will see they are not identical twins.