Chutney is made & Derek strikes again!!

These little jars are the results of my chutney making efforts

Don't they look pretty and quaint?

I have put them in the store room to mature for a few months,

and I have posted a jar to my "virtual" friend Ralph who has a lotty in Notty(Nottingham)

as it's his birthday next weekend, so I hope he is a good boy and doesn't open it straight away!!

*************************

As I arrived at the allotment gates this morning I was immediately arrested by the fantastic banner that Kirsty's husband had made to advertise the open day next Sunday 10th

Isn't it just FAB? I love the flowers - so pretty.

On arrival I was greeted with the sound of spade hitting soil - yes, you guessed it, the bramble fairy / digging fairy - the wonderful Derek was on plot 144 again, clearing brambles and digging away for me - bless.

As you can see from the picture below, he dug me enough of a space to not only put in some spring cabbages, which Olga my Russian Lotty neighbour gave to me that very morning, but there is also now enough room to put in the next installment of peas that are still growing happily in my cold frame at home.

I protected the cabbages with some netting

So that the birds and pigeons don't attack them. Do you like the idea of putting up turned bottles into the soil to create a little "roof" for them? Obivously as the plants grow, the bottles will have to go onto canes & fortunately for me - the netting is double the width so as the flowers grow the netting protection can expand! Clever eh?

This is my favourite Tomato so far - it is huge - almost the size of an orange and it's grown a little arm!

George and Perry said it didn't look like an arm to them - what could they mean???? I wonder what it looked like to them????????

Finally - My surprise this visit was the amount that the runner beans had grown - on my last visit on Thursday, they were mostly half way up the canes and now - just look - all the way to the top!