Treasure

In the past couple of weeks I have found two interesting pieces of buried treasure on the plot. First was an old penny, heavily worn but still clearly marked 1908 on one side. It could have been in circulation for many years after 1908 of course, and judging by its condition it has had a hard life, but I wonder who dropped it and what they were doing there. I would like to think it was dropped by a soldier during the big military exercise that was held on Stacey Hill farmland before the outbreak of WWI, but it could just as easily have had a more mundane life and been dropped at any time in the last 100 years. At least it makes a change from bits of broken glass and plastic.

My second find was a bit more modern, an aluminium petrol token dating probably from the mid 1970s with a picture of a car on it. This has also seen better days but it's just possible to make out that it was issued by Shell and features a 1950s Mercedes Benz 300SL. I wonder if someone was disappointed to lose it from their collection.

It's taken me a few years of repeatedly digging the same soil to unearth this stuff, so I wonder what else lies beneath the surface. Actually, I don't need to wonder that hard. I'm always unearthing things, since these finds I also dug out three whole house bricks and a couple of broken concrete roof tiles. So although it is is theoretically possible someone buried a whole house, the real answer is probably 'a load more old rubbish'...

Roll up, roll up

Gather round ladies and gentlemen, can I interest any of you in some of the things that have been left on my plot for me by a previous tenant?

A sample of some of the unearthed treasures

First up, who likes plastic? I've got plastic bottles, plastic cups, plastic plant pots; plastic bags, plastic mesh, green tinted plastic, clear plastic, plastic string. Plastic not your thing? What about metal then? I've got metal nails, metal bars, metal scissors, metal penknife (rusted solid, sorry), metal wire? Glass (hurry, only small pieces left); gloves (two, not the same)? a single very long woolly sock? What about a tub of slug killer - vintage circa 1980s at a guess. What's that? have I got any stones? well yes but sorry, you can't have the full bucket of great big stones, I've decided to use them in my drainage channel.

Don't worry if you miss this opportunity, there'll be more. ALL the above items have come out of one patch of ground about 8ft by 4ft in the last week...

Green Manure and free turf

I am very proud to say I have now had time to do my first proper digging on my plot. It is bloody hard work, because although the soil is actually quite nice it is full of thick roots, stones, bricks, and tiny bits of rubbish, everything from sweet wrappers to sheets of glass (see below).

First, I cleared the edge next to the riding and sowed some grass seeds to re-establish the verge now the weeds have gone. While I was doing that, another new allotmenteer (I prefer the term allotmentalist) came along and started chatting. He noticed I was seeding and offered me a couple of square metres of turf for free. Moog likes free stuff so I accepted, even though it was looking a bit dead to me Moog thinks it might re-establish when we get a bit of rain.

The second bit of digging was over toward the centre of my plot, where I have dug two squares and planted some of my green manure seeds. On Saturday I had two willing helpers to help clear the soil, where we were delighted to find a massive sheet of glass, buried under a big piece of plastic sheet, and shattered into a million pieces in my soil. We got quite a bit of it out, but I think I'd better be careful what I plant!

Moog thinks I could always open up a sideline selling glass-spiked veg to secret agents, stalkers, animal rights activists etc. but I think he is being silly again.