Another thing I can't get my head around...

....is successional planting. Yes of course I understand the principle of the thing. You sow some seeds and then a week or two later you sow some more of the same thing so that you don't get all of your crop at once. It makes perfect sense until you start actually trying to plan the garden or allotment.

For example: I grew two rows of beetroot. I can't remember exactly how many plants that was... maybe around 40. This is more than enough for us... I am not that fond of beetroot. I don't like it pickled in vinegar and I really can't take eating it more than about once a week... probably less. But I planted them all at once and they were pretty much ready all at once... and it has been hard work to preserve them.

One of the reasons for not staggering the planting (other than not actually thinking of it at the time) was that I did not want to have space with nothing growing on it... I mean, if I don't have something growing on it, the weeds rush in to fill the space... and if you plant stuff all over the place (which I have a tendency to do anyway) then you forget what was where when it comes to planting the following year...

Well.. the end result is... the beetroot has come and gone... yes it's mostly in the freezer (both as cooked and also as cake and we even have a demijohn of beetroot wine bubbling away) but I have no more fresh. The carrots are mostly gone too and because I didn't plant successionally... once they are gone they are gone... not enough to freeze either.

I keep reading what is supposed to be in season but often my veggies have come and gone when all the books say that I should still be getting more. This is more planning than I expected. It can be hard enough to get the actual growing organised never mind this kind of fine tuning.

It's not turning out to be as easy as I thought... mmm... well there is always next year... (I seem to remember saying this last year too!) Sorry no piccys of beetroot or carrot... well you all know what they look like!

Mystical Symbols?

I found these in a local charity shop. They were fifty pence, and because I was intrigued, I bought them.


I asked the lady what she thought they were... she didn't know. They were kept with the jewellery so she thought maybe they were scarf rings.


I wasn't convinced. There are 12 symbols on each metal ring (although they are not exactly circles in shape), the symbols are on both sides, and I surmised that perhaps they were something to do with zodiac symbols. There is a cross, but not a Christian cross, the arms of the cross are equidistant. There is also a chalice... the rest are simply strange.


They are not the regular zodiac symbols and although I did spend a little time searching on line I couldn't find out what they represented.

I have come to the conclusion that they must be from some kind of game perhaps and that there is no mystical meaning to them at all.


Anyway I made an offering to Inari in the hope that he will look kindly on me and send more blessings my way. Perhaps someone reading this will recognise them and enlighten me?