Deadly females

At this time of year there are lots of spiders around our grounds.


When we found a small spun mass we thought was created by a spider, we decided to learn a little more.


This is a cocoon spun by a female spider to protect her eggs. The male spider doesn't stay around for long for fear of being eaten! The spider that has laid this is a common garden spider 'Araneus diadematus'. Her size is approximately 18mm and she will swell up full of eggs before laying them in this cocoon.


She will eat butterflies, wasps and flies but won't eat smaller prey such as greenfly. A baby spider is called a spiderling.


Other common names for her include cross spider, European garden spider and garden orb-web spider.




The eggs look like mini ping pong balls.

Aimee and Abi Year 5

Green tomatoes

Green Tomatoes


Tomatoes come in all shapes and sizes.
Some can be green, some can be lean and some look very mean!

Faye 5C

Green tomatoes can be used to make a lovely chutney, please try our recipe.

Tomato chutney
Makes 4 x 150ml Jars

600g green tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 large red onion,sliced
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
10ml olive oil
3 teaspoons chilli powder
250g soft brown sugar
300ml white wine vinegar
125g pitted dates, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons salt

Sprinkle the tomatoes with the salt and leave for around an hour. Pour off any excess juice. Put the onions and garlic with the olive oil in a saucepan and soften over a medium heat for about five minutes. Lower the heat, add the chilli powder and sugar and give them a good stir before adding the tomatoes. Pour in the vinegar and stir to ensure the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and stir in the dates. Simmer for about 40 minutes,stirring regularly and checking that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. You will be able to see when it is cooked as it will be pulpy and have a hint of runniness. Allow the chutney to cool and then spoon into sterilised jars.

Enjoy!