It’s been a thrill a minute down at the plot this week. Firstly, the asparagus is emerging at a rate of knots. It’s torture, though, as the luscious-looking green spears must be left on the plant this year. We planted one-year-old crowns last year and according to my various manuals, they mustn’t be harvested until [...]

Fred looks after three plots adjacent to ours. He’s retired, so he’s got a little extra time on his hands. He goes back home to Jamaica for the winter, but now he’s back and hard at work. Last year we observed with interest how he planted sweetcorn interspersed with pumpkins and courgettes, with bean plants [...]