Prepare for action!

Plan crops, warm soil and stock up on essentials now

WE don’t have a massive amount of room for growing fruit and veg so we have maximised the space by putting in raised beds and rotating the crops every year to keep the soil healthy.

Our patio also becomes a secondary edibles nursery in summer, crowded with tomatoes in grow bags, salads in containers, a dwarf cherry in a pot, and, from this year, dwarf raspberries that I’ve also planted in a container.

We have a greenhouse that fills with tomato plants each summer. We tried aubergines last year, though they didn’t reach their full potential thanks to the grey, chilly weather of midsummer.

We are already taking steps to lay the ground for this year’s sowing and planting: weeding the soil, adding another thick layer of homemade compost to the raised beds, and warming the soil with cloches and old compost bags securely anchored against seasonal storms.