The raised beds I built from the remains of our old chicken run are starting to look a little better now that they’ve been filled with the compost we’ve been making (obviously making sure the dead rats I discovered were trebucheted over the fence into the field behind). I’ve planted all our potatoes now, planting a row a week in the hope of staggering our crop, though I’m not sure how successful this will be. I’m pleased to report though that the first wave of spuds are beginning to pop through. I also bought Fi a veg box for Christmas which almost guarantees success as all you need to do is literally bury the box. I’m really pleased to say its starting to grow so it would appear it does exactly what it says.

Last year we bought a small tub of rhubarb but sadly it failed quite quickly in our poor soil containing rusty nails, batteries and bullets (!) which I’m guessing were from the 1980s as they had a great deal of rubbish to hide back then like shell suits and leg warmers. This year however its starting to grow again and is already at an impressive size. I think it might have something to do with all the dead pets we’ve buried in that part of the garden over the last couple of years. If my crumble tastes of chicken I’ll know thats definately the case.

If you’re looking for a little inspiration or help in the garden then why not visit the BBC’s new Dig In site. I’m finding their Daily Tips particularly useful.