Andrew has tidied up the soft fruit beds and mulched them with well-rotted manure and  dug one bed after spreading more manure on it in readiness for the potatoes.

The seed potatoes have arrived and are now chitting and I’ve ordered some new beanpoles to replace our old ones that have done sterling service for 4 years but are now very rickety.

On Sunday Andrew tidied and mulched the asparagus bed and pruned the fruit trees.

Well, it looks very pretty and we haven’t yet had so much snow that plants are breaking under the weight, but horticulturally it is a no- go zone.

On the allotment: Thanks to Andrew putting protective netting over the brassicas before the arrival of the pigeons, we are now enjoying good pickings of  cavolo nero and purple sprouting broccoli.