The asparagus bed and I have reached that familiar stage of a long-term relationship: five years in, still hopeful, slightly exasperated, and convinced that this  season might finally be the breakthrough. When I first planted the bed, I imagined armfuls of spears each spring. The reality has been… more modest. It’s improving, certainly, but not quite the abundance I had pictured when those crowns first went in. Gardening has a wonderful way of gently adjusting expectations wh

There’s a particular morning each spring when you step outside and realise the countryside has quietly changed overnight. The air feels softer, the hedgerows have that faint green haze, and the garden suddenly looks as though it has shrugged off winter. Around here, that moment means one thing: asparagus season has arrived. For a few fleeting weeks, farm gates sprout handwritten signs promising Fresh Asparagus Today. Supper plans change. Market baskets fill with green bundles

There’s something about this time of year that really gets the motivation going again down at the allotment. After the slower winter months, it feels good to finally get things moving, and this week I’ve made a proper start on one of my beds. I’ve decided to experiment a bit by planting a mixed bed of carrots and garlic together. The idea behind it is simple but (hopefully) effective — using companion planting to help keep pests at bay. In this case, the strong smell of the g

This is a guest post kindly send to me from one of our readers David. Carrots are root vegetables, first grown in Afghanistan around 900 AD, and a hundred years later in the Middle East and North Africa, both domestically and wild.They were found in Europe six hundred years later.This vegetable is best known as orange coloured, but early carrots were purple, yellow or white just like the “new breed “of carrots on sale today in supermarkets. Plus ca change! The orange carrots