After a lengthy period of blogging silence and in response to continued hectoring from Olivia, my daughter, (certainly my most avid and quite likely my only follower) I have been galvanised into putting finger to keyboard once again. Since my last post I have been keeping busy down at my allotment during what has been a good gardening season. The recent deluges were much needed and will hopefully help avoid the hose pipe restrictions that were otherwise looking very...

I like asparagus. In fact, that's a shame faced lie - I adore asparagus. Last April I planted 300 one year old asparagus crowns  (which look rather like undernourished octopus) and I was delighted to have a 100% take, despite the dry summer. I will need all my powers of self-control to wait a further 12 months before I start cutting and consuming, as the experts recommend that newly planted crowns are not cut for the first two years to ensure that they prop...

A gardener's best friend. Well rotted horse dung - whether it comes from a plough horse or a Gold Cup winner matters not a jot, will turn the vegetables on your allotment into Olympic athletes. I have a sizeable pile of it awaiting application, delivered by Eddie whose dearly beloved has two ponies producing on a regular basis. The well rotted manure has been judiciously placed at the highest point of my allotment to allow for gravity fed leaching into the soil...

I arrived at the garden centre this morning and decided to take a wander around the outside plant area, to take in some of the early spring colour.  I walked past a trolley full of gardening tools and was surprised to see that it also contained a biscuit tin. Exciting news as no-one likes a biscuit more than me. The tin, however, contained meal worm, at which I draw the line no matter how hungry I am. I called over to Tess who was already hard at work and who...