Its taken a while but, finally, they are in full throttle. In a normal summer we would have been picking these most days since mid December but this year they have had to first survive a bird attack (where they were uprooted, so I had to re plant them which knocked them back), then freezing…

My favourite fresh bean; big and meaty, sweet and tender (if you catch them young enough). I fell pregnant twice in December in the 80’s, three years apart, and both times by mid January I was fully nauseous. Runner beans – the smell, the texture, the taste, the look of them, they made me want…

So last summer was a scorcher and went on for months. On the back of that I decided its time to start planting aubergines at our place. This summer began with weeks and weeks of cold winds and colder nights, right into mid to late January. To protect these poor little plants I upended the…

The new potatoes are a treat! Planted in October to be ready for Christmas when I make the beloved-by-many fry up of chorizo, red onions, new spuds and tomatoes. Also try this tapas of salt crusted baby potatoes with herby dipping salsa. Potato salads of course – here is the recipe for one with mayo…

At the start of the winter I planted some green cabbage, brocolli and cauliflower but the weather grew too cold too quickly and they didn’t start growing until early spring. At the same time early in the spring I sowed the seeds for more hoping they would fill the gap in late spring/early summer when…