A combination of the Easter holiday and it being the time of year that it is has resulted in a scarcity of products to choose from in this week’s shop. Some items are no longer available, such as red cabbage, swede, and sadly the English apples have now come to an end. There are no baking potatoes this week either. There are some nice fresh greens from the greenhouse and polytunnel in the form of spring greens (cabbage) and chard, and there will be purple sprouting broccoli and kale. Potatoes are Marfona and the red Alouette. I have just a few of my winter squash left; if you order one it will either be orange or grey. The oranges are huge this week, so I have priced them singly. There will be clementines, lemons and limes.

It’s April 1st tomorrow and the clocks went forward overnight, a sure sign that time is marching on. Early last week I managed to get a lot of cultivation done, but I haven’t yet planted much out because from mid week we kept getting annoying amounts of rain – just enough to halt progress. Oh and I had a nasty migraine on Wednesday that slowed me down somewhat. This week I will just have to get on with it, because I have cabbage, chard, lettuce and broad bean plants that desperately need going in the ground. Meanwhile in the polytunnel we are only a week, or two at the most, away from the first Little Gem lettuces being ready to cut. I will be planting the first of the cucumbers in the greenhouse within the next week.

I feel a little bit quilty (though not really), because Pauline felt obliged to bake me a hot cross bun for Friday after my comment in last week’s blog, and Rosemary, who isn’t even a customer anymore (but who I know is a regular reader of my scribblings), turned up at Wyken yesterday with a bag of buns that she baked for me. Thank you ladies, you brought a smile to my face and have left me feeling somewhat bloated.

This is short and to the point, because, it being Easter Sunday, we have family coming over later so I’m going to leave it here. I have eggs to hide, and an grotesque Easter bunny costume to squeeze into. Don’t overdo the chocolate, it’s like having shop bought fish and chips, the thought of it is always better than how you feel afterwards.

Phil