This afternoon I excavated a horrible overgrown bed in 'the orchard'. It was covered in meadow grass and couch and had been bothering me for weeks. After attempting to lever the tussocks out with a fork, I gave up and cut them like turf with a spade. Boring but effective, and created enough space for three new crowns of rhubarb (Early Champagne) all planted in a hole filled with composted weeds. Any empty spaces among the fruit trees got a sprinkling of either: red clover, poached egg plant or phacelia. I also picked about a dozen slender stems from an established crown. I saw my first bee of the year, and a wasp, and the pond is full of frog spawn.

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Earlier in the day I'd picked some nettles for soup. Elsewhere the perennial herbs have put on enough growth to harvest: thyme, winter savory, hyssop, fennel, chives, french tarragon, rosemary, bay, sage and marjoram all on offer. Less edibly, the lavender, valerian and pulmonaria are all off and running.

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In the greenhouse it was over 28 degrees. I potted on some purple cauliflower from 3" to 5" pots and, for the first time, everything needed a proper watering.

The great start to the growing season continues... cool, but not freezing, at night and sunny most days. Temperatures in the greenhouse are in the mid-twenties and even the aubergines seem at home there.

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The amazingly dry conditions are perfect for opening up new beds: I created one just for some Jerusalem Artichokes today. A new variety for me, called Gerard. I also planted some Horseradish thongs in another unpromising corner of the allotment. Seems better to have some unpopular crops in these areas rather than just a bunch of weeds.

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With the exception of the flowers and those going directly into soil, most of the March sowings are done. It's looking all set for an Easter weekend planting scores of spuds.