30th March

Let's start with an update on our vegetables and some good news regarding availability this week:

Cauliflowers are available in abundance

And if a whole Cauli is too much then we are also offering 500g florets again

Spinach is back and looking lovely

As is Rainbow Chard

Onions are growing well but a long way off

Salad Onions are ready and on sale again

Purple sprouting has been very popular and I am waiting for more shoots to grow

The tomatoes are doing well in the polytunnel and will be well worth the wait!

A big question mark over the savoy cabbages. They are growing but the heads are not forming very quickly. I really hope that this doesn't mean they are going to seed. I will do some research. The leaves look lovely, and it may be that they can be consumed as they are. Update next week.

This week, I've transplanted more cauliflower seedlings and more notably got the first of the new potatoes in the ground. We've got a variety called Colleen as the first earlies, and the well loved Charlotte potatoes as the second earlies. I will be planting 60 of each variety every fortnight for the next 8 weeks so that there should be a continual supply starting from the mid to the end of May. They will be begging to be smothered in butter if all goes to plan!!

I've pulled the compost at the sides of the bed over where the potatoes are planted , and will do the same from the centre when we the first shoots start appearing

Our lovely regular customers will know that this operation has been a real leap of faith.

(Interestingly (by my standards) I have just googled that phrase to check that it is the most appropriate and actually it is perfect: "the act of believing in or committing to something intangible, uncertain, or unproven. It involves taking a significant risk, trusting that a positive outcome will occur despite lacking concrete evidence or guarantee of success. This phrase often describes major life decisions, ventures, or trusting in the unknown")

So my point was going to be that I've had a bit of a wobble this week. Having done my year end accounts which are still finishing with a red number, I told myself that I needed a reality check. Would it be easier to go back to the old life of getting an income and paid holiday at the expense of towing the line?

The conclusion was as follows:

• Yes it would be easier but towing the line will be an even bigger challenge now

• The foundations of the business are built and we have come so far

• We have all the plans in place to make it work this year

• We can't let down all the lovely customers that we have (Supplying the veg has given me more job satisfaction in the last year than I had in 38 years in a boring office)

• And I wouldn't get to meet people like Don

Don is the really lovely guy that delivers compost to the field. He is past retirement age but tells me that he loves being out and about in the countryside so has no plans to stop working. He is required to deliver the compost to my entrance gate, but as the ground is drier now, he offered to try and get it up the field to where I needed it

Brilliant driving skills and a kind and considerate person as well. The extra 5 minutes that it took him to drive up the field has saved me numerous hours. Top man!

Which has enabled me to start making the last of the beds for this year

If you've got this far and are still awake, then congratulations, and I wish you a lovely Easter