It is week three and we are powering ahead! The left side is now almost completely planted up. Plot one and two are potatoes, plot three is garlic, onion, celeriac and cos lettuce, plot four is a mixture of leafy greens and plot five is strawberries and rhubarb; but we still have a few strawberries to plant.

The paving slabs for the path and the base of the non-existent shed have also been laid, but I can’t take credit for that. It is relatively straight but does follow the contours of the plot in some places, no complaints here though. The ground at the back [under the shed slabs] is poor quality and was a nightmare to prepare for the slab laying, so the layout has worked well for us.

We have now started preparing the right side of the allotment. Plots 11 and 12 have now been turned over, they just need to be raked and marked off. We aren’t 100% sure what we will be planting as of yet, but I know beetroot and carrot will be planted in one of them, probably plot 12.

I have already begun planting in plot A and C, these will be planted with pollinator friendly flowers to encourage the bees. They will spread out over time but I hope to put some wildflowers in with them next year.

The herb garden is well under way. So far we have four thyme varieties, three mint varieties, regular and garlic chive, tarragon, sage, rosemary, parsley and a curry plant. There are a couple of others we would like but are yet to find.

We have so much thyme on our hands. Initially we only had two, but were given another variety, then I came across a variety I remembered from my childhood. I thought I was going mad until I found it at a garden centre as no one could remember this bush; the variety is Golden Thyme. It has a bushy texture with a wonderful citrus smell. It took me back in… thyme.