Finally, after what feels like a long winter, spring has made to the UK and my little corner of Surrey. We had temperatures in the high 20s at the weekend which was a shock as the week before we were below 10!

We are not quite out of the woods yet as far as frost is concerned but the plants in the garden have gone into overdrive. First out of the blocks is the asparagus. It’s my indicator that soon I can stop buying vegetables and collect them from the garden and allotment.

Following closely behind the asparagus will be broad beans and salad vegetables like rocket and lettuce. It’s also gratifying to see I still have two squashes from last year left when it’s almost time to start this seasons.

Growing vegetables connects you to the seasons and their variations. Eating your own produce eliminates the pesticides and other chemicals that are used by commercial producers.

Back to the asparagus… I think  it’s going to be a good year for using my traditional asparagus knife.