Well, my garden is coming along nicely now – I’ve got rhubarb, strawberries and broccoli planted for next year, along with a few herbs. The compost bin is filling up. Roses are blooming and I’ve found and replanted more bulbs than Blackpool illuminations!

My big problem at the moment is slugs. The nasty things keep trying to eat my plants! Despite consulting various sources of gardening information I’ve not found a good solution. I don’t want to use chemical slug repellents, but I did find one which was garlic based. So I thought I’d plant some garlic, but that doesn’t seem to have done much yet. I’ve also put crushed eggshells round my veg plants to create a sort of anti-slug razor wire! I have a feeling this battle may continue for a good while yet …

Well, I’m settling in nicely to my new house. And I’m starting to get really into self-sufficiency. I blame too much of my childhood watching The Good Life. Although actually I think it has more to do with Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage programmes, which really showed what you can do with a little garden and some effort.

So, now I have a garden I decided that I want it to do something for me, so I’ve been clearing the beds of weeds (and there were a lot!!), digging over the soil and generally preparing for planting. I need to find a good local (and cheap) source of manure to improve the soil, but I’ve not found anything yet.

I have got a compost bin from my local council which I am slowly filling up with compostable rubbish, but it will be a while before I get anything useful from it.

And I’m planning what I can plant and grow – I don’t want anything to demanding, and I certainly don’t want to be inundated with anything. So do I plant a few of a lot of things and hope they produce enough fruit and veg? Or do I risk having too much, where I have to give away part of my crop?

Hmmm … the decisions ….