Gosh, its warm. Next door’s rhubarb is already setting flower, and mine has stopped producing. But there are signs of life – pea, brussels, potatoes, carrots and leeks are all poking through. Gooseberries and my so-cheap-its-worth-planting blackcurrants are both showing signs of fruit. And, as the falling blossom scatters like conferring on the plot, the very early signs of plums.

There comes a stage in Spring every year when I tend to panic, thinking I’ve missed my growing season, it’s too late to plant anything, there are more weeds than anything else on the allotment and aren’t I useless at this growing lark.

And that stage could be fast approaching, so it’s time to spend a lot of time at the plot if I want to stay in control for the rest of the year. Sadly, it’s also the time of year when life gets very busy and the next commitment-less weekend is at least June.

However, I will not be downhearted! We only have half a plot anyway. It’s not that much work to keep it reasonable. The onions garlic and shallots have put on lots of growth. Suddenly, the rhubarb I was making sure not to take too much of a fortnight ago has exploded and I can’t take enough. My broad beans have started emerging and, joy of joys, there is a lot of blossom on my plum trees (so I would like a still and warm couple of weeks to keep it pollinated please).

And yes, my peas haven’t been planted and in an ideal world I’d have started some squash off all year, but as another plotholder was saying last might “every year I start growing things a month later”. And what do you know, nature does catch up.

So this year I resolve not to panic, but to enjoy the soil between my fingers, the green shoots of stuff growing, and to behead the dandelions before they go wold.