The big bag of copper rings has now been washed – there are some still at the shed – and I put new tape on about half of them before running out. More has been ordered.

I’ve potted on the final two bitter melons and they’re now in the grow house. We’ve given the grow house an inspection and rearranged a few things. The sweetcorn is so tall that we’ve taken off one of the top shelves and stood them on the second to give them room. A number of them have a bit of a lean, which might be corrected by the shelf bars. If not, they’ll need a little guidance when planted out.

The bitter melons are doing well and the sunflowers and vegetables all seem on track. The zinnias, sweet peas and nasturtiums are just doing their own thing in their own time. For half the contents of the grow house, the end of May can’t come soon enough and for the other half, it’s nice they’ve got a bit more time yet.