I planted out all 6 Tom Tumbler cherry tomatoes in Bed 1 today and put marigolds around them. Happily, some cells had more than one plant, which meant I could complete the pattern.

There are now little hills in the straw as the potatoes are starting to emerge. There’s been a frost down at the plot – leaves on the tree and on the lemon balm have been nipped – but my potatoes were safe under the straw, so that’s another bonus.

I dug up some more parsnips and the last two took half an hour to extricate. They tie into the clay below and put up such a fight. I found an earthworm tied into a knot on my way down.

I listened for birds and found that the chiffchaff had come back. I also gained my first blackcap and another spotted flycatcher. The bird of the day was the jackdaw, but it waited until I wasn’t recording, cawed loudly above me, and wasn’t to be heard again.