I know it is still chilly, specially at night but needs must – my climbing beans were really climbing out of their pots. They have been standing in the veranda with a lot of other plants, tomatoes, squashes, courgettes and pumpkins and I thought the time has come.

I don’t as a rule grow runner beans but grow all different climbing beans, blue-poded, flat yellow and pale green-poded ones, even some heritage speckled-poded beans (Selma Zebra). These beans all taste much better than the usual runners, are hardly ever stringy and don’t irritate skin when cutting, like the runner beans can do (they do that to me).

The structures were ready, all it needed was to fork over the ground and in they went.

Next to plant were the tomatoes – this is a variety I never grew before, Sub-arctic Plenty, they are supposed to set fruit even at low temperatures. They might have to do just that if this weather continues. I planted nine of them in one of my net cages which I lined at the bottom third with fleece, that should stop the cold wind hitting them.