I know, what am I thinking right? It has barely stopped raining since November. This may be a wet year but the soil at the plot and home is much more free-draining than I’m used to; it may be necessary to water more often, although I’m still on a learning curve with 99% of plants in their second year.

I’m fortunate to be next to a water tap at the plot but it is shared with many neighbours, who use hose pipes, making the queue for water at peak times looong and the flow slooow.

I’ve collected around 600l litres of water in the IBC tank since setting it up earlier this year. A galvanised tank sits next to it and is filled from the tap when dry but from the other side of shed when raining. I’m quite pleased with the ‘Heath Robinson’ vibe to the guttering arrangement! Still to do is guttering to the blueberry cage but that will have to wait for my shoulder to unfreeze or friends to be lured with promise of a BBQ.