Pot up rhubarb

Savoury wholegrain porridge

Onion Mushrooms

Bacon

Olive oil and butter for frying Fresh thyme Wholegrain oats Parmesan

Eggs

Chilli flakes Slice the onion, mushrooms and bacon and saute´ in olive oil and butter with a few sprigs of thyme until cooked.

Cook the oats to packet directions (use wholegrain oats, not fast-cooking rolled oats) then fold through the cooked mushroom mixture along with some grated parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately, topped with a fried egg and a sprinkling of chilli flakes and fresh thyme.

Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it: savoury porridge is a revelation – like risotto only better (plus it’s easier to make) and it’s great to eat for breakfast, lunch or tea.

Quantities don’t matter for this recipe – just cook as much as you feel like.

Rhubarb

Lift and divide rhubarb, remembering it needs plenty of sun, compost, free-draining soil and water to perform best. Plant about 75cm apart, or in pots at least 50cm wide and deep.

Keep the rhubarb free of weeds by mulching around them with well-rotted manure or compost – don’t bury the crown as it will rot.

Covering the crown in late winter with a traditional forcing jar, bucket or upturned pot will result in an earlier crop. The forced stems will be lighter-coloured and more tender than open grown ones and can be eaten up to three weeks earlier.

Crop rotation

Rotating crops helps soil fertility as different crops have different nutrient requirements so particular soil deficiencies are less likely to happen. It also helps prevent plant-specific pests and diseases building up, such as clubroot in brassicas.

Start planning where this coming season’s vegetable crops will grow, using a rotation method such as this, where they are divided into three main groups.

1. BRASSICAS: Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, oriental greens and radish.

2. LEGUMES, ONIONS, ROOTS: Peas and broad beans (except for French and runner beans which can be grown wherever); onions, garlic, leeks and shallots; beetroot, carrots, celery, Florence fennel, parsley and parsnips.

3. POTATOES AND TOMATOES: Every year, grow the brassica group where the legumes, onions and roots grew the year before. This second group will in turn grow where potatoes and tomatoes grew, which will in turn grow where the brassicas did.

Cucurbits (courgettes, pumpkins and cucumbers), French and runner beans, lettuce, sweetcorn, peppers and eggplant can be grown wherever, though good plant husbandry suggests they be shifted around to avoid tiring the soil.

Ornamentals

Encourage better drainage in lawns by stabbing a garden fork into it at regular intervals. This will also help aeration, which in turn promotes root growth.

Keep on top of weeds. They will still grow, albeit a bit more slowly than when it’s warmer, but the recent rains will make them easy to pull out.

Feed spring bulbs with liquid fertiliser or a proprietary bulb one.

Take geranium and pelargonium cuttings. If in an area prone to hard frosts, this is vital for continuity of plants, which can die from frost damage.

Removing old leaves of hostas will also remove slug eggs hibernating in the plants’ crowns.

Mulch trees and shrubs with compost, peastraw or the like, or bark to suppress weeds, condition the soil and protect from severe frosts.– Mary Lovell-Smith