As I write this, the UK is being battered by the second named storm this winter. Already ground sodden all last spring has returned almost instantaneously. It never really went away.

The year has basically been too cold and too wet. In record breaking amounts thanks to climate change, and the moving, possibly collapsing Gulf Stream.

England has suffered its second worst harvest on record because of the weather. If you think the damage from growing number of storms and floods in bad, just wait until we hit global food shortages.

The Secret Acre has been its own microcosm of the year’s difficulties. Some things have done ok, other crops a complete failure. Speaking to others it’s a common picture, although what has been good and bad appears to vary from place to place.

For us, raspberries were prolific, apples ok, but not a single pear for the first time ever. Outside the greenhouse, tomatoes all got blight in the damp naturally. On the veg patch, giant beetroot and lots of kale, but our courgettes which usually grow like a weed, produced three fruits, and the squash, another usually reliable crop, were a right-off.

At least autumn mushrooms seemed to enjoy the damp conditions. Three or four large puffballs sprouted and where devoured by insects before I managed to catch my first one early enough to get it in the pan for my own breakfast!

Still, like most growers, we will be glad to see the back of 2024.