
I immediately set about planting the seedling Squashes, Pumpkins and Cucumbers. For each I dig a hole and fill it with some of my super compost before heaping the soil on top and planting in the top of the mound. I then scoop a moat round the mound to retain the water. (Last year one of my courgettes rotted off where the stem met the ground, probably because I had watered the plant itself not the soil around the plant.)

The Pumpkins and Cucumbers were planted in a patch I had left mulched with horse litter to keep down the weeds, however I was surprised at how moist the soil was under the mulch. The soil round the Sweet Corn was dust dry on top and still quite dry a foot down. The soil under the mulch was moist all the way down from the surface. I had scraped the mulch away to dig the holes but I will scrape it back once the thunderstorms rumbling away outside now have dumped some welcome rain.