A few years ago someone suggested that I sow the broad bean seeds outside in the late autumn, as they’re meant to then be less at risk from blackfly in the spring. It doesn’t always work that way (last year they were still covered with blackfly), but it means I get some early beans out of it!

I’ve found tomato plants growing from the compost before, but that was out on the allotment rather than in the bin itself. But everything from tea bags to salad stuff (so tomatoes, potatoes (I actually threw out two I found in there, as they’d started sprouting), carrot) and anything like rhubarb and raspberries from when they died back / were cut back for the winter along with spinach which grows wild on the plot. But there’s also some wild flowers which grow around the base of the plant, and some mint plants nearby which escaped from their containers…. because the compost bin is just sitting on the soil rather than a hard surface, it’s possible a nearby plant has sneaked in while I wasn’t looking!

Hopefully I’ve left enough space for the strawberries to spread out without reaching the onions – last year I tried growing onions in with the other patch of strawberries, and they were so close together than the onions just didn’t stand a chance. I’ve never tried growing leeks – are they hard to grow?

I just hope the fruits taste as good as they sound!