It may be the 28th of January, but for me it’s the first day of spring. I spent a busy afternoon today repotting two of my citrus trees, splitting and potting up various carnivorous plants and sowing the first seeds of the year – mainly chillies.

The chillies and sweet peppers need a long growing season, so I always start them early in my dad’s propagator in the limery. I don’t own many things that belonged to my dad, but his propagator is a valued possession and I know he’d be delighted that I’m still using it.

This year, with my new interest in Mexican food, I have planted six varieties of chilli: lemon drop, chocolate habanero, jalapeño, black Hungarian, serrano and ancho. Fingers crossed for good germination.