Where to start? With the aubergines, perhaps. Half of them died in an overheated greenhouse when we were unable to water them for three days. The other half, pale and thin and floppy, are at my house now, where I can keep a closer eye on them. They are reviving a little. What I don’t understand is why some are just a few centimetres high, others almost a foot. (Read Sarah Wain’s advice at below.)

Elsewhere we have slugs and snails in the greenhouse, around the lettuces, in amid the fledgling red cabbages. I caught a snail on top of one of my fennel seedlings last week. Absolutely red-handed. We have tried nematodes – watery bugs which you spray around to make the slugs explode – and now nets on the cabbages and strawberries. Does anyone have any brilliant ideas? We also have plagues of ants. I disturbed a nest last week and watched them run away carrying all their eggs, inside which you could see the baby ant; quite revolting. Our Expert Adviser, Sarah Wain, recommends nematodes for caterpillar and ant control.

There has been an explosion of activity, and not only in the world of gastropods and larvae. We have planted out the sweetcorn, courgettes, tomatoes: all a rather pooey business. I sowed some kale in a seedbed, butternut squash in a greenhouse, chucked out some celeriac which I’ve finally given up on, stared long and hard at a few celery seedlings, took them out, put them back in and left them in the coldframe secretly hoping they might die so I can chuck them away, too. There are French beans and runner beans and more broad beans and asparagus peas and pea peas all growing, and onions ready for harvest and going to seed, and – oh, I don’t know.

Actually I really don’t know. My gardener’s diary is stuck at the beginning of May and we have been awful at marking where we sow, so that Nicola and I have weeded up each other’s seedlings more than once. There’s quite a lot of staring at an indeterminate row of green with, “Are those all weeds? No, I planted something there. What? I can’t remember.” This is successional sowing; bit by bit by bit so you don’t get overwhelmed by it all being ready at once. But, in the early weeks at least, you do have to remember where you planted it.

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Advice from Sarah Wain, Gardens Supervisor, West Dean Gardens

Aubergines

Many things can invfluence the germination time of aubergines. For example different varieties germinate at different times. If you sow on different days, using different method and even the temperature and amount of water will have an influence. As will the type of compost or pot and the depth at which the seeds are planted.

Aubergines thrive in humid conditions so we keep ours inside a glasshouse in quite a large pot ultimately as they are lusty growers and respond well to balanced feeding initially then tomato food applications when the first flowers star appearing. We also drench the floor with water two or three times daily to provide humidity which they love.

Stake the central stem with a sturdy cane and ties to cope with the heavy fruit and be aware that aubergines are pest magnets so keep your eye out for white fly and red spider in particular. I'd break off the growing tip now (pinch it out to a leaf) to encourage the development of lateral branches. This will ultimately give you more fruit (more branches, more flowers, more fruit)

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