March

Harry and Peter draw up a cropping plan for the coming year. Harry expects to plant over 25 different crops including what he calls his 'fussy pieces', salsify and scorzonera. Tracking down the Victorian varieties takes Peter to a refrigerated seed bank near Stratford-on-Avon. Frost threatens the budding peaches, and Harry employs several old methods to protect them - a thatch of yew and laurel, straw mats and drapes of fine tiffany.