The sense of promise that comes with planting out new seeds or seedlings in the veggie garden is one of life’s joys. So when one of those crops reaches the end of its productive life and it’s time to pull it out and make way for something else, why am I so enthusiastic in hurrying to move it on?

This makes me pause to think about the natural cycle of things. When the seedlings for the old and no-longer-productive veggies were first planted, I was filled with anticipation but now, as I pull them up and toss them onto the compost heap, it’s a slightly prickly reminder that we’re often rather willing to embrace something newer/better at the expense of the old and the established.

Today the cycle runs full circle. First, I pull out the old lettuce plants – now beginning to “bolt” and run to seed, following the spells of very hot weather we had last month. A familiar sense of excitement courses through me as I plant the tiny new lettuces, bought yesterday, tenderly nestling them into their straw mulch cocoons and misting them gently with water. They look tiny and cute and filled with potential. But as I walk away from a productive afternoon in the veggie patch I carry a bucket filled with the remaining leaves of the old lettuce, which will keep us going till the new ones mature enough to carry the baton and provide for our salads. Two self-seeded potato plants have yellowed and shrivelled so I dig up the hidden gems from the soil beneath – sweet, new potatoes with butter and parsley are on the menu in the next day or so. This constant renewal is one of the many appealing aspects of growing our own produce. It’s a reminder that everything is for only a season – a salutary life lesson.

Today’s garden session was divided between the hard slog of digging and improving patches of poor and neglected clay soil, and the fun of planting seeds into the areas I’ve already worked and enriched. Broad beans, peas, beetroot and radish have all been consigned to the earth today at the Allan Street Flower and Veggie Collective.

While we are only beginning to eat and enjoy our summer crops now – tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchinis are just coming to the peak of their production – I’m already turning my thoughts to what we’ll be harvesting and eating in the cooler months. When the daytime temperatures are soaring in to the mid to high thirties, it’s a big call to think of winter but I need to begin preparing the beds for pumpkins, cabbages, broccoli and garlic. How fortunate I am to be enjoying the rhythm of life through the bounties of the garden!