I’VE had a few chats recently where people have said we had a poor summer. I thought it was quite nice. But it’s definitely over now. Today it has rained and rained and rained and once more, half my garden is flooded, only this year it’s three weeks earlier than last. This is very bad news for our farmers and growers.

Personally, I have a fairly large crop of sweet peppers that are (were!) just beginning to ripen that are now sitting in about a foot of water as the entirety of my polytunnel is under water.

Luckily for me, I am not reliant on an income from growing them! Even if the land that is being grown on isn’t prone to flooding, mud is such hard work to work in. Your boots, your tools, the crop, everything gets coated in mud and weighs twice as much as usual. They won’t be shaking the soil off the carrots this week, that’s for sure!

Thankfully for the customer, the most unpleasant experience you are likely to have in your quest for the best local produce, is to have to stand under an umbrella while you queue for your faves.

This week we have a great many delectations apart from our stupendous veg, meat, bread and dairy range! Look out for Karobi’s Ghee, Proper Probiotics, Rustic Puglia Olive Oil, Bibury Trout farm, JR Cakes, College Green Soaps and returning for their first market of the winter is Cashoo, Stroud’s very own Kashmir recycling author.