The first of June seems a fitting date to have just plucked and duly wolfed down my first clutch of ripe, sun-warmed strawberries. Peas and broad beans are accelerating towards their peak, salad is back on the menu big time, and new potatoes are very nearly ready, too. Asparagus is slowing slightly, but it is now official: The Hungry Gap is closed!

I just returned from the lottie with a watermelon. Not one I grew myself mind, but a 8.5kg specimen purchased from the Turkish grocery, Milas, which stands half way between the plot and home. This fab little shop provides me with many handy gardening items like plastic knives (for plant labels) and empty potato bags (to use instead of giant pots), not to mention essential refreshments. I’ve got a plot-themed strategy with the watermelon too: slug bait.

Last week’s wet weather, as predicted, brought on a slime-led massacre. The worst of the casualties were my newly planted-out Florence fennels – four out of six were razed to the ground. I gushed my sorrows on Twitter, and immediately received a flood of consoling tweets with helpful suggestions. @FoodUrchin recommended beer traps to “send them to a boozy grave”. (Nope, tried that one and not a single corpse to show for it.)

Sprinkling used coffee grounds seems to have worked for @catlily72, and @ianphischer offered the very sensible advice to water early in the morning rather than the evening so slugs don’t come at night. @TammySassin swears by this method: “Put watermelon rinds out at night. Slugs will collect on them. Incinerate in morning for revenge!” Hence my watermelon purchase. At 79p a kilo, this may be the most expensive anti-slug warfare yet, but at least I get the added bonus of some watermelon-y feasting, starting this lunchtime with this delectable salad from food blogger Helen Graves.

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Related Links

• Urban Farmer: asparagus

• Urban Farmer: more pea shoots vicar

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My mouth started watering when I read a tweet from uberchef Tom Aikens about a new dish on his menu – hand-dived scallops from Dingwell in Scotland, with peas, broad beans, asparagus, pea shoots, summer truffle, and chervil. What a beautifully crafted celebration of seasonality. It mystifies me why more chefs don’t get a grip on it. Even if you don’t grow your own, it’s easy to tune in to seasonal eating, especially with the help of Eat Seasonably.

This is the first campaign from a new initiative called We will if you will, a non-profit project aiming to deliver a series of new and unique collaborative efforts to encourage the mass mobilisation of individuals towards more sustainable lifestyles. Download and print Eat Seasonably’s snazzy “Tasty Little Guide” wall-chart for your kitchen wall for a constant reminder of what to eat when.

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TIP OF THE WEEK: A couple of weeks ago I suggested sprouting your extra pea seeds for the tasty shoots. Here’s how to prolong the harvest. From this site: http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetables/qt/Pea-Shoots-Tendrils.htm. Once your pea plants are about 6 - 8 inches tall, you can snip off the top growth including one set of leaves. This will be your first, small harvest, but cutting off the growing tip will encourage the plants to branch out and continue growing. After that, you can continue harvesting the top 2 - 6 inches of the pea plants every 3 - 4 weeks.

Seasonal Recipe: Broad Bean Puree with Pea Shoots

Dollop on rounds of toasted baguette, or serve with seared hand-dived scallops.

300g shelled broad beans

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

A handful of fresh mint, chopped

A handful of pea shoots

Lemon-flavoured olive oil

Steam the broad beans until tender. Puree in a blender with about 2 Tbsp of the steaming water, the extra-virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve scattered with chopped mint and topped with pea shoots. Finish with a drizzle of lemon-flavoured olive oil. Serves 2-4

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