Ah, midsummer. These long warm days are to be relished as our payback for surviving all those dark winter weeks way back when. As we approach the summer solstice this coming weekend, I’ve been able to stay down at the lottie until nearly 10pm each evening, and there’s certainly no shortage of tasks – weeding, watering, nurturing, sowing and harvesting. Last night, after a six-hour non-stop session, I was too knackered when I got home to cook the day’s bounty, and went straight to bed with an empty belly.

I must admit that my energy was ultimately a bit diminished by the enjoyment of a few ice cold lagers during the proceedings. My husband, a master of gadgets and homemade greenhouses, has installed a small fridge in the shed – a 12-volt electric picnic cooler (purchased a few years ago at Woolworths, R.I.P.) which he’s rigged up to a discarded car battery we found in the street.

Reuse, recycle, retox…what better way to spend a sweltering afternoon than gardening in a bikini top while slurping a few icy brews? It certainly made the seemingly interminable weed-a-thon much more cheerful.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions on last week’s column. Clearly I am not alone in my frustration with the ongoing anti-slug campaign. Anthony from Kansas said, “Once I set out beer in a plastic container, and the next day several slugs were drowned inside. It was so gross that I couldn't drink beer for almost a whole day!”

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This wild sea plant, prized by chefs, is the perfect partner to fish and free if you're prepared to forage for it

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This made me laugh out loud, though annoyingly I haven’t succeeded with this method (perhaps they don’t like my brand?). Cornmeal (polenta), crushed egg shells and coffee grounds are all next in the arsenal – thanks folks. One of my lottie neighbours told me that high-street coffee shops will give you their used grounds if you ask, so there’s another recycling tip to add to the list.

My squash and cucumber plants are going absolutely bonkers in the warm weather. As usual, I have far too many of both, so will probably have sentenced myself to some extra pickling sessions in late summer - not that I mind, really.

Some additional mystery plants have appeared in the bean and brassica patches that look as though they must be some kind of pumpkins or squashes. I am so curious to see what they turn into that I’m leaving them there, even though they are technically weeds. These sprawling plants can go just about anywhere around the plot, as long as they have room to spread and don’t suck too much nutrition and water away from neighbouring plants. One of last year’s great discoveries was that the cooked leaves of these plants are as good to eat as the fruit, so they have elevated themselves to star status among summer crops.

This Sunday is The Longest Day and there is only one drawback – no more asparagus. Cutting must stop at this time in order for the plants to regain strength over the rest of the summer. The compensation is that the uncut spears bloom into very tall feathery ferns which are beautiful to behold, until they are finally hacked down in late October.

www.celiabrooksbrown.com follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/celiabb

TIP OF THE WEEK: It’s time to nip out side shoots from maturing tomato plants. You can see a short video on how to do this here

Seasonal Recipe: Asparagus and Egg Casserole

This week, Paul McCartney and his daughters Mary and Stella are launching the Meat Free Mondays campaign, encouraging people to have at least one meat-free day per week as a way of combating climate change. Enjoy your last asparagus harvest next Monday - or any day this week – with this luscious recipe adapted from Linda McCartney’s classic book “Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking”.

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