Rekha’s allotment: from plot to plate

Rekha tries to keep on top of her bountiful harvests, enjoys the warm summer evenings and brings out the cider – some for her and some for the slugs...

Finally, August brings to us that peak summer weather after all the unsettled spring months. I am very glad it is here but along with the leisurely summer evenings come very active slugs!

Let me apologise in advance as I might just end up mentioning these munching molluscs a few times this month. All it takes is a little bit of summer rain hitting the warm soil and the slime trailing slugs descend, sticking out like sore thumbs among my crops. So, since my evening meals are alfresco dinners, I’ll crack open two bottles of cider, and it’s a case of “one for me and one for the slug traps”. Dear slugs, don’t say I don’t feed you!

Harvests are coming home faster than we can eat them. But any produce that doesn’t get used up immediately I will either preserve in jars or freeze. Because I know all too well that in the depths of winter I will want that hit of summer.

As I take leisurely evening strolls along the flower-lined paths, I make mental notes of what is doing well and continue adding to the long

‘to grow’ wish list (a list that unsurprisingly never gets shorter).

Cheers to everyone, I think it’s going to be a very productive summer for us all.

Rekha Mistry is a keen veg grower who loves to try exotic varieties and experiment with them in the kitchen. She appeared in the 2015 BBC Two series, The Big Allotment Challenge

Rekha harvests edamame beans. These immature soybeans are rich in vitamins, minerals and protein