The beginning of the end of the summer is nigh. Sorry to sound all doom and gloom, but the fact is, once August is out, we’re into the season of mellow fruitfulness where the best of the harvest comes to fruition. But we’ve still got a few weeks to go yet and can look forward to picking lots more veggies from tunnels, gardens and raised beds as this month takes a bow. And as all gardeners know, there’s still plenty of work to be done!

Here are OUR top recommendations for May:   BORDULACK Bordulack is a beach herb that has the taste of fresh salty oysters and cucumber. It does need to be blanched because the leaves are quite tough.         Sea Beet Sea Beet is also found on the beach, it tastes like a cross between spinach and kale.  You can use this just like spinach. Blanch it briefly first.         Beach Mustard Beach mustard is also superb. We should avoid mustard because of the twelve-mile menu, so we can use beach mustard instead which really adds that spiciness you get from mustard. You’re better off blanching this and then you can make it into a kind of emulsion that has seriously radishy peppery flavours.       Rock Samphire If you look at the rocky areas just before the point where the tide hits you should find Rock Samphire which is very useful. Use it in pestos, in dressings, and even coating in a light tempura batter for snacks.         Seaweeds Seaweeds include sea spaghetti which you can pan-fry with wild garlic, butter and seasoning for fish. Red Dulse can also be pickled in cider vinegar and sugar and used as an accompaniment to fish.       Cow Parsley and Alexanders Cow Parsley and Alexanders are prolific. Alexanders grows a bit like celery, you can often see it in the hedgerows of country lanes. It has a stronger taste than celery, but you just use it as a herb for a raw leaf salad. The stems are beautifully cooked and eaten just like asparagus. They taste really delicate and aromatic.       Wild Onion and Three-Cornered Leek Rather than using onions, you can forage a little and these serve as great alternatives. Wild onion and Three-Cornered leek, which looks a bit like wild garlic. You can use either of these just like scallions, chop them and add them to dishes.         Woodland Sorrel Have a look for woodland sorrel. It has a superb crab apple/rhubarb flavour and looks a bit like clover. It works brilliantly with strawberries!       Visit Our Shop