3 minute read
Eat the Seasons
Eat The Seasons
Keeping you in the know as to what is coming into season each month is NEIL MORTIMER from Lovejoys Wholesale...
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After our extremely dry summer and my concern that the winter vegetables and potatoes would be affected in yield and quality thankfully all is well. The vegetables coming through our local growers and the market are very good and the overall potato yields are roughly 10% down so not disastrous. Now the problem is transport costs. As you all know fuel prices and other fixed vehicle
prices are rising and this is driving (excuse the pun) additional costs for transporting produce, thereby putting the end product cost up. Some growers in the north of England and Scotland have stopped sending their produce to our southern markets because of this problem. This benefits our local growers a little as they are getting a bigger share of the market for themselves.
November is a month for the promotion of all of our root and winter crops, especially squashes (a huge variety) and pumpkins. Next month will be all about Brussels sprouts and parsnips for Christmas. We probably sell as much red
cabbage at this time of year as we do in the rest of the year put together. It adds great colour to a roast.
It’s soup time of year! If you like taking the quick and lazy route, just throw some veg, or some tomatoes, or some peas and mint into a soup maker, press ‘go’ and in 18 mins you have soup for lunch! They are a big hit in my family and among the warehouse and office guys.
Growing your own - if you have an allotment or any growing space November can be a lovely time of year. The season slows down and it is great opportunity to take stock of what went well and what went badly in the previous year and to learn from your experiences. You can tidy up the rest of your garden or allotment and maybe have a bonfire if you are in a suitable area. Just check the neighbour has not got a load of washing out! I have been buying tulip bulbs from the market for my mother, mother in law, daughter in laws and neighbours - some beautiful colour bulbs around this year. Even if you only have space to plant a pot of them it will be some welcome colour in the early spring.
As always just get in touch if you have any questions or queries.
Neil
neil@lovejoyswholesale.com
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