What Is Seasonal Food?

Eating seasonally means eating food that's naturally ripe and ready for harvest in your local area at the time, instead of imported foods from different climates around the world.

Eating organic, seasonal food, or food that you've grown at home can make a big difference in cutting down your food miles, helping to make your diet more sustainable and reduce your carbon footprint.

What Veg is in Season Right Now?

Some seasonal fruit and veg are still in early Spring. Keep an eye out for:

Purple-sprouting broccoli: at the end of it's season, but available throughout April

Spring greens: did you know these are actually a cabbage?

Rhubarb: field-grown rhubarb is harvested from April onwards

Asparagus: the asparagus season in the UK is short - make the most of it between late April and late June

New potatoes: such as Jersey Royals

Cauliflowers: the winter variety are available until May

Radishes: these fast growing roots are usually available in April, they're part of the mustard family

Wild garlic: if you're looking for foraging opportunities, head to your local woodlands for wild garlic

What is the 'Hungry Gap'?

Despite the arrival of warmer weather, springtime is a very lean period for British fruit and veg. Known as the 'hungry gap', it is the time in between the end of winter crops and the harvest of new season's veg. 

Winter is also not the best time to enjoy the spoils of the UK's fruit trees! With apples and pears and berries falling out of season at the end of the Autumn, the New Year sees a real shortage of home-grown fruit.

 

What to Sow at Home

Spring is a busy time for farmers and home-growers, as warmer weather and longer days makes it perfect for planting! Here's a few recommendations for planting and propagating from late-March to May:

Beetroot: start sowing your summer crop of beetroot outside from March onwards

Spinach: sow from early spring to the middle of June

Kale: sow in April or May

Onion & shallots: get planting outside as soon as the last frost has passed

Radish: sow outside 

Carrots: plant outside in loose, sandy soil in early spring to harvest in the autumn

Courgette & squash: autumn veg you can begin to sow indoors

Leeks: sow outside for harvesting from September onwards

Why Organic?

What we choose to put on our plates has the power to make a world of difference. Find out how choosing organic can offer solutions to many of the crises around our climate, nature, and our health.

Sign Up For A Seasonal, Organic & Local Veg Box

A great way ensure you are eating seasonally is to subscribe to a fruit, veg or meat box. You'll be joining a community of amazing citizens, farmers and organisations who are making sure the way we farm and eat is better for our health, better for nature and wildlife, and better for the climate too.

Roast Beetroot, Greens, Labneh and Cumin

Delicious as part of a mezze or served simply with a green salad, this recipe from renowned eco-chef Tom Hunt will have you eating with the seasons.

Roast Cauliflower Carbonara with Crispy Kale

This is a recipe that showcases cauliflower to the full. From founder of Rebel Recipes and self-confessed cauliflower fanatic Niki Webster. 

Riverford’s brussels sprouts, red onion & blue cheese gratin

Who says sprouts are only for Christmas? This seasonal side dish is perfect all the way through winter. 

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