Veg news 9th of March.

Whilst it’s finally starting to look and feel a little more like spring (finally!), it’s around this time of year that we begin to see the effects of something called ‘the hungry gap’. The hungry gap is a yearly natural lull in the UK growing calendar: rising temperatures cause winter crops such as kale and cabbage to bolt, while spring crops have only just begun to be sown. For us this means that winter staples such as kale, parsnips, turnips, and sprouts will be coming to an end over the next few weeks. Though there are of course a few key crops that help bridge said gap— purple sprouting broccoli being one such example— inevitably we become more reliant on produce from our friends on the continent during this time.That said, we’re expecting a few substantial gaps in our fruit range over the coming weeks due to disruptions in global shipping routes. Pears, pineapples and mangoes are all proving difficult to get hold of, and we imagine this could be an issue for a little while. Luckily, Spanish citrus is still enjoying a long season, Italian strawberries continue to look and taste fabulous, and we’ve a surprise final delivery of UK apples from Demeter growers Sweet Apple Orchards in Surrey.