Eating in Season

January

The winter months are the time to enjoy British root vegetables and stores of local fruit. Being harvested this month are leeks, green cabbages, parsnips, turnips, sprouts, celeriac, jerusalem artichokes, shallots and mushrooms. From store, you can buy British apples and pears and beetroot. Main crop carrots are either stored in the ground or kept in cold store to be available from September till the end of May. Onions are available most of the year.

February

Winter root crops are still going strong. This is the month for early winter cauliflower, leeks, turnips, protected spinach, swede, celeriac, chard and carrots. Potatoes, apples and pears are available from store. The sprout season comes to an end. Mushrooms are available most of the year.

March

New crops of vegetables planted previous year come in to season, including purple sprouting broccoli, more cauliflower, spring greens, radishes, parsley and leeks. Carrots are available both from the ground and from store but beetroot from store is finishing. Apples and pears are available from store.

April

The stored British crops start finishing in the middle of the month, but the new crops are not in full flow. Between mid-April and mid-June is the leanest time. But new season's lettuce and watercress come in, along with some overwintered spinach, radishes and purple sprouting broccoli. Carrots are still available from store but apples and pears are finishing.

May

This is the gap month, as winter crops finish and stores decline. But coming in are the first new potatoes and asparagus. Radishes are available. Carrots are still in store but winter cauliflower and spinach comes to an end. Rhubarb is available. The very end of the month sees the first outdoored reared, grass fed spring lambs come into season.

June

By the middle of the month, there is a wealth of fruit and vegetables to choose from. New potatoes are more plentiful, asparagus continues. New carrots come in at the end of month as do soft fruits including blackcurrants, strawberries, gooseberries, cherries. Broccoli is beginning, and cauliflower comes at the back end of the month. Lettuce gets into full flow as do fennel, peppers, broad beans, Chinese leaves, and green beans grown in tunnels. Herbs coming in.

July

Another peak month, with strawberries, loganberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, tayberries, summer cabbage, spring cabbage, new potatoes, courgettes, broad beans, fennel, the first outdoor french beans, watercress, new cauliflower, carrots, lettuce, cucumber, broccoli.

August

The vegetables and soft fruits continue. Tree fruits come in at the end of the month. Lettuce, peppers, new potatoes, courgettes, leeks, sweetcorn, peas, strawberries, loganberries, gooseberries, herbs, chard, courgettes, fennel, main crop carrots, broccoli. Onions are being harvested and will be stored through the winter. The first apples, and Victoria plums are picked at end of month, just as the season for venison from wild fallow and red deer begins.

September

A good month for fruit, and summer vegetables are joined by the earliest of winter ones. Blackberries, early apples, damsons, early pears, plums, spinach, figs, onions, all of the cabbages, curly kale, cucumbers, lettuce, french beans, courgettes, red onions, peppers, marrows, sweetcorn, leeks, red cabbage, beetroot and broccoli are in. Swedes come back and sprouts begin.

October

This is the main season for apples and pears. The first bramleys are in season as are figs. Also available are sweetcorn, marrrow, mushrooms, beetroots, squash, watercress, onions, and leeks. The Jerusalem artichoke season begins, while cauliflowers are at their peak, as are main crop carrots, sprouts, and broccoli. Lettuce is running out by the middle of the month, and courgettes finish towards the end.

November

Tender vegetable crops are disappearing as the frosts come, but still going are cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, leeks, swede, parsnips, apples, pears, quinces, cavollo nero and sprouts.

December

It's back to winter vegetables and stores, with sprouts, turnips, swede, and parsnips available and carrots, red cabbage, beetroot, apples, pears coming from store.