Welcome back to ‘What’s In Season’! There is plenty of great fruit and veg to sink your teeth into as we enter the colder months. Read on to find out more.
Fruit
As is typical at this time of year, apples and pears of pretty much every variety and from every region are plentiful and at peak quality. Pink Lady apples have started to come in, as have Golden Delicious – these are just two more varieties to add to an already impressive selection that you’ll see on shelves right now, in what has been a pretty strong apple season.
It’s a similar story for pears, with plenty to choose from; Red Corella, Packham, Clapp’s, Nashi and the brown-skinned Beurre Bosc are all on.
There are some varieties of grapes still available but these will finish soon, so grab them while you can. Avocados are transitioning between the early green-skin varieties to Hass – we expect to see several varieties available in May.
Kiwfruit are back in season, and these sweet treats are a welcome addition to the fruit offering at this time of years. Other exciting fruits like persimmons and pomegranates are also in good supply.
As for citrus, May is when things start to get a bit more exciting. Navel oranges will start in May and are great at the start of the season, and we’ll also start to see some good mandarins very soon. Operators in the Northern Territory are also expecting a decent crop of watermelons, so keep an eye out for these soon too.
Vegetables
May is looking good for most vegetable lines in 2024. Our Queensland growers have started their engines and we will see big improvements in availability (and therefore price) for lines like broccoli, cabbages, cauliflowers, celery and kale, all of which have been a bit scarce to start the year. Likewise, salad greens like lettuce and spinach are loving this weather at the moment.
This month, you can expect a solid supply of all the usual staples like potatoes, onion, carrots, pumpkins and zucchini. Tomatoes are often a bit short around this time of year, but we have our fingers crossed for a couple of new trial crops that may yield dividends. Capsicums should start getting a little better too, with more supply starting from Queensland.
In short, this May you should see an abundance of high-quality produce at reasonable prices. Enjoy, remember to eat all your colours, and we’ll talk to you next month!
The Team at United Organics
Image: The Diggers Club
