What’s growing what slowing in October 2020.
As per last month, October sits in a transitional season. Many QLD growers traditionally finish up towards the end of the month and the southern season really kicks off. Produce-wise there should be plenty around, though a lot of growers are having problems finding seasonal workers to harvest. This could have a huge impact on availability and pricing.
Fruit
Though it’s not yet summer, the tropicals will start to put in an appearance. NT Mangoes should start but will be crazy expensive, Papaya, Melons and Bananas usually accelerate with the warmer conditions. Quantities should rise and prices should fall. Apples will be here through Oct, but expect the range and the quality to diminish, Pears will finish up towards the end of the month or early November.
Strawberries normally are plentiful at the start of the month coming out of QLD, traditionally they shorten towards the end of the month, when the southern growers kick off.
Oranges will start to transition from Navels to Valencias. Limes will be almost non-existent, and Lemons will shorten up as they do every year around this time. Pineapples will be more available as will Watermelon. We may see the first Plums at the end of the month. Blueberries will be available right through and Cherries will come on late Oct or early Nov.
Vegetables
The warmer weather is all about salads and there is certainly no shortage of supply. Multiple regions in multiple states are supplying salad lines at the moment; with both excellent quality and pricing.
Expect QLD lines to finish as the warm weather moves in, though traditionally this is not noticed due to the southern states’ capacity increasing around the same time.
I know they are fruit, but it makes more sense to put them here! There are lots of good quality Hass Avocadoes coming on, so expect prices to drop towards mid-end Oct. Staying with fruit, Tomatoes from the Bundy region are coming on in quantity, with other regions like western Victoria and South Australia starting as well. That said, we expect Tomatoes to be short for most of this summer. The supply of Cherry Tomatoes and Mini Romas is better, but still not enough to fill the gap in Tomato supply.
Asparagus, Beans, Broccoli are all in good supply. Carrots, Fennel, Onions and Pumpkin are staples in October as well. Sweet Corn, Squash and Zucchini are coming out of several regions, so supply should stay steady through to Christmas.
Cabbages may shorten up towards the end of the month. Expect the “summer cabbages” that are available to be smaller and less dense. Cauliflower and Celery supply will also tighten as the weather heats up. Sweet Potato and Potatoes can get scarce and expensive coming into summer, though there are more growers planting to deal with this.
Happy Spring and remember to eat all of your colours.
The Team at United Organics
