In Season

Enjoy the merry month of May when it’s all about new-season produce and early ripening tunnel produce…

Strawberries: nothing is cheerier than the sight of home-grown strawberries, signalling the true start of spring. There’s something about the deep, vibrant colour of local strawberries that suggests a sweeter and juicier experience than their continental counterparts, with a freshness that can’t be beaten. Try the strawberries from Besley and Over Farm this week and you’ll never look at a Spanish version again!

Asparagus: this is another vegetable where home-grown is best, and we’ve just had the first outdoor crop in this week from The Garlic Farm; expect more from Over Farm this month. Nothing compares to English asparagus, with its grassy, green flavour, and as with all great ingredients, simple is best when it comes to cooking – all it needs is a quick go on the griddle or BBQ, plenty of melted butter and a grinding of salt…

New Potatoes: just as we’re getting a bit tired of yet more roasties and carb-laden baked spuds, the arrival of baby new potatoes refreshes our interest in the humble potato! Delicious roasted in olive oil along with a sprinkling of salt and a few twigs of rosemary, or boiled and buttered with a sprig of mint, new potatoes are the new-season way to enjoy Britain’s favourite vegetable. Take a look at Paget’s for a selection.

And the rest: this month we start to see everything from salad leaves, rocket and cucumbers to tomatoes, broad beans, green beans and beetroot coming into the market. Over Farm are back with Evesham Vale Growers, bringing tomatoes, rhubarb and asparagus, and Hotch Potch are back with Alderton Nursery veg and their organic tunnel-grown plants including aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes and veg plants.

You can buy fresh, seasonal produce this season from the following stalls: Coleshill Organic Farm, Croft Farm, , Over Farm Market, Newark Farm, Hotch Potch Organic and Days Cottage.