This time of the year is perfect for buying what is in season and on special.
Asparagus and strawberries are your best buys so please indulge, their seasons are short and volumes are increasing quite quickly meaning good prices.
Asparagus, broccoli and courgettes are your best vegetable buys, closely followed by baby spinach and slender stem broccoli.
Other vegetables to look out for are beetroot, eggplant and curly kale, something different at dinner time.
The range of different vegetables available these days is quite broad so at this time of year, with barbeques coming out of storage, it is a good time to experiment.
Avocadoes, capsicums, cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes are plentiful in supply with very good prices across the range.
Avocado sales have certainly picked up with good prices and better taste now that the fruit is more mature after having their first birthday hanging on the trees.
Look out for good deals on tomatoes over the next few weeks with volumes increasing quite remarkably.
Woodhaven Gardens iceberg lettuces are enjoying the better weather, with nice big hearts and lovely outside leaves, just beautiful looking lettuces in general.
Pukekohe new season carrots have come back in price over the last few days but the supply of new season potatoes is extremely limited with firm prices across the range.
Crown pumpkin supplies are good for this time of year and there are limited supplies of New Caledonian buttercup and Tongan butternut available.
The onion scene has not changed much since last week with adequate supplies of Pukekohe brown onions and USA red onions being your main options.
Northland kumara prices are firm and will remain that way until this year's supply runs out around Christmas / New Year and the new season kumara crop will start as usual in late January.
As I said earlier strawberries are our biggest selling fruit item at this time of year.
Most of the berries are coming from the Waikato area with just a small supply from our local growers.
This local supply will increase over the next few weeks with the peak of the season being the last week of November and the first two weeks of December, the best berries at the best price.
There is a small supply of early blueberries and raspberries available but they are not cheap to say the least.
Apples, kiwifruit, mandarins, oranges, pears and tangeloes are your fruit choices available at present, with a small supply of early nectarines coming from the Wairoa area north of Gisborne.
Over the next few weeks we will see early cherries, plums and peaches appearing in the shop, we are so looking forward to summer.
This week look out for good prices on Dole Tropical Gold pineapples and Australian melons, both are in good supply.
USA pomegranates and grapes are readily available and we have a small selection of Australian mangoes at firm prices but arriving within the next two weeks will be the first shipment of the cheaper Ecuador mangoes.
Remember to buy what is in season and on special.
- David Stewart is the owner of The Fresh Market Gate Pa and home delivery service mygreengrocer.co.nz