David Stewart: Best time of year for strawberries soon

Strawberries supplies are at their peak and prices are at their lowest.

Abundant supplies of cheap salad vegetables await you when shopping this week.

Avocados, cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes are all selling at some of the cheapest prices for quite some time. The tomatoes in particular can't get much cheaper so please indulge.

Seasonal lines and variable weather conditions are the main reasons for this flush of product.

Asparagus and broccoli are again your best selling green vegetable lines but buy your asparagus now because there may be some supply issues developing over the next couple of weeks.

Very wet weather conditions in the lower half of the North Island are the main cause of the problems.

Look out for locally grown round beans, flat beans, courgettes, green peas, sugar snap peas and snow peas as all crops will be coming on nicely over the next few weeks.

Pukekohe carrots are in short supply and prices are firm to say the least.

Pukekohe new season potatoes are in reasonable supply at steady prices and surprisingly some of the Pukekohe onion growers have started digging their new season crops.

New season onions are normally not available until the middle of December so we will wait a week or so and see how they look.

Hawke's Bay crown pumpkins are in good supply and Northland kumara prices are firming which is quite normal for this time of year.

You will find supplies of imported green buttercup squash from New Caledonia and orange butternut squash from Tonga.

On the fruit scene strawberries are plentiful in supply and prices are good this week.

The next four weeks are the best time for enjoying strawberries when supplies are at their peak and prices are at their lowest.

New season blueberries, blackberries and raspberries are increasing in volume and I can see the prices dropping down quite quickly.

The first of this season's Hawke's Bay cherries arrived last week and as normal they are quite small but lovely eating cherries, they will only get better as the season progresses.

Over the next few days we will see the first apricots, peaches and plums appear in the shop, this early fruit is from Hawke's Bay and by all reports it is going to be an interesting season.

There will not be a lot of early fruit throughout November and December but this will improve in both quality and volume in January and February. Low pollination across all growing regions due to wind and rain in spring is the main reason for the late start to the season.

Your best buys with imported produce this week will be Ecuador mangos, Australian mangos and US grown pomegranates.

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