I set myself the challenge of eating more seasonally in December 07, so this is the two-year mark. It’s become a habit, more or less, and a rewarding one at that. Eating seasonally means you’re getting the best of everything, the freshest and tastiest of what’s in the shops at any given time.
It’s more fun too. I can understand that this wouldn’t appeal to everyone, but I love cooking and I like the challenge of using what’s in season, learning new things and experimenting.
There’s plenty of reasons to eat seasonally before you even get to the environmental benefits of fewer food miles. And as always, it’s about eating more seasonally, being mindful. It doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing decision. So this month, you are not exclusively limited to the following, but might like to consider more of them:
Swede, potatoes, parsnips, turnips, beetroot, sprouts, carrots, red cabbage, kale, cauliflower, celery and leeks. Apples, quinces, pears and nuts are available too.
Wild foods include chanterelle and chickweed, honey fungus and oyster mushrooms.
It’s November already, somehow. We haven’t had a frost here yet in the south of England, but the first of those will put an end to any salads and herbs still hanging on. In their place come the hardier winter vegetables – cabbage, cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, leeks, sprouts, swede and parsnips. Look out for pumpkins too, while apples, pears and quinces round out the fruit.
I can’t quite believe it’s October already, but that makes it apple season. Shame on you if you’re not buying local English apples at this time of year.
We’re almost a week into September and I haven’t posted this month’s seasonal update. Lots to enjoy at this time of year though, particularly fruit: apples, plums, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and greengages (any other fruits named after a colour?) We still have hundreds of tomatoes in the garden.
August returns, the seasonal eating bonanza. The patio courgettes are growing faster than we can eat them, and there will be peppers and aubergine in the next couple of weeks. Sweetcorn is in, lettuce, lots of herbs, and leeks and peas.
I may have mentioned that Lou and I went to visit Mike Guerra’s permaculture garden a few weeks back. Lou interviewed Mike as part of a mini-series for the gardening programme on BBC Three Counties Radio, and then re-cut the audio for a short documentary about permaculture. You can listen to it on the 
It’s July, which is a feast of a month. Here’s what’s in season right now:
June sees a wealth of new seasonal foods, after the lean patch of May. The summer fruits arrive, with strawberries, blackcurrants, cherries and raspberries. Early tomato varieties will begin to fruit, although mine are a way off yet.
May is the leanest month for seasonal eating. We don’t notice it in this age of refrigeration, but it used to be the ‘hungry gap’ – winter vegetables wouldn’t store any longer, and the summer crops hadn’t arrived yet.
