walaj

In the UK you can get a lot of fruit and veg throughout most of the year because stuff is imported or varieties developed (eg like tasteless strawberries in December) extending the natural/original season.

Has it become like this in Oz or are the seasons fruit & veg more defined in Australia?

BTW I don't need to know the price of a lettuce just yet

thanks

MrsDagboy

Yes, there are certain things that you can now get year round (as you said, like strawberries). Despite that, there are certainly mainly seasonal fruits, right now its mango season & the smell when you walk into a fruit & vege shop is incredible .

Anything in season you can usually end up getting cheap especially towards the end of the seson as farmers try to get rid of their glut.

(btw, I'll tell you anyway, I paid 75 cents for a lettuce on Monday )

worzel

There was a post on here a few weeks back about lettuce rising from a few cents to a few dollars in a matter of days.

MrsDagboy

worzel, it happens quite often in summer, its so hot & humid that lettuce either bolts to seed or literally disintegrates into a slimey ball before the farmers can even get it to market. So prices go up skyhigh.

You either pay the price & eat lettuce - or you dont .

Pollyana

I was out with an Aussie girl from work today, and talking about buying different foods here, and what sort of thing is more popular here, and suddenly she said - right out of the blue - "You know what annoys me? The price of lettuce these days!" I then had to explain why I was dying of laughter

kulu

I said to my husband only yesterday that I hadn't read any lettuce threads for a while!

How difficult is it to grow your own?

Lou

Pollyana

Couldn't tell you.....I have the sort of gardening skills that involve silk flowers and plastic pot plants
Sure someone will know though...........

moneypenny20

Probably the same as here, but quicker. Plant a row and they all bolt, or plant them in ones and twos over the period and the first ones grow a bit, then wait for all the others, then they all bolt together

Brissiegirl

oooh mangoes!!!! I haven't had a mango in 5 years.. coz the ones they sell here in the UK are rubbish.. no smell, not taste!! I want a Bowen Mango!!!

And the mango season will be over by the time we arrive next year..

worzel

I went through a "Good Life" phase a few years ago and grew some veg. But even in England it still bolted and got turned to slime by the slugs. (Did you know that the average UK shop bought lettuce has been sprayed over 30 times - and my wife won't wash it).

But some good news. I did very well at growing beetroot. And seeing as Aussies seem to love the stuff maybe I will have to try again when I get out there. (For those of you that didn't know McDonalds do an Aussie burger which is a burger with beetroot on it)

Brissiegirl

Hubby and I grew almost all of veggies for the past 5 yrs... we have given up our allotments in preparation for moving early next year.. We had slugs the size of small dogs on our allotment... they were monsters and normally ate anything like a lettuce.... would demolish them very successfully...

It's gonna be different growing veggies for us in Oz.. totally different way of veggie production.....

walaj

I had forgotten we have some lettuces growing on the patio - don't want to eat them as they have start shooting in an upwards spiral, pretty to look at but probably taste awful. Thats something I am going to miss - my dad bring round stuff he grown from seed for me to grow or kill

So what different F&V foods did you come up with?

ABCDiamond

IOt works both ways Mangoes dropped from around $3 to $1 each a few days ago in our local shop.


Bowen Mango Trees for sale locally $12 each. Grow your own here

Shellfish

they also have a lot of the same fruit and veg, they just give it a different name:

courgettes = zucchini
green/red pepper = capsicum

JackTheLad

ABC Diamond, could you tell me saw the Bowen mango trees for sale? I'd love to put one or two in our orchard this weekend.

Cheers,
Mrs JTL