Enjoy the summer with great fruit and berries
The local melon season is in full production
What a great time of year this is with all the beautiful summer produce available and lovely fine weather to enjoy.
From Hawke’s Bay this week we have gold peaches, yellow peaches, white peaches and the extremely popular Yummy Hunny nectarines. The plums in the shop are grown locally in Te Puna and this week they are the Billington variety. Central Otago apricots will be in abundant supply over the next few days and it is the time to buy, prices are superb so do not miss out. Central Otago cherries are available, either loose or in pre packs, and in my opinion they are the best eating cherries we have had all season.
The local melon season is in full production with watermelons and rock melons arriving regularly from Summer produce is available to enjoy during the lovely fine weather. the Bell Family gardens north of Kaitaia. Sweet corn is coming from the Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay growing areas, again on a daily basis.
Berries available this week include locally grown strawberries along with Waikato blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. Good supplies of berries will be available for the rest of this month so enjoy now.
In the salad area of the shop avocados, capsicums, cucumbers, tomatoes and spring onions are in good supply but iceberg lettuce numbers have reduced quite quickly and prices have firmed. Look for good prices on red capsicums with the best buy being the 1kg bag ideal for immediate use or freezing for later in the year.
From Pukekohe we have Agria, Ilam Hardy, washed white Nadine and washed red potatoes along with good supplies of new season brown and red onions. There is a full selection on old season ku¯ mara available for the next two weeks with the new season ku¯ mara crop ready to dig in early February. Bell’s gardens are supplying the marketplace with new season crown pumpkins, green buttercup and orange butternut with prices still on the firm side but will improve as volumes increase.
Surprisingly green vegetable sales have been impressive all summer with broccoli, beans, cauliflower, celery, courgettes, cabbage, silverbeet and spinach all in good demand.
The first of the new season Sunrise apples arrived last week from Hawke’s Bay and all going well we will have the first of this year’s Royal Gala apples in the shop next week.
Remember to buy what is in season and on special.