Consumers grow their own to beat veg shortage

FRUIT and vegetable shortages have caused a rush of people wanting to grow their own, according to the Royal Horticultural Society.

The RHS said searches on its website’s fruit and vegetable pages are up 20 per cent compared to this time last year as would-be growers read up on how to start their own vegetable patches.

It said vegetable seed sales are also up 20 per cent, with seed potatoes up 44.5 per cent and onion bulbs up 42.2 per cent.

Particularly popular are sales of salad potatoes, with Salad Blue, supposedly the most blight-resistant variety, up 136 per cent.

Several supermarkets have introduced limits to vegetable sales.

Lidl joined Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Aldi in imposing customer purchase limits on tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers this week.

Guy Barter, the RHS’s chief horticulturalist said: ‘People don’t feel the vegetables they want will necessarily be available and if they are available, they will become very expensive.’ He warned that growing tomatoes is not a quick fix as they need warmer weather to grow. Mustard and cress, however, can be ready in just two weeks.