The theme for our June crop report…. summer has arrived!
This is the month where many of the spring-sown crops will be ready for harvest. So brace yourself for glorious soft fruit, along with the appearance of some heavenly summer vegetables.
You can almost hear summer menus whispering in the grass as they anticipate the treasures that lie ahead, so let’s get straight into June’s Crop Report.
Fruit
Strawberries kicked off the soft fruit season in June with sensational style. By mid-month, we will also be collecting raspberries and blueberries from Wye Valley.
Spanish cherries are available with UK varieties starting to appear throughout the month.
Gooseberries are a classic fruit which has made a bit of a revival in recent years. UK product will be available this month so keep an eye out from your local depot.
Spanish stone fruit prices have been firm due to limited volumes, although we are expecting this to ease throughout the month.
Many experts would argue that this is the only month melons should be enjoyed. When you taste a ripe Spanish melon, it is hard to disagree!
Salad
We have a splendid new crop iceberg lettuce arriving from our friends at Evesham. Initially, the quality has been excellent! We also have some vibrant lollo, oakleaf and cos lettuce from them.
Tomatoes of all varieties from Holland are arriving in decent quantities with prices now levelling out.
Super UK Brassica are available although prices are high. Hispi and spring cabbage are available with savoy arriving in a couple of weeks.
The Dutch peppers that are arriving are absolutely top-notch at the moment with prices remaining firm but reasonable for the quality.
A product that can be overlooked in the salad world is the humble radish. This quirky root veg can not only add a subtle peppery crunch in a sandwich or summer salad but are also quite gratifying when gently roasted with garlic.
Cucumbers from Holland are arriving in good volumes with pockets of UK products appearing throughout the month.
Vegetables
Early grower reports are suggesting there may be a delay with some products due to colder temperatures in Spring.
New season Spanish onions are getting better by the week with skins now setting.
Asparagus season has been terrific this year, but will unfortunately come to an end officially on June 21st.
UK peas, broad beans and courgettes will all be arriving throughout June.
Aubergines have suffered over previous months with supply and quality issues. This is the ideal month to make use of the surprisingly versatile product which is arriving from Holland and Belgium. Both sizing and quality are spot on!
Other products to mention are new season swede, rainbow chard and summer cabbage.
New season UK Cauliflower and Broccoli will be available at the beginning of June.
Leeks have now moved over to Spanish season and will be followed by the French season before we move back to new season UK produce around the middle of July.
We are now using new season Spanish carrots where you will see an increase in pricing, before we move back to new season UK carrots in July.
Swede and Parsnips are to be avoided as we come to the end of the UK season. As mentioned new season swede is due soon and we will see Spanish parsnips but they will be expensive.
Potatoes – Choosing the correct spud in the coming weeks may be a minefield!
Due to the extreme hot summer, farmers have experienced a loss of yield of around 35% of the UK planted potatoes. Subsequently, this pushed up prices throughout the season.
We are now at the back end of the stored potatoes which are seeing a higher deterioration of product quality. In turn, this has pushed prices up to unprecedented levels on all varieties with pricing changing weekly. You will see the odd sprouting and soft potato in these bags and bakers will look a bit dull with some markings.
In case you missed it, you can see our recent video on stored potato crop challenges here.
Rest assured, we are working very hard with our growers and supply chains to get the best possible produce during this difficult period. As a result we will be working off market pricing only, so please speak to your account manager or phone our office teamm.
At their best
Strawberries, raspberries, broccoli, gooseberries, Spanish melons, cherries, broad beans and radish.
Something Different!
Peachberries
Pineberries
Our monthly crop reports, like our June crop report, is sent by email every month – you can subscribe to our mailing list here.
You can also take a look at our recent blog posts here.
To start a new order, or to add to an existing order, call us: 01793 683299 or email orders@fsfruit.co.uk
