Add some variety to your dishes with seasonal fruits and veg. Your wallet will thank you, too!
When reading about what fruit and veg to eat, seasonal foods are often mentioned. But do you know which foods belong to which season? If you are buying fruit and veg and not growing it yourself, you probably don’t know what is in season or not, or perhaps you know when avo is in season, but what about the rest of the plants you eat?
Eating seasonal fruits and vegetables is highly beneficial as they cost less and have ripened naturally without long periods of refrigeration. If you are looking for some variety in your diet and want to save money, then let’s look at the various seasonal fruits and vegetables. Here is a handy list of what to eat and when.
Seasonal eating
Winter: (June, July, August)
Asparagus, artichoke, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, celeriac, endive, garlic, horseradish, kohlrabi, leeks, mushrooms, parsnips, peppers, rhubarb, Swiss chard, spinach, spring onions, turnips.
Apples, avocados, bananas, gooseberries, guavas, granadillas, grapefruit, kiwi, kumquats, lemons, limes, loquats, naartjies, oranges, pawpaw, tomatoes.
Spring: (September, October, November)
Asparagus, artichoke, baby marrow, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, courgettes, cucumber, garlic, green beans, leeks, mushrooms, mielies, parsley, parsnips, peas, rhubarb, spinach, Swiss chard, spring onion, turnips. waterblommetjies.
Avocados, apricots, blackberries, bananas, Cape gooseberry, cherries, grapefruit, guava, kumquats, kiwi, lemons, limes, melons, mulberries, naartjies, oranges, pawpaw, peaches, plums, raspberries, rhubarb, spanspek, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon.
Summer: (December, January, February)
Asparagus. artichokes, aubergine, beetroot, butternut, cabbage, celery, chillies, chives, courgettes, endive, garlic, green beans, kohlrabi, mange tout, mealies, mushrooms, radicchio, rhubarb, spinach, spring onion, sweet peppers, Swiss chard, turnips.
Apricots, apples, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, elderberries, figs, grapes, granadillas, guavas, kiwi, lemons, litchis, mangoes, melons, nectarines, pawpaw, peaches, pears, plums, pomegranate, prickly pears, quince, spanspek, tomatoes, watermelon.
Autumn: (March, April, May)
Aubergine, beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chives, courgette, endive, green beans, horseradish, kale, leeks, mielies, mushrooms, peas, parsnips, spinach, sweet peppers, turnips.
Apples, avocado, bananas, figs, grapes, gooseberries, guavas, lemons, mangoes, oranges, pawpaw, peaches, pears, plums, pomegranate, quince, spanspek, tomatoes, watermelon.
All year round:
Butternut, carrots, cucumber, gem squash, lemons, lettuce, onion, potato, pumpkin, radish, and sweet potato.
Bananas, pineapple.
Growing your own produce
If you want to save money, the next step is growing your produce! If you want to try planting greens, here is what you should plant and when. Remember that what works in Gauteng won’t necessarily work in other provinces, so pick what works best for your growing space!
January
Bush beans, beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach.
February
Beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, onions, radish, Swiss chard, spinach.
March
Beetroot, lettuce, onion, radish, Swiss chard, spinach.
April
Broad beans, beetroot, radish, Swiss chard, spinach.
May
Broad beans.
June
Don’t try to plant anything this month. Do some crosswords and sudoku instead.
July
Peas, potatoes.
August
Bush beans, climbing beans, beetroot, carrot, celery, lettuce, peas, peppers, potatoes, radish, Swiss chard, spinach, tomatoes.
September
Bush beans, climbing beans, beetroot, carrot, celery, corn, cucumber, parsnip, lettuce, melons, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkin, radish, Swiss chard, spinach, tomatoes, watermelon.
October
Bush beans, climbing beans, beetroot, carrot, celery, corn, cucumber, melons, parsnip, peppers, potatoes, pumpkin, radish, Swiss chard, spinach, tomatoes, and watermelon.
November
Bush beans, climbing beans, beetroot, cabbage, carrots, celery, corn, cucumber, melons, pumpkin, radish, Swiss chard, spinach, tomatoes, and watermelon.
December
Bush beans, climbing beans, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, Swiss chard, spinach.
As you can see, pretty much every month has something you can grow so that you can start immediately! Hopefully, this will help you purchase the freshest (and cheapest) produce or encourage you to grow something yourself. Take it from us: there is just something special about tasting fresh food that you grew from a seed.