Written by Tom Moggach
May 06, 2016

Arrive early to catch the freshly cut asparagus – it’s flying out of the Market. Purple and white spears also available.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Asparagus

This crop grabs the headlines for May, although the last wild garlic, peas and broad beans are not far off the front page.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Wild Garlic

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Peas

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Broad Beans

For sheer novelty, it’s hard to resist the beauty of this purple sweetheart Hispi cabbage over at P&I.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Purple Sweetheart Hispi

Tomatoes are also bringing bags of colour. The choice of varieties is building every day, such as these yellow beefsteaks.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Beefsteak Tomatoes

Nutbourne Nurseries, one of the leading UK specialty tomato growers, are also well underway. See our Grower Profile on this class act.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Tomatoes

The first sweetcorn has arrived – all the way from Morocco.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Sweetcorn

English kale and purple sprouting is on hand. Potatoes include Jersey Royals. Rhubarb is on form, with plenty of the cheaper outdoor grown and the last of the premium indoor forced rhubarb, too. You can find out more about remarkable forced rhubarb in our Product Profile.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Rhubarb

For stone fruit, the season is shifting from South Africa to Spain and other areas of Southern Europe. The first Spanish peaches, nectarines and cherries have arrived.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Nectarines

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Cherries

Strawberries and raspberries are often Spanish, too.

Specialties include red Tropea onions and agretti from Italy, white courgettes, fennel, Violet aubergines, Jerusalem artichokes, celeriac, and Petit Violet and Globe artichokes.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Tropea Onions

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Agretti

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report May 2016 Tomatoes Courgettes

For wild mushrooms, look out for Morels, Pied Bleu, Chanterelle and St George. If you missed it, catch our last Grower Profile on Smithy Mushrooms up in Lancashire.

At this time of year, mornings on the market can be truly gorgeous - with moody, pink and orange dawns. Here are some of the teams at work.