Dear Friends

Have you been to your local supermarket and bought any ‘wonky veg’ yet? If not, why not? ‘Wonky veg’ is the supermarkets response to a growing realisation among the general public that up to 40% of a crop of vegetables can be disregarded because it does not meet the aesthetic requirements of supermarkets. We have come to expect our fruit and veg to be uniform and unblemished. I grow all kinds of fruit and veg in my garden and when I pick it and bring it into the kitchen it never looks quite as good as that bought from the supermarket, sometimes the slugs have had a nibble, sometimes it is discoloured and I always struggle to gather fruit and veg that is uniform in size. Strawberries are a great example, you have to leave them long enough to ripen but the longer you leave them the more open to attack and disfiguration they are. But, if you get things right in the garden even though fruit and veg doesn’t looks as good it certainly tastes better.