NCD Produce in Season and Where you can buy it in NCD?

Corsendonk

Ok, since we had a couple of threads on growing your own and locally sourcing produce a thread like this might work. It's simply just a guide were anyone that wants to support local growers can find locally grown produce and also buy whats best in season.

Some in Season Produce
Rhuabarb
New Potatoes
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Lettuce
Swedes
Cabbage
Cauliflowers

So has anyone seen locally grown new season Fruit and Veg in the shops and supermarkets of NCD?

The Hill Billy

Gerry's Supermarket on Strand Street in Skerries usually has a good selection of locally grown vegetables.

ragg

green grocers in lusk is probably one of the best for this

LeoB

Bird of Paradise Main Street Rush has fresh produce daily. Anthony and Christine grow quite a bit of the produce in the shop them selves and also get produce from other local growers.

Pat and Niall Butterly at the Cross in Rush (opposite Walshs pub) sell fresh produce straight from the fields.

So really little need to buy inferior imported produce when you can get it in season here or in your local village/town.

sNarah

Tesco.
No kidding.
Check the labels.

Eoineo

sNarah wrote: »

Tesco.
No kidding.
Check the labels.

Country Crest supply Tesco. Anyone who travels in NCD would be familiar with their wind turbine which is visible for miles. They supply potatoes, onions and the "From the Farm" / "From the Orient" range to Tesco.

Keelings also supply Tesco with soft fruits. I believe they are in season now thanks to their polytunnel system.

The Dublin/Meath Growers have a stall at Balbriggan Market on Friday mornings as does Sonairte. You used to be able to buy home produce there which is surplus from local home-growers. I suspect it's suspended until all the local GIY'ers have an increase in their yield which should happen within the next few weeks.

Many local farms happily sell their produce to local people at the barn door.

The Hill Billy

McNally's Farm in Balrickard, Ring Commons sell their organic farm produce (veg, preserves, etc) in the Temple Bar Food Market each Saturday. They may also seel direct from the farm door, but it would probably be worth ringing ahead first.

Corsendonk

sNarah wrote: »

Tesco.
No kidding.
Check the labels.

Yes Tesco do lovely large photos of growers. I found this blog entry from Darragh McCullough of Ear to Ground fame. I believe the story made the farming pages but can't find a copy so the blog entry will have to do.

http://www.darraghmccullough.com/2009/10/tescos-sign-of-times.html

You don’t usually come across a scene from your farm as you cruise the isles of your local supermarket. So you can imagine my surprise when I chanced upon exactly that as I browsed the vegetable section in my local Tesco recently.

It was a lovely photo of our tractors working away on a sunny day lifting my onion crop. The title on the picture proudly proclaimed “Harvesting onions for Tesco on Simon Donohoe’s farm in Co. Wexford”. I did a double-take. Had I just mistaken the scene entirely? No, it was definitely the 12 acre field, and that was Pat driving my harvester.

But as I stared at the image, I noticed something much more disturbing. The number plates on the tractors showed a WX. But we had bought our tractors new, and so they were registered in Meath – MH, not WX.

Again I briefly thought I was losing the plot. But as I peered closer, I began to make out the slightly whiter spot where the WX had been super-imposed on the image. I gaped in disbelief. After a few moments I remembered where I was and looked around to see who had noticed the gob-daw starring at the bill-board hanging over the onions. But nobody was paying a blind bit of attention to me. They were too busy getting on with another chore of the week.

Is this the length that Tesco will go to convince us that their produce is ‘local’. Or maybe this is only the tip of the ice-berg? If they are willing to doctor pictures, what else are they fiddling? Every conspiracy theory I’d ever heard about the underhand tactics of big business suddenly flooded my thoughts as I made my out of the tri-colour festooned store.

I wondered what I could or should do. The angry part of me wanted to ring up Tesco’s HQ, bawl them out of it, demand an apology and the removal of every sign. But what would this achieve? Was there something else that I could do that could have a more profound impact?

In the weeks that followed, the anger withered and I didn’t come up with any new ideas. Logic also kicked in and I wondered if tackling Tesco on this doctoring to suit their needs would hamper any future dealings I may have wanted with the retail giant. I also began to appreciate the fear that grips any supplier that has a gripe with the global giant.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I never want to be reliant on a company that would be able to abuse its relationship knowing that I would be too afraid to speak up. I also realised the best way for me address this problem was to do what comes easiest to me – to write about it.

I doubt if I’ll be waiting long to hear from my friendly Tesco representative. I'll let you know when I do

Khannie

"Andrew" up in the farmers market in Skerries. He buys local and sells some of his own stuff. He had local strawberries, spuds and carrots at least last week. Paddy "The Egg Man" also sells his organic stuff at the farmers market. The veg varies by time of year. The eggs are legendary stuff.

Gerry's was already mentioned.

The Hill Billy

I can certainly vouch for Paddy's eggs - hen & duck. I have them most weekend mornings. Actually, Paddy also sells the seasonal organic veg direct from the farm on Barnageeragh Hill. From Ardgillan Gates go past the kennels & the farm is the next house on the left as you head towards the coast road.