Buying your food locally offers multi healthy and nature friendly advantages:
The fruits and vegetables won't travel thousands of km to end up in your plate,
The food will not be as chemically treated to optimize their preservation during travel
The locals will have more vitamins and nutrients to give.
So we made a list per month of the seasonal regional fruits, vegetables and salads you can find here in Germany as well as tips for you the smart consumer to ease your choice.
SPRING
March
Vegetables: Leeks, parsnip, mushroom.
Salads: lamb's lettuce, rocket, lettuce.
Fruits :(
April
Vegetables: Leeks, asparagus, spinach, spring onions, cucumbers, radishes, mushroom.
Salads: lamb’s lettuce, rocket, lettuce .
Fruits: rhubarb
May
Vegetables: Cauliflower, broccoli, peas, kohlrabi, leek, radishes, radish, asparagus, spinach, (spring) onions, iceberg lettuce, endives, radicchio, arugula, fennel, cucumbers, carrots, celery, turnips, hispi cabbage, tomatoes, cabbage, mushroom.
Salads: lamb's lettuce, lettuce, romaine.
Fruits: strawberry, rhubarb, peach
SUMMER
June
Vegetables: Cauliflower, beans, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, peas, fennel, cucumbers, potatoes, kohlrabi, leek, radishes, beetroot, celery, asparagus, spinach, cabbage, spring onions, endives, radicchio, arugula, red cabbage, tomatoes, cabbage, savoy cabbage, courgettes, onions, mushroom.
Salads: lamb’s lettuce, romaine, iceberg lettuce, lettuce.
Fruits: peach, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, currant, cherry, rhubarb, gooseberry
July
Vegetables: Cauliflower, beans, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, peas, fennel, cucumbers, potatoes, kohlrabi, carrots, leek, radish, radish, beetroot, red cabbage, celery, turnips, spinach, cabbage, cabbage, savoy cabbage, courgettes, (spring) onions, endives, radicchio, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, mushroom .
Salads: lamb’s lettuce, romaine, lettuce, iceberg lettuce, rocket.
Fruits: peach, nectarine, apricot, blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, raspberry, currant, cherry, mirabelle plum, plum, gooseberry.
August
Vegetables: Cauliflower, beans, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, peas, fennel, cucumbers, potatoes, kohlrabi, carrots, parsnips, leeks, radishes, beetroot, red cabbage, tubers & celery, turnips, spinach, hispi cabbage, swedes, Savoy cabbage, zucchini, sweetcorn, spring onions, endives, radicchio, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, mushroom.
Salads: lamb’s lettuce, romaine, lettuce, iceberg lettuce, rocket.
Fruits: peach, nectarine, apple, apricot, pear, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, currant, cherry, mirabelle plum, plum, gooseberry.
AUTUMN
September
Vegetables: Cauliflower, beans, broccoli, chinese cabbage, peas, fennel, kale, cucumbers, potatoes, kohlrabi, pumpkin, carrots, parsnips, mushrooms, leeks, radishes, brussels sprouts, beetroot, red cabbage, black salsify, celery, turnips, spinach, cabbage, swedes, white cabbage, savoy cabbage, courgettes, sweetcorn, (spring) onions, endives, radicchio, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, parsnip, mushroom.
Salads: lamb’s lettuce, romaine, lettuce, iceberg lettuce, rocket.
Fruits: peach, nectarine, apple, pear, blueberry, blackberry, mirabelle plum, plum, quince.
October
Vegetables: Cauliflower, beans, broccoli, chinese cabbage, fennel, kale, potatoes, kohlrabi, pumpkin, carrots, mushrooms, parsnips, leeks, radishes, radish, Brussels sprouts, beetroot, red cabbage, black salsify, celery, turnips, spinach, hispi cabbage, white cabbage, savoy cabbage, courgettes, sweetcorn, spring onions, iceberg lettuce, endives, radicchio, cucumber, eggplant, parsnip, mushroom.
Salads: lamb’s lettuce, romaine, lettuce, iceberg lettuce, rocket.
Fruits: Apple, pear, quince.
November
Vegetables: chinese cabbage, kale, potatoes, fennel, pumpkin, carrots, parsnips, leeks, radish, brussels sprouts, beetroot, black salsify, celery, turnips, spinach, hispi cabbage, swedes, white cabbage, savoy cabbage, (spring) onions, endives, radicchio, kohlrabi , parsnip, mushroom.
Salads: lamb’s lettuce, romaine, lettuce, iceberg lettuce, rocket.
Fruits: Apple, quince.
WINTER
December
Vegetables: kale, leek, brussels sprouts, Savoy cabbage, parsnip, mushroom .
Salads: lamb’s lettuce, rocket.
Fruits :(
January
Vegetables: kale, leek, brussels sprouts, Savoy cabbage, corn salad, parsnip, mushroom.
Salads: lamb’s lettuce, rocket.
Fruits :(
February
Vegetables: kale, leek, brussels sprouts, Savoy cabbage, parsnip, mushroom.
lamb’s lettuce, rocket.
Fruits :(
TIPS AND TRICKS
If you are looking for a quick convenient fix because retaining all those information by heart seems like quite the challenge, and you do not want to spend so much of your time on the food selection process some alternatives exist:
At the supermarket
The most pragmatic one is to go to your supermarket and look for the Regional / Local Label in your fruits and vegetables section. In that case, no hassle, you just check and grab.
Subscription Boxes
You can even "automate" your decision making by subscribing to a local box subscription company. On the plus side, it is local and seasonal, usually bio guaranteed. For the practical downside the delivery hours are fixed per city district so you have to make sure to be at home during the specific day and time and you may not have always an exact say on what is in your basket. So check on the different companies as each have different policies for content, frequency and delivery.
Local Germany veg/fruits boxes companies delivering in Hessen:
Sources: