Can't eat tomatoes let them have asparagus

[SueEllen]

(As I was told my last news story failed I've updated the current one.)

Write a news story in the style of a Daily Mail journalist about the shortage of tomatoes and cucumbers in the UK in winter include house prices in the news story

UK shoppers are facing a crisis in the salad aisle this winter as a shortage of tomatoes and cucumbers hits supermarket shelves. This shortage is even more acute in the winter months, when these fresh salad ingredients are typically harder to come by due to the lack of sunlight and colder weather conditions.

Experts have attributed this latest shortage to a combination of factors, including Brexit-related supply chain disruptions, extreme weather conditions and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. With supplies dwindling, many supermarkets have been forced to ration supplies of these popular salad ingredients, with customers being limited to just a few items per visit.

This shortage is also having an impact on the property market, with homes featuring indoor greenhouses and hydroponic systems becoming increasingly valuable. Estate agents are reporting a surge in interest from buyers looking for properties with these features, as people seek to grow their own salad produce during the winter months.

This increased demand for homes with indoor greenhouses and hydroponic systems is driving up house prices in some areas, particularly in urban areas where outdoor space is limited. With no immediate end in sight to the shortage of tomatoes and cucumbers, it seems that these homes are set to become even more valuable in the months ahead.

[SueEllen]

Let them eat turnips!! Says our UK environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey.

[vetran]

Let them eat turnips!! Says our UK environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey.

LBC has a reporter rushing around town offering people a bite of a BLT (Bacon Lettuce Turnip) sandwich. Only one taker.

[SueEllen]

LBC has a reporter rushing around town offering people a bite of a BLT (Bacon Lettuce Turnip) sandwich. Only one taker.

I know that's why I had to hunt for the parliament link.

Oh and the sandwich was oddly crunchy.

[WTFH]

LBC has a reporter rushing around town offering people a bite of a BLT (Bacon Lettuce Turnip) sandwich. Only one taker.

Was his name Rick, and was he follicly challenged?

[d000hg]

What is wrong with turnips?

Maybe we shouldn't be so entitled to think we should be able to buy and fresh produce at any time of year, cheaply. Especially if we hold to environmental views. How about eating seasonally and sustainably? Turnips in winter, tomatoes in summer, canning and preserving.

[SueEllen]

What is wrong with turnips?

Nothing.

Though I prefer
- applies
- Brussels Sprouts
- Carrots
- Leeks
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Parsnips
- Pears
- Purple Sprouting Broccoli
- Red Cabbage
- Savoy Cabbage
- Spring Greens
- Spring Onions
- Squash
- White Cabbage.

Maybe we shouldn't be so entitled to think we should be able to buy and fresh produce at any time of year, cheaply. Especially if we hold to environmental views. How about eating seasonally and sustainably? Turnips in winter, tomatoes in summer, canning and preserving.

To be fair tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries etc outside the UK season are tasteless and very watery.

[WTFH]

What is wrong with turnips?

Maybe we shouldn't be so entitled to think we should be able to buy and fresh produce at any time of year, cheaply. Especially if we hold to environmental views. How about eating seasonally and sustainably? Turnips in winter, tomatoes in summer, canning and preserving.

At the minute our main veg are brassicas (not home grown ), although we still have some of last year’s beetroot in the ground and lettuce in the (unheated) greenhouse.
Already started our planting for this year with the toms and chilis, and will be planting more in the next few weeks. That’s before we put in the new veg beds.

[Paddy]

There are no fruit and veg shortages in Ukraine. Perhaps war torn Ukraine can sent food parcels to the UK, oops GB.

[Zigenare]

It doesn't prevent them buying produce in the UK, but this time of the year we are not self sufficient.

It also does not prevent them buying from anywhere around the world, as long as they are able to find suppliers who will supply them at an agreeable price and timeframe.

Soaring energy costs have resulted in a severely reduced supply of UK-grown salad vegetables, as many British farmers shut down their greenhouses this winter. CEO of the British Growers Association Jack Ward explains: “What’s also contributed to the problem is, last autumn, growers in the UK would have been putting plants into glasshouses ready for production at this time of year. Because they couldn’t get the prices they needed to cover the costs they were incurring, those plants didn’t get put in, so we’re missing a chunk of British production.” Ward says retailers then looked to Spain and Morocco for tomato supplies, but the scale of production there is struggling to meet current UK demand.

It's about time we paid more for our food.