2 June 2014 - The Scotsman - Brits ‘clueless’ about which vegetables in season

With shoppers being increasingly encouraged to buy locally both to support businesses and help the environment, research has found many are still are unaware which fruit and vegetables they can get from closer to home at different times of the year.

Three-quarters of adults surveyed (75 per cent) agreed that “on the whole… Britons are pretty clueless when it comes to knowing what vegetables and fruits are in season and when”.

The poll for Leaf (Linking ­Environment and Farming) also found that almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of people did not know British farmers grow blueberries, 62 per cent did not know they grow sweetcorn and 29 per cent had no idea cauliflower was grown locally.

Almost a fifth – 19 per cent – did not know apples were grown in Britain.

Despite the strawberry’s strong association with Wimbledon, fewer than six in ten adults (59 per cent) knew they could buy British strawberries in the summer.

Some 5,000 hectares of British strawberries are grown commercially each year, yet one in five of those questioned did not realise that local farmers grew them at all.

Just one in three people knew when they could buy British ­asparagus – usually between April and June – with one in ten (11 per cent) thinking they could buy it all year round.

Almost half of consumers (46 per cent) were unaware that they can buy British Brussels sprouts in December, and half (52 per cent) did not know they could buy homegrown kale.

The poll of 2,000 people ­revealed that those born in the 1990s were 1.5 times less likely to know British farmers grew strawberries than those born in the 1950s, 2.5 times less likely to know they could buy British Brussels sprouts in December and three times less likely to know when to buy British ­asparagus.

Of those born in the 1990s, 16 per cent thought oranges were grown commercially in Britain.