seasonal eating guide for South Africa

wow, got the coolest link EVER from my supervisor today. it’s a seasonal food chart for SOUTH AFRICA! i tell you, i couldn’t find one for the life of me when i searched the web a while back. i mean, it’s actually kinda embarrassing that i don’t just like ‘intuitively KNOW’ when certain veg/fruits are in season. it’s the kinda knowledge we have lost when we stopped either growing our own food or at least having a closer connection to the people who do. this knowledge has also been corrupted by the industrial food system which has led us to believe that we should be able to walk into a supermarket ANY day of the year and expect the same fruit/veg to be on the shelves…

http://www.naturalnutrition.co.za/seasonalchart.asp

BEST LINK EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there are SO many sustainability issues around expecting to get the same produce all year. so locavores, if you want to eat locally and sustainably, you shouldn’t buy things which AREN’T on this list. because if unseasonal produce is appearing in the stores, it either means it’s been trucked/shipped in from somewhere else, or grown in a greenhouse/tunnel situation (way too much energy) and most likely not organically because it would need special treatment (think fertilisers, pesticides) to grow outside its normal time…

i am SO amped about this list… think i am gonna print it out or write it up into my diary.

here is an example of what is in season in July:

July

Vegetables: beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, black radish, Japanese white radish i.e. daikon, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, celeriac, endive, horseradish, red Russia kale, black kavolo nero kale, kohlrabi, leeks, garlic (scarce), lettuce, mushrooms, onion, parsnips, peppers, potatoes, pumpkin, radishes, Swiss chard, spring onion, gem squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, tarsoi, pachoi, turnips, peas

Fruit: avocado, bananas, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, naartjies, kumquats, guavas, paw-paw, pineapples, cape gooseberries, granadillas, kiwi, apples

Herbs: mint, sage, thyme, sweet marjoram, oreganum, rosemary, fennel, bay leaves, lavender, parsley, dandelion, nasturtiums, garlic chives, winter savoury, calendula, nettle, rocket, sage (limited), bulb fennel, perennial basil, sorrel, bloody sorrel, lemon grass stems, lime leaves, cat mint, green & red mustard, garden cress

Fish: hake, hottentot, kingklip, monkfish, skate, snoek, sole, trout, tuna, cape salmon, yellowtail, (galjoen – protected species)

Poultry & Meat: guinea fowl, pheasant, partridge, chicken, venison, mutton, beef

(excerpted from the awesome website mentioned above! really, go check it out!!!)