What is in season in the UK, month by month
In October that means apples, pears, squash, leeks and the first chestnuts. Here is the whole year, and why it is worth shopping this way.
In October, British apples, pears, blackberries and elderberries are in season, along with squash, pumpkin, leeks, kale, beetroot, celeriac, chestnuts, Brussels sprouts and wild mushrooms. The table below covers every month, January to December, from the seasonal list the British Dietetic Association publishes, plus the crops you can buy all year because they store well.
What is in season in the UK right now?
This month, October, is one of the fullest of the year. The summer crops have not quite gone, so tomatoes, courgettes, sweetcorn and runner beans are still on the list, and the autumn ones have arrived: butternut and winter squash, pumpkin, celeriac, chestnuts, leeks, kale and Brussels sprouts. Fruit is apples, pears, blackberries and elderberries. Blackberries are near the end of their run, having been on the list since July, while apples and pears carry on through the winter.
If you are counting plants, October is a good month to pick up a few you don’t buy the rest of the year. Celeriac, chestnuts and a squash you have not tried are three new points.
What is in season each month?
The vegetables below are a selection from each month’s list; the fruit is the full list for that month. Everything comes from the month by month list on the British Dietetic Association’s site, which it credits to the Vegetarian Society.
| Month | Vegetables, a selection | Fruit |
|---|---|---|
| January | Beetroot, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celeriac, kale, leeks, parsnips, swedes | Apples, pears |
| February | Brussels sprouts, cabbage, celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, parsnips, purple sprouting broccoli, swedes | Apples, pears |
| March | Artichoke, beetroot, cabbage, carrots, leeks, purple sprouting broccoli, radishes, spring greens, watercress | Rhubarb |
| April | New potatoes, kale, radishes, rocket, spinach, spring greens, spring onions, watercress | Rhubarb |
| May | Asparagus, lettuce, new potatoes, peas, radishes, rocket, samphire, spinach | Rhubarb, strawberries |
| June | Asparagus, broad beans, broccoli, cauliflower, courgettes, cucumber, peas, runner beans, Swiss chard | Blackcurrants, cherries, gooseberries, raspberries, redcurrants, rhubarb, strawberries, tayberries |
| July | Beetroot, broad beans, courgettes, fennel, French beans, garlic, new potatoes, runner beans, tomatoes | Blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, cherries, gooseberries, greengages, loganberries, raspberries, redcurrants, rhubarb, strawberries |
| August | Aubergine, courgettes, French beans, mangetout, marrow, runner beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes | Blackberries, blackcurrants, cherries, damsons, greengages, loganberries, plums, raspberries, redcurrants, rhubarb, strawberries |
| September | Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, cauliflower, kale, leeks, pumpkin, sweetcorn, tomatoes, wild mushrooms | Blackberries, damsons, pears, plums, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries |
| October | Beetroot, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, celeriac, chestnuts, kale, leeks, pumpkin, swede, wild mushrooms | Apples, blackberries, elderberries, pears |
| November | Brussels sprouts, cabbage, celeriac, chestnuts, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, parsnips, winter squash | Apples, cranberries, elderberries, pears |
| December | Brussels sprouts, celeriac, chestnuts, kale, leeks, parsnips, red cabbage, swede, winter squash | Apples, cranberries, pears |
A few quirks are worth knowing. The list puts aubergines, peppers and chillies as early as May. British growers raise crops like these under glass, which stretches their season well beyond a British summer. And apples drop off the list from March to September, even though British apples are in the shops all year, for the reason in the next section.
Why are some vegetables in the shops all year?
Storage, mostly. British growers use modern growing, harvesting and storage so that carrots, cauliflowers, potatoes and apples can be sold all year, and glasshouses let warmer weather crops such as aubergines and peppers carry on into the colder months. That is the National Farmers’ Union’s account in its own seasonality chart.
So a British apple in May is a stored apple, not a fresh picked one. That is fine. It still counts towards your 5 A Day and as a plant point.
Is seasonal fruit and veg cheaper?
Usually, yes. The BDA’s advice on getting your 5 A Day is to go for what is in season, because it is more likely to be locally grown, cheaper and often looks and tastes the best. Its guide to eating well on a budget makes the same point with two examples, strawberries in summer and parsnips in winter.
No prices here, because they change week to week and from shop to shop. The shelf label’s price per kilo is the fair comparison when you are weighing a seasonal option against a year round one.
Does eating seasonally help with 30 plants a week?
Yes, but not because seasonal plants score more. A plant counts once a week whether it is fresh, frozen, tinned or dried, and whether it is in season or not.
Seasonal shopping helps because the list keeps changing. If you buy the same eight vegetables every week of the year, you will hit the same eight points every week. Following the season swaps some of them out for you: asparagus and broad beans in early summer, damsons and greengages in August, celeriac and chestnuts in the autumn.
It also helps on the thin months. Early spring is the leanest part of the list, and in March and April the only fruit on it is rhubarb. That is where the freezer earns its place. Dietitians suggest keeping frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables at home, tins in juice rather than syrup, because they stay fresher for longer. Frozen berries count the same as fresh ones, and so do tinned fruit in juice and dried fruit, which is how the cheapest way to eat 30 plants gets to thirty without anything fresh at all.
For the counting rules in full, see what counts as a plant point, and for a full week built from an ordinary UK shop, the 30 plants a week checklist. If you want to know which guide fits where you are now, try the which book quiz.
Questions people ask
What fruit and veg is in season in the UK in October?
Apples, pears, blackberries and elderberries, plus beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, chestnuts, kale, leeks, parsnips, pumpkin, swede, wild mushrooms and winter squash, among others.
Is seasonal food cheaper in the UK?
Usually. The British Dietetic Association says seasonal fruit and vegetables are more likely to be locally grown, cheaper and often taste the best, giving strawberries in summer and parsnips in winter as examples.
Why can I buy British carrots and apples all year?
Storage. The National Farmers’ Union says modern growing, harvesting and storage let British growers supply carrots, cauliflowers, potatoes and apples all year. Glasshouses extend aubergines and peppers into colder months.
Does seasonal food count more towards 30 plants?
No. A plant counts once a week whether it is fresh, frozen, tinned or dried, and in season or not. Seasonal shopping helps because the plants change through the year, which brings new ones into your week.
- British Dietetic Association, list from the Vegetarian Society, Which fruit and veg are in season in the UK?. www.bda.uk.com/food-health/your-health/sustainable-diets/sea
- National Farmers' Union, Back British Farming seasonality chart. www.nfuonline.com/news/back-british-farming-seasonality-char
- British Dietetic Association, Fruit and vegetables, how to get five a day. www.bda.uk.com/resource/fruit-and-vegetables-how-to-get-five
- British Dietetic Association, Eat well, spend less food fact sheet. www.bda.uk.com/resource/food-facts-eat-well-spend-less.html
- NHS, 5 A Day, what counts?. www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/5-a-day/5-a-day-what-counts/
- The Gut Health Doctor, Plant points, how to get 30 a week and why. theguthealthdoctor.com/30-plant-points
Clinically checked by Laura, RN.