Fruit/veg delivery

madmum33

A short update on Flights Orchard - had an email today saying my first box will be delivered on Friday (Good Friday? I was surprised!) and asking for my bank card details for security (they don't take payments off it, you pay at the end of each month for the boxes you've had).

I rang and spoke to a very nice man (Peter, the owner) who checked exactly where I was (he already drives past the house on his delivery rounds), explained a little more about the contents and how things work, and put me very much at ease. Seems like a very good company!

I'll report back on Friday evening (delivery expected between 4 and 5pm)

I have to be honest, I haven't got the hang of meal planning yet, so this is the ideal opportunity to start (I'd hate to waste any of the veg!)

midlandsfairy

Oh fab, thanks madmum3 for reporting back, I'm really keen to find out what you get now!! Nice that you got to speak to the owner, after reading comments about other companies getting really big and losing that personal touch.

Did you order the one that had fruit as well or just a veg delivery?

madmum33

I ordered the £12.95 veg box, no fruit, once a fortnight. This week, according to the website, I can expect:

Potatoes White, Carrots, Spring Greens, Celeriac, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Leeks, Cucumber Ridge, French Beans, Lettuce Cos, Onions, Parsnips, Beetroot

Peter said this is the least exciting time of year, and there will be much more variety in a few months.

Daisies

Hope you like it!

I often use the Riverford website for recipe ideas - you can search by ingredient
http://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/index.php?PHPSESSID=05a6ed94664b823da55f5b143d31fe29

competitionscafe

madmum33 wrote: »

Peter said this is the least exciting time of year, and there will be much more variety in a few months.

Yes, it's the 'hungry gap' but once we get into May and June all the really good stuff starts coming - broad beans, asparagus, and then the first soft fruit (Strawbs, raspberries,) etc - for an idea of what to expect when see https://www.eattheseasons.co.uk and http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/in_season/

There is also a handy A4 size chart for the year to print here:
http://www.britishfoodfortnight.co.uk/images/stories/pdf/2004_recipes_whats-in-season.pdf

madmum33

Daisies, I'm sure I will! What could be better than local, fresh, organic veg?

Competitionscafe thank you, very useful!

To be honest I'd be happy if my box was full of purple sprouting! lol

Now, what do I do if I get broad beans at some time? I've never been a huge fan of beans in general, with broad beans being the scariest :eek: I'll be tempted to swap over to a box with fruit when the soft fruit season kicks in.

madmum33

I just took delivery of my Flights Orchard veg box, now I have to think of clever ways to use it all!

In my box this week:

Potatoes White - 10 good size
Carrots - 6, mixed sizes, one huge! All covered in mud
Spring Greens - 1 large, 1 small spring cabbage
Celeriac - 1 large (although I don't know the standard size for celeriac)
Purple Sprouting Broccoli - reasonable size bag but not enough for my family who all love it!
Leeks - 3 medium size
Cucumber Ridge - 1 short and fat
French Beans - they look more like runner beans but I know they can't be
Lettuce Cos - 1 medium size
Onions red - 6 smallish
Parsnips - 3, one enormous
Beetroot (on the website list) - they must have run out, none in my box

Seems pretty good, it'll take a while to get used to the funny shapes and mud though! I also got a booklet with information on how to store the veg etc. and leaflet with 3 recipes.

Daisies

Does anyone know if I'm likely to do something awful to my drains if I just empty the muddy water from veg washing down the sink?!

thriftlady_2

Doubt it

Kizeree

hi all. new here and i am looking for a veg box delivery service in North Tyneside. all the ones i found only take online payment and we cant do that. also how much do you get in each box. mine will need to feed a growing family of 5 (6 in september) and my kids all eat bananas like they are going out of fashion.
My shopping budget is around £35-40 a week.
thanks

Kiz