Chicken boarders

[TutuTallulah]

Quite a few years ago I had an organic box delivered weekly to my door.

 

I eventually cancelled it as lots of the veg was severely infested with slugs (I know it's organic but there were so many it put me off eating the veg!) plus the contents got less and less until it wasn't worth the money.

 

I do miss the weekly excitement though of what's in the box! We have grown alot ourselves this year but as this will shortly be coming to an end until spring I was wondering if I should start ordering again, but from a different company. Riverford and Fennellas Garden deliver in my area and I haven't tried them before.

 

So if anyone can help here are my questions (although all advice greatly received!)

 

How often do you have your veg box?

Just veg or fruit and veg?

Are the contents nice and fresh?

Does it last you the week/fortnight or do you have to stock up lots from the shops?

Do you find it good value for money?

Do you have anything else delivered - milk, flour, cheese etc?

 

Many thanks,

 

Tutu x

[The Dogmother]

I don't get one as I buy my fresh veg etc at the farmers' markets, but there are several local companies which do them; might be a better proposition/more green than one which comes from afar.

[Seagazer]

I've recently stopped getting a veg box as I was finding that the veg went squidgy too quickly - often the carrots would be bendy by the next day. The last straw came when my box was delivered with a courgette with about 2 inches of mould at the end of it. I had been getting a fruit and veg box weekly.

 

I've got a couple of farm shops near me so I use those or buy organic from the supermarket.

[The Dogmother]

My neighbours get one from Riverford, which is hardly local. They usually ditch about half of the contents as it goes off before they eat it.

[Chucky Mama]

I stopped having one from a local farm as like others the contents got squashed and squishy too quickly. Also we get through so much that it was cheaper to mix and match at the green grocers and supermarket.

[kerryegg]

I have been having a local organic veg delivery for many years and rarely have a problem. I don't chose my selection just have what comes with a few items, oranges due to an allergy and apples as I have 4 trees, excluded. Lovely to have it delivered. Also lucky enough to still have milk delivered 4 days a week and I use Tesco online for my big shop about every 4 weeks. We live about 4 miles from a farm shop so i can top up there weather permitting.All in all I think veg boxes are a great idea and help you to eat, soup or chicken everything. Good luck with yours.

[Seagazer]

My neighbours get one from Riverford, which is hardly local. They usually ditch about half of the contents as it goes off before they eat it.

 

That's where mine came from

[docsquid]

I've used Riverford for a couple of years, although we don't have a box through summer as we grow our own, and we still don't really need it even now. I agree - the shelf life of the vegetables seems to be limited and it does lead me to question how long things have been hanging around before they get into the boxes: my own veg is fresh for much longer.

 

The local farm shops are more meat/potatoes/yoghurt/preserves than veggies, but the local Spar shop on the nearby council estate is brilliant and sources as much of its produce as it can from local growers and producers. It isn't organic, but it is very local, so we tend to go there for vegetable top-ups when our own have run out.

[Lavenders_Blue]

I have a fortnightly veg/salad box (depending on what I fancy) from Woodlands Farm - they deliver within a 50 mile radius of their farm in Boston.

 

The freshness is usually okay, although we soon learnt which veg needs to be eaten quickly and which keeps well. We've been having it for nearly 4 years now.

 

The only thing I find annoying is that the vegetables seem to come with half the field still attached, so I am constantly wiping mud out of my fridge!

[TutuTallulah]

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post.

 

It seems most people are experiencing similar problems to the ones I had before. I also had issues with veg being very soft and not keeping for very long, yet my own veg from the garden stays fresh for ages, so I do agree with the previous post that it makes you wonder how long the veg has been stored before it is delivered.

 

I don't think I will be ordering for now. My local farmers market is only once a month so I will have to use my local grocers in the meantime. They are not organic, but it does mean I can continue to support a local business which is also very important to me.

 

Thanks to everyone once again!

 

Tutu x