69p for two tomatoes???

[aquilegia]

Rant alert.

I really should've know better shouldn't I?

Had to go to the supermarket yesterday (boo hiss!) and rather fancied getting some tomatoes for a cheese and tomato sandwich at lunch today. I bypassed the ones in 16 layers of plastic and picked up a couple of nice red (amazing) loose ones.

Then went to get some apples. Coxes. nice - english apples. But no - they were from south Africa. All the apples they had were flown in from thousands of miles away. So much for buying local - I got the ones on special offer instead.

At the till, I fortunately noticed that my two tomatoes cost 69p! They came up as Beef tomatoes (beef, my ****!) They were maybe infinitesimally bigger than the normal ones, but they were not beef ones - somewhere between 2 and 3 inches in diameter.

"That's far too much to pay for two tomatoes" I said to the cashier and promptly demanded that he took them off the bill.

My cheese sandwich is very boring, though!

[legless]

blimey. hope your plants are fruiting fairly quick!!

[clairenpaul]

We paid 69p for 1 courgette a couple of weeks ago at the supermarket - didn't notice till we got home and checked the bill - no wonder they're making such enormous profits...

[Robert_Brenchley]

Even the longest-keeping apples don't seem to store past April, so I wouldn't expect to find British ones now!

[BAGGY]

I had to buy onions last week.  It pains me.  Also little gem lettuce.  They were about a quid for two.  Last year we had squillions of them. Bloody supermarkets 

[wattapain]

And they taste c**p.
Last week I bought some tomatoes from Sainsbury's - a variety called Delizia (I think) - Sicilian - and they were in fact very delicious - I have to say the tastiest toms i have ever bought from a supermarket ( sainsbury's usually have the best veg I find). BUT they were £1.50 is for 4!!
My point is that the stuff you buy taste better than anything you can buy (even from local outlets/farmers' markets -  no matter how much you pay - and for a fraction of the cost.
Rant over
Terri 

[Mrs Ava]

I cut my second asparagus spear today, and it was worth a million squillion pounds!   (Pleased to report, after the rain, I now have a further 6 poking through)

[wardy]

I think 69 p is the stock price in all supermarkets for courgettes as I checked after my OH paid that amount for one he bought from the Co-op.  I checked on Tesco.com and there's were the same price.  Fixed probably! 

EJ   I'd be dead excited if I'd managed to grow an asparagus spear.  Well done you!  Have you eaten it yet?  What did it taste like?  What variety?   

[Mrs Ava]

Wardy, eaten, delish, no idea! 

[Clayhithe]

the stuff you buy tastes better than anything you can buy

 

[wattapain]

Oooops 
Should ofcourse have been - what you grow tastes much better.
Terri

[aquilegia]

And it's usually 79p for one pepper at the supermarket. At my local farm shop yesterday I got six peppers for about £1. (unfortunatuely it closes at 5pm, so can't normally go there after work!) Darn - can't believe I forgot to buy tomatoes there.

[kitty]

right-all of you who shop at supermarkets for fruit and veg-bend over and take 6 of the best..

i know its not easy  with our current lifestyles to remember when you are passing a greengrocers...but-really-in 20 years time do you WANT the only choice to be TESCOS or ASDA???cos thats what'll happen-make a positive choice and action-

i use tescosfor the most basic items..washing powder and stuff-but if theres a small shopkeeper(no,not one under 5'4")then i use them...easier for me..i work in an area of town that has small shops-but i have to park half a mile away and walk then lug the bags(which is why i bought a rucksack-easier on my housemaids elbow!)
PLEASE-it is the bane of my life hearing people say-oooh!i like these individual shops-i wish there were more of them-i hate tescos'
then do something about it!!!!
boycott the supermarket  wilted veg-sure-you'll get some duff stuff at your grocers-but talk to him about it-let him know-he wants to keep your business-tescos dont give a stuff-they think they are omnificent.......

sorry!...kitty slinks away-rant over.....
but it does make me mad......

[gavin]

Kitty - t'ain't 20 years away in some places.  Tesco's 1.5 miles at top of the hill, Asda/Walmart 0.5 miles at bottom of the hill.  Local shops (bakers, chemists, greengrocers, butchers) almost all gone - for miles around.  Newsagents and post offices next.

Gavin

[kitty]

yup gavin-and i bet all the people decrying the omnipotence of thesupermarket all moan like h**l about the demise of the individual shop.....and when theyve had a good gripwe they finish by saying-aahhhhh.....but its so conveniant to do it all in one place.
well.....you pays your money and takes your choice.....
there was a small(not,in my opinion,very good)green grocers near us-i still get people wander into my shop asking where it is...they closed at least THREE years ago!"
'did they?'they say-'i always used to get my veg from there-'.........
what??
do they eat half a lettuce a decade then?
 
now a chap has been open selling veg at the back of another shop-they work really hard to supply fresh stuff some of which they grow themselves-but they are interested in what people think and where the best suppliers are...so they are making a go of it.but small shops need support like farmers markets have done for farmers and sm,all growers...peopel say that small is too expensive-we are  not rich by any means...i would say £12k a year  at best but i'd rather buy less of a good thing and not waste any.
ourbutcher sells you one rashedr of backon if you want it-the greengrocer sells one orange or one tomato-tescos want you to buy multiple tasteless veg whos freshness lasts til you get home.......


use it or lose it!

[supernan]

Oh you townies really!! Its 1.5 miles to my nearest shop, Tescos et al are 9 miles. Nearly got stranded today left petrol too low, garage 7 miles.

Allotment 50 yards, hurry up and grow. Its my first year so things are a bit slow. Have harvested my first mixed lettuce crop grown in a blue plastic mushroom box (nicked from Tescos) LOL

I wake up to the dawn chorus, cows, donkey, ponies and goats on next door farm. I can walk for miles not seeing anyone. And this is in Essex one of the most built up counties in England.

I use my local market for fruit and veg. Another area of life that is dwindling. Trying to have a balance in my life and buy locally where I can, but limited income means basics have to come from supermarkets.

[kitty]

o yes-nan-THE BASICS-but for the small everyday things there are hundreds of farners markets and ordinary markets and small shops left(just!)people could use-they dont have to rely on supermarkets.......

[aquilegia]

Kitty - I wish I could go to non-supermarkets, but there are absolutely none in my area. I buy our main fruit and veg from the farm shop, but can only go there once a week (due to their opening times and my work hours), so occassionally have to buy things from the supermarket.

When I was a kid I remember going in about five different shops with mum to get groceries. I wish I could do that now. I cannot remember the last time I saw a green grocers.

Oh and there aren't any local markets. And the only local farmers market is once a month, on a friday lunchtime and the farmers are all french (and everything costs a fortune). Not exactly buying local.

Stupid bloody local area!

[wardy]

You'll have to flit Aqui        We're lucky as we have lots of local shops (for local people  ) and they are well used.  Well by me anyway.  A chap on the lotty was saying he never bothers shopping local and gets all his allotment and DIY stuff from B & Q.  We have a DIY shop and a decorating shop - both excellent but he'd rather drive 7 miles to B & Q and pay more.  I told him our local dectorators is much cheaper so maybe he was listening.  It was the attitude that got me and so emphatic.  Grrr   More fool him but it's folks like him not supporting local shops (where parking is free) or it's within walking distance, which means loss of local shops for the rest of us 

We are doubly lucky as we have loads of greengrocers and the most fabbo deli.  We are also have a massive food fayre here for the weekend and we have JAMES MARTIN of Ready Steay Cook fame 

[tim]

69p for 2??  I sell my each (@ 1lb) in the village for 80p!! On the roadside.