Britain is experiencing an unprecedented influx of early-season strawberries, aubergines, and tomatoes as unseasonably warm, dry weather accelerates harvests, growers report.
The usual spring "hungry gap", typically marked by dwindling winter stocks and delayed summer produce, has all but vanished this year.
Forecasters confirm this spring has been one of the sunniest and driest on record, with May temperatures predicted to soar to 30°C, the earliest such highs ever recorded. The exceptional conditions have fast-tracked crop maturation, catching some growers off guard.
Nick Haigh, a producer at the Community Farm near Bristol, noted that Mediterranean vegetables are arriving weeks ahead of schedule.
“It feels like it’s the middle of May already,” The Guardian quoted Haigh as saying. “We have loads and loads of crops right now, tomatoes, aubergines, cucumbers, peppers, they are all ready two or three weeks early. We are crazy busy already. We are feeling the push right now.”
Traditionally, April and early May mark the "hungry gap," a lean period between winter and summer harvests. But this year, the prolonged dry spell has upended expectations.
"Months ago, we braced for the worst hungry gap ever," Haigh explained. "Now, it’s barely happening at all."
The shift follows a disastrously wet 2023, which left growers with depleted stored crops.
"Last year was awful—waterlogged fields meant poor yields, especially for squash and other staples that usually tide us over," Haigh added.
Extreme weather swings, intensified by climate change, are forcing farmers to adapt rapidly.
"Predictable planting windows no longer apply," Haigh said. "We’re constantly adjusting techniques to keep pace. Right now, we’re desperate for rain—but until then, we’re flat out."
Even London’s Kew Gardens has reported an unusually early berry bounty.
Hélèna Dove, the head of the kitchen garden at Kew, said: “The recent warm weather is really showing how much our growing seasons are shifting.
"Traditionally, a good kitchen gardener would be proud to have ripe strawberries by Wimbledon as it would demonstrate their skill and expertise. We already have ripe strawberries in the kitchen garden at Kew Gardens, and it’s only April.”
