Where are all the tomatoes?

[verdantverdure]

I'll admit it, I eat a lot of tomatoes.

Daily probably.

But where are they?

AIBU to ask you if there are tomatoes where you live?

Yep @Jennylou88 and @poppetandmog, it's been a couple of weeks for me too.

I suppose I'm going to have to think about what to do differently, but a bog standard basic salad is just such a quick and easy thing to have for lunch, and the tomatoes are my favourite bit of it. They're so good for us too.

It is local - to the UK, no shortages of tomatoes in other countries despite the alleged crop failures.

My local Tesco didn't have any the other day. So I stopped at the farm shop on the way home and they had some but were very expensive (I still bought them as I love tomatoes).

Ocado still seems to have stock. I just got lovely bell peppers from them couple of days ago

My grocer saved me some on-the-vine cherry toms. Hid them under the counter and handed me them in a brown paper bag to feed my daily 🍅 habit (I eat 6 a day).

Had similar tactics at my grocers for egg buying a few months ago.

I feel like a criminal, getting dirty toms. Makes shopping a little more thrilling.

We're about a week from enterprising souls selling the last tomatoes that they found in the corner shop on Facebook marketplace aren't we?

No tomatoes here (Ayrshire) or cucumbers or celery for my rabbit's salad habit. He's reduced to radishes, kale and the odd green bean. He is not a happy bunny.

It's in the news today:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64712361

No tomatoes or peppers where I live.

I tried tesco, aldi, Waitrose and M&S no sodding tomatoes

Weirdly there were none at all in Waitrose in Wycombe yesterday evening. But, loads in both my two local supermarkets........

True, but stepping back, it's absolutely insane that any of us expect to be able to eat fattoush - a Middle Eastern salad - for lunch in the UK in February.

Off the back of this thread I've been reading up on tomato imports, and when we can't get them from Europe we mostly get them from Morocco. Quite apart from the impact of air freighting tomatoes over from north Africa, the environmental cost is appalling. Morocco ranks 22nd among countries most at-risk of water shortage, is already below the "water scarcity threshold," and expects to reach “absolute water scarcity” (having less than 500 cubic meters per person per year) by 2030. Exporting thirsty crops like tomatoes exacerbates that crisis and puts pressure on domestic prices. Food insecurity and water scarcity go hand in hand with political unrest and internal displacement.

I've just read an article that suggests if we all carry on exactly as we are, water scarcity will cause 700 million people this decade to have to flee their homes - more than 10 times the number currently displaced by war.

Suddenly a warming bowl of celeriac soup is looking very appealing.

I didn't even bother grabbing a basket this morning. I surveyed the empty wasteland we laughingly call a fruit and vegetable section like John Travolta looking left and right in Pulp Fiction then did a massive sigh and left the shop. Twice.

I might try across county lines again tonight.

So many ex-colleagues, family and friends in other countries are trolling me with pictures of tomatoey abundance in their supermarkets that I think this is a UK National Tomato Shortage and by no means a Europe wide issue.

Still, both my husband and BIL have promised to smuggle me home suitcases full of tomatoes from Poland and Paris respectively that I may be able to sell £5 punnets out of my car boot in supermarket car parks. So that's nice.

My family trolled me like that during lockdown. They sent screenshot from their newspapers and pics from their shops🤦
Asked if I need toilet paper shipped.

Don't the Italians do a bread salad type thing as well @TheodoreMortlock? Italy's not so far away.

And to be fair. We didn't arrange to get more tomatoes from Morocco and less from the Netherlands and Spain.

And we didn't make UK electricity prices the highest in the world so British Farmers could make more money selling the electricity they generate from renewables to the National Grid than from powering their greenhouses to grow tomatoes and cucumbers.

I am cognisant of food miles and seasonality, but salad is my exception.

I guess I've just grown up eating it and like it. I would make a lot of other life changes before I would voluntarily give up salad.

Ha! Taking the mickey is a traditional isn't it? You could always get tomatoes during covid though, couldn't you? To be honest I can't remember there ever being a time when you couldn't get tomatoes in this country.

Cucumber is one of the few veg DD will consent to eat, so I feel your pain.

Maybe you could explore winter veg salads? Grated carrot with a citrus-y dressing. Celeriac remoulade. Salads with diced apple or toasted nuts for juiciness and crunch?

And here's a winter alternative to fattoush: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/winter-panzanella

thank you for the seed variety recommendations!

Italians do have a tomato and bread salad. In summer, when tomatoes are in season in Italy. Their tomato season is longer than ours but doesn't extend to February!

And no, we personally didn't organise any of this. But our government did, and after years of banging on about British this and British that and sovereignty out the wazzoo, they chose this knowing the pressure that will put on the food and water supply of countries in water scarcity, rather than just saying "sorry folks, we had fifty years of tomatoes and strawberries in February, it was great, but this is no longer possible, enjoy the cauliflower and the blue passport though."

No sign of tomatoes or cucumbers here in south east London been like this for last couple of weeks, also milk in sainsburys can be very sparse im now going between M&S, lidl & sainsburys for fresh veg/milk.

"sorry folks, we had fifty years of tomatoes and strawberries in February, it was great, but this is no longer possible, enjoy the cauliflower and the blue passport though."

That made me laugh.

And I'm so fed up with the tomato situation I'm not really in the mood to laugh, so thank you.

Thank you. If the U.K. is going to be last in the queue for tomatoes from now on, I'm going to have to have a rethink aren't I?

I'll dig out my old school seasonal cookbooks and calendars etc at the weekend and see what I can come up with.

Tomatoes and cucumbers and peppers. Also Prime energy drink in Sainsbury’s this morning again. Prime sold out faster than tomatoes. Tomatoes still there this afternoon 😂

What are Prine energy drinks? Are they another TikTok thing?

YouTuber and singer ksi (part of the Sidemen also) and Paul Logan.

Yeah it’s coconut water with flavours. Worlds gone mad for it. Then there is also to be can drinks that are actual energy drinks. Poor Sainsbury’s staff this morning where basically being mugged for the stuff had security standing over it.