WE COULD dub this week’s market as “Hungry Gap Week” if we were looking for a title, as we will be without two of our organic growers at the same time.

This is highly unusual! We generally lose Newark Farm for a month or so at this time of year as they go through the transition from old potatoes to new season potatoes.

They also plan their vegetable growing to fall later in the season in order to dovetail with the produce from Alderton nursery at Hotch Potch and from the tunnels at Coleshill.

Unfortunately Coleshill are away due to a personal engagement and the slow progress of this year’s field crops has meant I have been unable to find someone to fill in, with not enough crops ready.

Styan Family Produce will be bringing extra and have a great selection of produce including new potatoes, which I can personally vouch for as being absolutely delicious, tomatoes, asparagus, chard, lettuce, cucumber, radishes and this week the first of their broad beans and even peas should be available, whilst at Hotch Potch there will be aubergines, tomatoes and courgettes. Paget’s too hope to have their first broad beans this Saturday and Over Farm will have their asparagus and chard available too so it’s not all doom and gloom; it just might be worth getting in early to be guaranteed a basket full of vegetables with potatoes in especially short supply.

Apart from in the veg department there is another bumper market on this Saturday with Velo Bakery pizza oven returning to wow you with their freshly made pizzas (much appreciated a fortnight ago) and so extend our hot lunch offer. The lunch queues witnessed at our current stalls would suggest there is scope for another one and Velo have been hoping to join the Saturday market for some time; having taken part in the Wednesday food market and the Christmas markets in the past few years. On the monthly stall front we will be seeing VQ Country wines, Severn Spots old spot pork air dried treats, Hillside brewery, David’s Chilli Oils and Bath Soft Cheese.