Our First Avalanche Beetroots

This is our first year trialling Avalanche Beetroots at Melilot and they’re looking and tasting insanely good. Intensely sweet and with none of the polarising earthiness of standard varieties, they’re living up to their reputation as beets for people who don’t like beets. 

We planted them into aerated, broadforked beds and covered them with mulch to protect the soil from wind and water erosion while providing food and habitat for macro and microorganisms. They have taken to our soils well, maxing out on nutrients to develop incredible sweetness and complexity. 

We’re harvesting by hand, with their bright green, meaty leaves still attached — a sign of freshness as well as a valuable part of the plant. Prep the leaves like Swiss Chard. 

Our first harvest of Row 7’s flame-coloured flesh Badger Flame Beetroots was snapped straight up. Stay tuned for their return, we'll let you know here first. 
 

Here's the lineup for Peak Season Box deliveries up until Sunday 25th July. With seasonal shifts taking place every day, we may sub in new produce to meet flavour peaks. Check the app for updates. 
 

BABY BLACK AUBERGINES 
CELLE LIGURE, SAVONA 
JUL - SEP 

This weekend, we have the first of Giovanni’s sweet and intense Baby Black Nile Aubergines from Liguria. Giovanni’s family have been saving seeds from this local variety for generations, honing in on plants with thin skins and sweet, virtually seedless pulp. 

Where other growers would see his steep terraced land and labour intensive cultivation techniques as impractical, for Giovanni they are the key to healthy soils and phenomenal flavour in his plants. By rotating his crops, feeding the soil with fertiliser from his cow, and irrigating his plants with spring water, he builds the nutrients needed to produce exceptionally sweet aubergines. 

Marinade with garlic, white vinegar and oil. 
 

CUORE DEL VESUVIO 
TORRE DEL GRECO, CAMPANIA 
JUN - SEP 

Raffaele’s Cuore del Vesuvio are a highlight of summer. Our founder, Franco, grew up eating these dense Bull’s Hearts and was struck by the extraordinary complexity of Raffaele’s fruits when he tried them first in 2008. 

The seeds go back two generations, with tomatoes getting better every year as Raffaele hones in on the characteristics he values most: dense, pure flesh in the lower third of the body. 

The mineral complexities of volcanic soil, the dry, rich sea air, the high-salinity water, and abundant sunshine provide an ideal growing environment. Through minimal watering, Raffaele takes his tomatoes to the next level — stressing them just enough to produce a high concentration of sugars and nutrients. 

Now in their peak, make the most of them raw in salads or Jack Beer’s Vesuvio Tomato Bagna Cauda and Mitsh Ibrahim’s Vesuvio Tomatoes, Cornish Mussels & Taggiasche Olives. Plus, try our house-made Gazpacho — only around as long as Bull’s Hearts are. 
 

CORNISH EARLIES 
PENZANCE, CORNWALL 
MAY - JUL 

Less than two weeks left for Cornish Earlies — new potatoes from Philip at Colwyn Farm, Falmouth. The fast-heating soils, Gulf Stream and sea breezes make this an ideal spot for earlies. With the farm in the family since the late 1800s, Philip invests in the health of his soil to restore the land for future generations, cover cropping to lock in nutrients over the colder months. 

His Jazz variety makes a perfect salad potato, with a mild, slightly sweet taste and firm texture that keeps its shape when cooked. Skins are thinner than Jersey Royals, with Philip hand harvesting to protect them. 

Next up, Heidi Reds and Nicola Potatoes from Melilot.