By the second week of September, the vegetable stalls change over almost overnight. Out goes the last of the cabbage and kale that carried most of winter, and in comes asparagus stacked in bundles, baby marrow small enough to eat raw, and citrus everyone already knows is on its way out for another year.
This is the good part of spring produce — the window is short, the flavour is better than anything that’s been in cold storage for months, and most of it barely needs cooking. A drizzle of Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a squeeze of lemon does more for a bunch of good asparagus than any elaborate recipe will.
Here’s what’s actually worth buying this month, what’s worth planting if you grow your own, and a few of the simplest ways to use it all once it’s home.
The Vegetables Worth Watching This Spring
Asparagus is the clearest signal that spring has properly arrived, and September is close to its best month in South Africa. Look for firm, tightly closed tips and stalks that snap rather than bend — that snap is the easiest way to tell fresh asparagus from stock that’s been sitting for a week. It needs almost nothing done to it: blanched briefly, then finished with olive oil, salt and a squeeze of lemon.
Artichokes are the vegetable most South African home cooks walk straight past, mostly because they look like more effort than they are. Trim the tough outer leaves, cut off the top third, and either steam or braise them whole. A simple dip of olive oil, garlic and lemon is really all a good artichoke needs.
Baby marrow is at its best small, before the seeds inside turn woody. Look for ones no longer than your hand. They’re good raw, shaved into ribbons for a salad, or quickly fried whole in a hot pan until they just start to colour.
Turnips, parsnips and Brussels sprouts are all genuinely at their best right now, not just tolerable leftovers from winter. Roasted hard with oil until the edges catch, all three lose the bitterness people associate with them and turn sweet instead.
Watercress is worth seeking out for anyone who only knows it as a garnish. It has a real peppery bite on its own, dressed simply with oil and lemon, and holds up better than baby spinach in a warm salad.
Beetroot, peas and the first mange tout are also worth a look this month, along with kale and young spring onions carrying over from winter stock — all four are good rather than exceptional right now, but worth buying if they look fresh.
The Fruit Worth Buying Right Now
Naartjies, oranges, grapefruit and lemons are technically a winter crop, but South Africa’s citrus season runs long enough that all four are still genuinely good through September. This is the last real month to make the most of them before they disappear from the shelves until next winter.
A simple citrus and olive oil dressing — equal parts juice and oil, a pinch of salt, nothing else — is one of the easiest ways to use up whatever’s left in the fruit bowl. It works over spring greens, watercress, or a plate of grilled fish just as well as it does over a green salad.
The first early strawberries are starting to show up too, mostly from the warmer growing regions. They won’t be at their sweetest for another month or so, but they’re worth grabbing if you see a punnet that actually smells like strawberries.
Avocados and apples are worth a mention even though neither is a true spring crop — avocados run a long local season that stretches into September, and apples are largely cold-stored rather than freshly picked this time of year. Both are reliably good right now, just not for the reason the rest of this list is.
For the Home Gardener: What to Plant Now for Summer
September is when most of South Africa’s summer vegetable patch actually starts, but how far you can run with that depends on where you are. There’s no single planting date that’s honest for the whole country.
In frost-free and coastal areas — KwaZulu-Natal, the Lowveld, much of the Eastern Cape and Western Cape — tomatoes, peppers, chillies, brinjals, cucumbers, beans and the whole pumpkin family (butternut, gem squash, baby marrow) can go into the ground now, either as seedlings or sown directly. Mealies and sweetcorn can go in too.
In frost-prone inland areas — the Free State and Highveld especially — hold off putting those same tender crops straight into open ground. Start them now in trays or pots somewhere protected and warm, and only move them outside once the risk of frost has properly passed, which is often closer to late September or October than the start of the month.
Whichever region you’re in, hardier crops like beetroot, carrots, turnips, lettuce and Swiss chard can go into the ground now almost everywhere, along with basil and other summer herbs. Get those in while you wait out the last of the frost risk on everything else.
Simple Ways to Use It This Week
None of this needs a complicated recipe to taste good. Blanch asparagus for 90 seconds, shock it in ice water, then toss it while still warm in olive oil, salt and a grating of lemon zest. That’s a whole side dish in under five minutes.
Shave raw baby marrow into ribbons with a peeler, dress it with olive oil and lemon juice, and scatter over shaved parmesan. It needs nothing else, and it holds up well made a few hours ahead.
For artichokes, steam them whole until a leaf pulls away easily, then serve with a small bowl of good olive oil and lemon for dipping each leaf as you go. It’s slower eating than most weeknight food, which is exactly the point.
Roast turnips, parsnips and Brussels sprouts together on one tray with a generous glug of oil, salt and whatever’s left of the rosemary, hard enough that the edges catch. Twenty-five minutes at a proper high heat does more for all three than any amount of boiling ever will.
Ready to Cook With What’s in Season?
Good spring produce only needs a good oil behind it. Get the bottle that does the least and tastes like the most.
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