Cheap Vegetables, Canada?

[Goldielocks]

Hi all,

I have been waiting for 2 months for veg prices to come down, (now that the growing season has moved into mexico and south US) but they went up after easter, and have stayed high!  Please help me, where in Canada do you find your most affordable fruits and veg?  What are the cheapest fresh veg to eat right now?

I am especially interested in Vancouver area chains (NOT only downtown chinese markets, please!)..  Is Kin's Market or Fruiticana worth a look?

Recent pricing for fresh:

Lettuce $2.97/head
$1.29 for winter squash
Asparagus $2.45
$0.79/lb for onions and carrots bought in bulk, $1.29 for loose
$2.47 for a bunch of celery
Apples and pears at $1.29 (discounted) to $1.79/lb
Grapefruit at $1.78 each  (EACH)
Avocados at $1.98
Grape tomatoes at $6/lb, Roma's at $1.29/lb
Broccoli at $2.47/lb
Medium watermelon (not large one) at $6.95
Even Cabbage and Rutabaga has been higher than normal, $1/lb or more.  It is not due to the US dollar, as some of these are Canadian crops..?
etc.

Reference -- I shop at superstore / Loblaws chains, mostly, but their pricing is up there with Safeway and Save-on...?!

[MrsTuxedocat]

Hmm, good question. Fruitcana is usually cheaper than Superstore, but IMHO the quality is lower. If I buy fruit and veggies from Fruitcana it must be eaten with 3 days or else it goes bad. I prefer Kin's over Fruitcana, by far. I feel that Kin's fruit and veggies are fresher.

Now that I bought Costco card, I buy veggies there.

[jlcnuke]

I don't know about Canada, but the cheapest veggies I find here in the US are in my garden out back :D

[Cranky]

Most of those things aren't actually in season as yet. You should be seeing lower prices for leaf lettuce, green onions, and strawberries, though.

[okits]

$2.47 for a bunch of celery

I have no good news to offer.  Celery was $4.49 at Metro (Ontario) today.  Crazy.

[Zikoris]

Vancouverite here, as you know! We get our produce at either No Frills or Sunrise, depending where we're going that week, plus bags of broccoli from Costco. Quality can vary a bit at the different No Frills locations, but the one on Hastings and Clark has always been pretty good.

Some specific vegetables we buy a lot of:

Broccoli at Costco is around $2.40/lb, but that's for bags of chopped florets, so not too bad.
Carrots at No Frills are pretty much always under $1/lb, much lower at Sunrise as well.
Sweet potatoes at Sunrise are around 70 cents/lb.
Regular potatoes, around 30-50 cents/lb basically everywhere.
Zucchini at Sunrise around 70-80 cents/lb.
Cauliflower at No Frills, around $2-$3/head.
We grab bags of avocados when they're on sale at No Frills for around $3-$4/bag(five or six).

[Goldielocks]

I don't know about Canada, but the cheapest veggies I find here in the US are in my garden out back :D

Ha!  the last of the over wintered parsnips were eaten up a month ago or more.   My frozen veggies were gone last month, other than the braised cabbage no one likes... The snap peas are only 6" high (I was a bit late starting), and a few people with greenhouses are eating their lettuce, but those who seeded are just starting to harvest now.

Canada and all, folks.. Many regions don't seed until Memorial Day in the US.

[Goldielocks]

Vancouverite here, as you know! We get our produce at either No Frills or Sunrise, depending where we're going that week, plus bags of broccoli from Costco. Quality can vary a bit at the different No Frills locations, but the one on Hastings and Clark has always been pretty good.

Some specific vegetables we buy a lot of:

Broccoli at Costco is around $2.40/lb, but that's for bags of chopped florets, so not too bad.
Carrots at No Frills are pretty much always under $1/lb, much lower at Sunrise as well.
Sweet potatoes at Sunrise are around 70 cents/lb.
Regular potatoes, around 30-50 cents/lb basically everywhere.
Zucchini at Sunrise around 70-80 cents/lb.
Cauliflower at No Frills, around $2-$3/head.
We grab bags of avocados when they're on sale at No Frills for around $3-$4/bag(five or six).

Thanks.. I shop no frills, too, but as a loblaws chain, their prices don't vary much, although they often have an item on sale, maybe that's my problem -- superstore has not had 1 or 2 loss leaders on produce each week like they used to, which was how I was buying.

No Sunrise here, but those prices are what I have been looking for, expecting to see on sale each week...  Maybe I will check out Fruiticana.  T&T is 12 min away and I agree that the chinese produce stores are the least expensive.

[Prairie Stash]

I don't know about Canada, but the cheapest veggies I find here in the US are in my garden out back :D

Ha!  the last of the over wintered parsnips were eaten up a month ago or more.   My frozen veggies were gone last month, other than the braised cabbage no one likes... The snap peas are only 6" high (I was a bit late starting), and a few people with greenhouses are eating their lettuce, but those who seeded are just starting to harvest now.

Canada and all, folks.. Many regions don't seed until Memorial Day in the US.

Try pea seedlings, you're missing out if you haven't. I started eating them this week from the garden, they're a delicious treat since they taste like fresh peas and are soft without strings (as they get too tall they get tough). If you plant peas, triple the thickness and when you thin you have a garden feast. In the fall you can collect all the old peas for seed, the bitter ones that few people like to eat, and then in the spring you'll feel okay about not catching them at their optimal sweetness. At 6" high you could already be eating peas, I like then at the 3-5" stage.

Lettuce, beets and peas are all in their harvesting stages in June. Add some Radish and you have variety.

[Goldielocks]

Thanks for the thought, but baby lettuces and my few peas would be more like a garnish, similar to how I use the herbs that are growing...  With the cold winter, then rain, I got a very late start on the garden this year.