Every vegetable and fruit has its own time. We have got used to everything being in the shop all the time, but the difference is felt at once: a summer tomato smells of tomato, and a winter one smells of the shop. And for the wallet the difference is usually noticeable too: when the harvest has ripened nearby there is a lot of it, and it comes at good-value offers.

Below is a general calendar of seasons for Moldova. It has no exact dates: one year is never like another, everything shifts by a week or two. There are no prices in the text, you will see the current shop offers in the live blocks. And the calendar helps you understand what to look at now.

How to read the calendar

The rule is simple: what grows nearby right now is usually the better value. When the harvest ripens there are lots of vegetables and fruit, they do not have to be brought from afar, and offers appear in the flyers more often. Out of season products come from other countries or out of storage and cost more.

But there are caveats. A season is long: its beginning and end are noticeably dearer than its middle. The weather shifts everything by a week or two either way. And even at the peak of the season the price differs between shops, so look at the price per kilo and not at a pretty price tag.

Winter: December, January, February

In winter the table is what keeps: potatoes, onions, carrots, beetroot, cabbage, pumpkin, apples, garlic. This is the base of borscht, soups, ghiveci and braised cabbage. Towards New Year come imported citrus, nuts and dried fruit. Fresh tomatoes and cucumbers in winter are mostly imported or from greenhouses and are far from the taste of summer ones.

The best winter strategy: take root vegetables and potatoes by the sack or a big net while they are good and keep them in a cool, dark place. What there is now in potatoes:

In the catalogues now: potatoes

All offers

Spring: March, April, May

First to wake at the end of winter are the greens: spring onions, dill, parsley, spinach, sorrel, lettuce, radishes. These are the most "spring" products, awaited after a long winter. By May come young garlic, the first carrots and young cabbage, and towards the end of spring greenhouse cucumbers and the first strawberries.

In spring it is good to swap the winter diet for a fresh one: greens in a salad, radishes with bread and butter, sorrel soup. What there is now in greens:

In the catalogues now: fresh herbs

All offers

Summer: June, July, August

Summer in Moldova is the most generous time. In June and early July come sweet cherries, sour cherries, strawberries, apricots. In July cucumbers, courgettes, peppers, aubergines and of course tomatoes ripen: their season is at its brightest from July to September. In August come watermelons and melons, peaches, plums, the first apples and pears.

This is the time to stock up: when tomatoes and peppers are plentiful, zacuscă, pickles and preserves are made from them. The ideal moment to buy a crate of tomatoes for sauce. What there is now in tomatoes:

In the catalogues now: tomatoes

All offers

Autumn: September, October, November

Autumn is the time of grapes, apples, pears, plums, quinces, pumpkin and walnuts. Grapes are one of the symbols of autumn in Moldova, their season runs from the end of summer to mid-autumn. In September there are still many tomatoes, peppers and aubergines, in October come carrots, beetroot, cabbage and potatoes of the new harvest, and by November everything that will keep through winter goes into storage.

In autumn it is handy to make fruit compotes and jam. What the flyers have now in fruit:

In the catalogues now: fruit

All offers

The calendar month by month

  • January, February: potatoes, onions, carrots, beetroot, cabbage, pumpkin, apples, citrus.
  • March: the same, plus the first greens: spring onions, dill.
  • April: greens, radishes, lettuce, spinach, sorrel; greenhouse vegetables.
  • May: radishes, lettuce, young garlic, spring onions, the first strawberries, sweet cherries at the end of the month.
  • June: sweet cherries, sour cherries, strawberries, apricots, the first cucumbers and courgettes.
  • July: apricots, peaches, cucumbers, courgettes, peppers, tomatoes, aubergines.
  • August: watermelons, melons, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, plums, pears, apples, the first grapes.
  • September: grapes, apples, pears, plums, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkin.
  • October: apples, pears, grapes, quinces, pumpkin, cabbage, carrots, beetroot, walnuts.
  • November, December: potatoes, cabbage, root vegetables, pumpkin, apples, imported citrus.

How to use the calendar when shopping

Open the calendar, see which month it is and compare it with what is in the flyers. If a seasonal product has made it into the offers, that is a good sign: it means there is a lot of it and it works out better than usual. If you want something out of season, look at the price per kilo and be ready to pay more.

For stocking up use simple methods: freezing berries and peppers, drying, jam, pickling. And the general picture for vegetables is easy to see here:

In the catalogues now: vegetables

All offers

More offers of the week are in the discounts and in the catalogues.

A short checklist

  • Buy what is in season now: there is more choice and it is usually better value.
  • Compare the price per kilo, not per pack.
  • At the peak of the season take more for preserves and the freezer.
  • In winter lean on what keeps: potatoes, root vegetables, cabbage, apples.
  • Do not wait for an exact date: the season moves by a week or two.