Fresh Veggies!

[OnMyWay]

I finally tried out a plan I had to get fresh vegetables here in Subic.  The vegetables I like are almost always terrible here, and super expensive if you find any good ones.  p275 for a so so bunch of broccoli at Royal Duty Free!!  Sometimes SM will have some decent stuff for a more reasonable price, but we don't go there for groceries often.  Most of our grocery shopping is done at Royal Duty Free, which is great for most things, but not veggies.  Sometimes we go to the central market but the quality and selection is spotty.

So, I put in an order for my bro-in-law in Baguio to send me veggies.  He packed up 3 kilos of carrots, 2 kilos of cucumbers (I juice those with apples), several bell peppers, 2 heads of iceberg lettuce, several bell peppers, and a lot of broccoli.  It was a small box full, and he sent it on Victory Liner for p130, at around 7 am.  I picked it up about 7 pm the same day.  I think his cost was around p900 total and I sent him p1000.

We had fresh salad for dinner tonight and everything was great!  The only thing I hoped would be better were the carrots.  We buy carrots for juicing here at the market, and they are usually beat up funky looking carrots that are dry, not very sweet, and do not have a lot of juice.  The carrots from Baguio were fresh and very beautiful looking, but also not very sweet and not very juicy.  I suspect part of the problem is that the carrots here are usually really large and fat.  Back in the U.S., the sweet and juicy carrots were much thinner and longer.

After this trial run, I will probably try to do this every week or two.  I will work on the logistics with the Baguio family so it can be as easy as possible for them.  I was thinking about buying a few reusable plastic containers to send back and forth.  They might light to get some stuff from the duty free stores here too.

[Gator]

39 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

 

The only thing I hoped would be better were the carrots.  We buy carrots for juicing here at the market, and they are usually beat up funky looking carrots that are dry, not very sweet, and do not have a lot of juice.  The carrots from Baguio were fresh and very beautiful looking, but also not very sweet and not very juicy.  I suspect part of the problem is that the carrots here are usually really large and fat.  Back in the U.S., the sweet and juicy carrots were much thinner and longer.

 

Glad it worked out for you!

Agree with you about the carrots often being dry and lacking in flavor. I found that steaming them helped, but not sure if that method would be help you in juicing them; though you could experiment with the cooking time to perhaps just add some moisture (I'd try retaining and including the cooking water too). 

[earthdome]

Ohh yeahh. Fresh veggies from Baguio. Sounds like you got a great plan OMW.

[chris49]

We are closer to Benguet, next to Baguio and most of our stuff comes from there.

When in season the stuff is good. Lettuce can be 20 pesos/head. Potatoes down to 40 and ampalaya similar. Gina gets everything for my salad for 100. Out of season or during typhoons these prices can easily double, or more. And certain items unavailable. Carrots and cucumbers are part of the salad and I found the cucs to be excellent. Carrots are average smaller. I get 2 large salads for about 100.

Transportation can be an issue, but the low oil price has been a big advantage over 3-4 years now.

Edited September 26, 2016 by chris49

[OnMyWay]

11 hours ago, chris49 said:

Transportation can be an issue, but the low oil price has been a big advantage over 3-4 years now

I think transport is the issue with most veggies here.  I suspect  that most are brought from the farm areas to Manila distribution centers before being shipped to Subic, so they get quite old.  Also, the handling methods are probably very poor.  We have seen bulk trucks coming south full of cabbage with a couple of workers just lying on the top.

[frozenmystic28]

Thank god Via Buda is only 2 hour drive from Davao and Bukidnon is 6. 

[RBM]

We live not so far from Canlaon and able get wonderful fresh veges cheaply, example fresh lettuces vary, on average p20 a kilo, broccoli around p70, does vary though. Our helper goes home each month and returns with 3 kg broccoli from her garden, no charge. Cucumbers are almost give away as is many locally grown veges. Carrots average around p40 but super fresh.

I cringe when seeing price of dried up carrots, broccoli and lettuces at Metro.Seems the OP has it correct to buy in Baguio and have it sent. Having seen the many paddocks in the upper areas of Canlaon just full of fresh veges it's amazing what super markets ask.

 

 

[sonjack2847]

I think the problem is that some of the veggies were grown for size rather than taste. I am growing( with very little success) Cauliflower, Broccoli,Parsnips. My tomatoes which were discarded, on the garden, as they were past their best  have started growing and we have a nice crop.We have tried sprouts without success.

I have other seeds from the uk which I will try so fingers crossed.

[OnMyWay]

7 minutes ago, sonjack2847 said:

I think the problem is that some of the veggies were grown for size rather than taste. I am growing( with very little success) Cauliflower, Broccoli,Parsnips. My tomatoes which were discarded, on the garden, as they were past their best  have started growing and we have a nice crop.We have tried sprouts without success.

I have other seeds from the uk which I will try so fingers crossed.

Like Jake says, size does matter; the smaller the better!

[DavidK]

2 hours ago, sonjack2847 said:

We have tried sprouts without success.

As my Grandad would never harvest his sprouts until after a frost I think you might have to wait a very long time before you got decent ones here................