Vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower could be in short supply because of milder temperatures in autumn and winter, growers have warned.

The broccoli and cauliflower shortage could impact shoppers this spring looking to eat more vegetables as part of their New Year’s resolution.

The milder winter months is all a sign of climate change, according to the Met Office, which is impacting the number of vegetables grown in the UK.

The country will also struggle to import vegetables from Europe as well because of flooding in areas they are usually grown in.

Hannah Croft, an agronomist at the organic vegetable box company, warned about the long-term impact weather conditions like this could have on vegetable growth.

She told The Guardian: ‘UK cauliflowers have faced weather challenges including significant rainfall in autumn, which caused some losses in early crops, while mild temperatures brought winter cauliflowers ahead of schedule.

‘Our Spanish suppliers, who grow much of our winter broccoli, have faced setbacks due to heavy autumn rain, which caused quality issues and delayed planting for spring crops. This has pushed harvest schedules forward, meaning there’s a possibility of a gap in late spring.’

Meanwhile, Guy Barter, chief horticulturist at the Royal Horticultural Society, said cauliflowers were ready to be harvested on his Surrey farm months in advance.

He said: ‘I think what happened here is that the plants went in at the usual time but grew mightily in the wet July and September and the very mild autumn, so their natural mechanism of timing flowering by chilling was overridden by their larger-than-usual size, hence flowering now rather than April.’

You might be wondering what vegetables you could replace broccoli and cauliflower with.

Vegetables like spring greens and other cabbages are growing well because they can be protected with nets.

Other vegetables that grow well in the winter include kale, carrots, spinach, sprouts, lettuce, onions, and radishes.

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