How Exactly Does One Hoard Cucumbers..?

Asking for a friend, of course!

Fears are growing that vegetable rationing will spread as 'other stores prepare similar cutbacks' after Asda and Morrisons limited their purchases due to food shortages caused by bad weather. Perishables like tomatoes, potatoes, cucumber and broccoli have been restricted to just two or three per customer in a host of stores up and down the country.

Is it me, or does the word 'perishable' there imply you can't just stuff them in a cupboard like rolls of Andrex during first lockdown? OK, you can freeze broccoli, and make tomatoes into sauce. 

And if all you want to do is pop a chunk in your Pimms, you can freeze cucumber, but it's useless for anything else...

The crisis has developed in recent weeks due to soaring energy costs which have forced British farmers to switch off greenhouses as they desperately try to make ends meet - leaving a dearth of home-grown produce.

I bet the central heating is roaring away in all those refugee hotels, eh?

Meanwhile, a 'perfect storm' of flooding, cold temperatures and cancelled ferries have caused major supply problems on the Continent, meaning supermarkets have also struggled to access imported goods.

The MSM does love a panic, doesn't it? Is there a simple answer? Why, yes:

Olly Harrison, 42, who owns Water Lane Farm in Merseyside, told MailOnline: 'Shoppers are going to have to get used to the sight of empty shelves.

'People are going to have to start eating some items like tomatoes seasonally again, because at the moment, without help, they just can't be produced in this way. '

QED.