Organic boxes are a fantastic way of getting fresh, organic produce delivered direct to your door. We give you some tips for getting the most out of them

Organic food has grown hugely in popularity over the last few years and with a weekly delivery box you can be sure you're obtaining the best locally available organic food. There are now several hundred organic box schemes across the country, with annual retail sales of over £100 million.

Most organic box companies supply boxes of fruit and vegetables of varying sizes, from small boxes suitable to last the week for one or two people, to bumper-sized boxes which can keep a whole family supplied with their five daily portions of fruit and veg.

As well as the basic box, many other organic delivery companies have introduced extras that you can add to your order, like delicious, farm-fresh milk and cheese, and wonderful free range meat, raised to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Why bother with organic food?
For many people, food scare stories and worries about additives and pesticides have increased suspicions about conventional farming. With organic food, you can be confident that there are no hidden chemical extras. For a quick guide on all things organic, read our article on organics for beginners.

Aside from health considerations, many of us believe produce that has been allowed to grow at its natural pace tastes better and makes for more delicious food.

Added bonus with boxes
A weekly organic box has other advantages. If you want to eat seasonal vegetables and are concerned about food miles, it is a wonderful way of connecting with real food without having to spend every Saturday morning in your wellies.

Eating fruit and vegetables that have been flown in from all four corners of the world has a massive environmental impact, and so if you want to eat food that comes from local farmers working on a farm near you, a box scheme will provide it.

There's also something wonderfully satisfying about seasonal food, eating different fruit and vegetables across the year as nature intended. There is nothing more delicious than eating beautiful early-summer strawberries that have been naturally ripened, rather than the watery strawberry pellets available in November that have been sent thousands of miles in a giant refrigerated plane.

Be adventurous in the kitchen
To make the most of an organic box, it is important to be willing to experiment with new vegetables. As one enthusiastic organic box user told me: 'I always used to get the same food from the supermarket on my weekly shop, and eat the same five or six meals each week. It got so boring! I never know what's going to be in my organic box, so it forces me to try new food and look up new recipes.'

An organic box can really help get you out of a food rut, encouraging a far more varied diet and increase your cooking confidence and skills as you try new recipes to use up the different vegetables. For example, I had never used fennel or squash before I started getting a box.

For the fussy consumer
The disadvantage can be that sometimes we just don't have the time or energy to find a good use for the more unusual vegetables. As one busy mother told me: 'Sometimes I end up feeling that I should get my box delivered straight to the compost heap. I never end up using half the vegetables that I get sent. I mean, what am I supposed to do with all those Jerusalem artichokes?'

If you have particularly strong feelings about certain foods, it might be worth trying to get onto a box scheme that allows you to have likes and dislikes and you can ask not to be sent your particular vegetable horror. Abel and Cole let you do this. For example, I have been defeated by beetroot and have asked not to have them included in my box. On the whole though, I try not to do this. I love the challenge of using different vegetables in new recipes and I think it encourages my children not to be fussy about trying different food.

Being on a box scheme has brought a lot more variety, and healthy organic food, to my kitchen table, and I haven't even had to leave my house to get it.

Essential info

• If you receive an odd looking vegetable with an unfamiliar name in your box, type it into our recipe finder and see what new things you could cook up
• For more on finding an organic box delivery scheme near you, try the a lot of organics website, which has a comprehensive listing of different schemes across the country
• The Soil Association also has some good advice on organic food and how to buy it
• If you are in need of recipe inspiration, the boxing clever website is dedicated to making the most of your organic box, with lots of seasonal recipes across the year.