The question is often asked 'How can we get children to eat more fruit and vegetables?'. Fruit and vegetables have so many important vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that it is important for them to eat more. I don't know how to answer this when it comes to vegetables, but with fruit the answer is simple: grow fruit to have much more flavour.

I grow grape vines and apple trees on my allotment and I know that if you choose the right varieties and allow the fruit to ripen on the plant for long enough then it will have much more flavour than bought fruit. The way that the plant is looked after is not so important, and I don't grow organically (although I don't use pesticide).

People do not realise that grapes are one of the most highly-flavoured of all fruits. Bought grapes might have some sweetness to them but lack flavour. There is no variety of grape that is green when ripe: green grapes are unripe grapes. Even black grapes bought in shops or markets have not been ripened on the vine and lack flavour.

Few people have tasted a fully-ripened Muscat grape, or a Strawberry grape. The Muscat flavour is a very exotic flavour like that of elderflower cordial or lychees. The 'Strawberry' flavour is a bit like strawberry. If you have tasted American grape soda you will have some idea of what this 'strawberry' flavour is like.

If you have tasted an 'Asian' pear you will think that they are crisp with some sweetness. They look like large russet apples but are pears. You may be suprised to learn that when ripened properly they taste like melon. But then most people do not know what a decent melon tastes like. I have grown them on my allotment so I know.

Often it is possible to attempt to ripen hard fruit at home. However, this fruit will never have developed the rich flavour of fruit picked when ripe. The reason why fruit is nearly always picked unripe is because it is easier to transport, it doesn't damage so much, and because it has more of a shelf-life.

I often go to Borough Market and one of the main reasons is that I can buy ripe fruit. I love Spartan apples because of their rich flavour. There is only one place at Borough Market where I can buy Spartan. I did buy some at another place at Borough Market once but they were not ripe and so tasted just like any other apple.

I often think that many adults just can't appreciate fruit that is full of flavour. I do believe that children, however, will always appreciate good fruit. It is perfectly possible to grow dessert grapes in this country that have the delicious Muscat or Strawberry flavour. I know because I grow them on my allotment and children love them. There are a number of vineyards in England but, as far as I know, they are all for wine making. I hope someday that someone will start an English vineyard for dessert grapes. Perhaps they could only be sold at farmers' markets and in box schemes but they would sell.