And while the latter catastrophe may have inserted an additional vegetable into the experience of some fried chicken lovers, the out of control prices are having an impact on what people can afford to buy.

We're not used to it, but vegetables being expensive when they're out of season is perfectly natural. It's the supply and demand of the natural world, if you will. But the past two years have seen something that has shocked many shoppers: shelves empty of their chosen produce for weeks at a time.

Read more: Wollongong's giant alcohol free zones

So with a thought to helping you save money, and avoid frustration, Weekender approached some locals in the know, to help redraw our expectations to better fit with what's in season.

Sarah Anderson, who with husband Ben has the multi-faceted garden business Popes Produce in Woonona, said we shouldn't be surprised when some food simply isn't on shelves at certain times of the year.

"It's natural supply and demand - but it leans into the bigger picture of everybody being so busy and so set with rituals that we've lost that ability to diversify with our food," she said.

"We just have the same things all the time and expect these foods are available, at all times during the year. Once upon a time we were more in tune with what was growing in our neighbourhoods, so we've lost touch with the seasonality of our foods.

"There's also our cultural leanings - things we are used to. For example, our kids like to eat tomatoes but they want them in winter when it's not their season. You can't make nature go against the grain, and if it does it doesn't taste right."

The Illawarra has a surprisingly large range of local businesses which can deliver boxes of seasonable vegetables - including the Vege Box, Green Connect, Illawarra Fruit Direct, Grandma Rosie's, Illawarra Organics, Avondale Organics, as well as Popes Produce.

While these local growers can ensure customers receive produce in season, a certain level of familiarity helps if you are to know how to cook with the goodies that turn up.

Being willing to try, or substitute, different types from the usual will be necessary if the present-day supply chain issues continue - or if we want to try and free ourselves from dependence on supermarket supply.

"At the local supermarket the other day, there was only one variety of lettuce that was extortionate (iceberg)," Anderson said. "On the shelf above it, literally 20cm above it, was a different type of lettuce, a different colour, and it was less than half the price (red oak). If people only know iceberg lettuce and culturally that's what they put on sandwiches or in salads ... there may be another that's half the price." If Colonel Sanders can swap out one leaf for another, so can we.

It's not hard to take the next step and grow your own - even a small handful of plants could make a difference to the shopping bill.

"A few pots of herbs at home, a few pots with lettuces in them, something small and manageable, close to the kitchen, will build up a little sense of accomplishment," Anderson said. "Instead of building a whole garden at once, you can start with a really small patch that's really easy to manage - as long as it gets lots of light.

"If you want to go long term, this is when you can have a look around your space to see if you have space to install a little garden bed. Silverbeet, chard and fennel, you can cut-and-come-again with those guys - harvest from the outer leaves and leave it in the middle."

Anderson recommends starting with seedlings, which are more robust and forgiving for a new gardener.

Fresh ginger hit more than $50/kg last year and it doesn't look like it's coming down soon. But with a little planning ahead you can be harvesting your own for free. It's easy to grow but takes months.

When you're next buying it, choose roots with fresh looking growth. Soak them overnight first because they may have been treated with a growth retardant. Then break them up if you like, and plant them 5cm under the ground, 15cm apart, with the growing buds facing up. They will do best in rich, well drained soil, in a sheltered spot. In 8 months you'll be harvesting free ginger.

Similarly garlic, which is also becoming expensive, needs to be planted about 8 months in advance. Keep the larger cloves from each head and cook with the smaller ones. Then plant the large ones in good soil, and keep it weeded. It's best to plant around April and harvest around December - but even immature garlic is great for cooking.

Rhubarb is another perennial plant which does well in the cooler seasons, and once again shows that a little know-how can produce delicious results. Grow it in the ground or in pots, feed with manure, and when it's time to harvest, chop the stalks into 3cm lengths and roast slowly with sugar and a little lemon juice. Alternatively, cook with a little water in a slow pot, adding sugar to counter the tartness. Recipes for rhubarb abound online, such as a delicious German kuchen.

Anderson said the crops doing best this month were herbs, brassicas, cabbages red and green, mizuna, fennel, rocket - and chickweed. "Chickweed is a very small leaf, and as long as you know where it comes from, it grows like crazy, tastes good and has all the nutrients under the sun. I put it in the backyard pesto mix, salads, on eggs in the morning. It doesn't really need cooking and you can eat the stem, the leaf, the flower."

Fresh basil is expensive enough in summer, let along when it's out of season and can tip the $6 mark for a bunch. But pesto can be made with a whole range of greens.

Sarah's Random Backyard Pesto

Use any greens you like - parsley, fennel tops, chickweed, rocket, nasturtium leaves. Stick it in a blender with a good glug of olive oil and a good pinch of salt, and the juice of one or two lemons. Wizz it until you have the right consistency - if you want it thicker add nuts or toasted seeds. It's a nutrient-rich dressing for salad, roast vegetables or meats, or eggs.