Weekly Harvest Box Planning
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Here in Southern Victoria, we are on the cusp of the warm season. Our spring garden has been transplanted and is producing. Our “root cellar” is providing us with storage crops grown last season. And we are still harvesting late summer sown crops from the field - soon they will bolt to seed.
The above photo is our family food for this week taken to highlight the diversity in seasonal eating. Our glasshouse is filled with warm weather seedlings, which will hopefully provide us with tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, capsicum, lettuce, zucchini, celery from December - April. And it is also filled with crops that, sown now, will provide us delicious meals from Autumn through until late Spring.
The truth underlying these ‘what’s in the box’ photos is that growing a diversity of crops in their ideal growing season can offer a harvest throughout the year!
So I thought I would break down when we sowed each crop.
‘Mars’ Celeriac
Sown 28 Sep 2022
Nurtured throughout the hot summer, celeriac provides a wonderfully nutrient dense root that we use raw in salads with apple and in stews throughout the winter.
‘Musquee de Provence’ Pumpkin
Sown 17 Oct 2022
The long vines on this pumpkin slowly rambled through sweet corn and sunflowers, growing these huge, deeply coloured and very tasty squashes. They are long stroring and we love making soups, curries, lasagnas throughout April - November. We also love sharing them! It is such a gift to cut open one of these and offer a large wedge to friends!!
‘Rossa di Milano’ Onion
Sown 15 Sep 2022
We love the inherent sweetness of this long storing red onion. Sown now, they can be harvested fresh from January, cured for storing in March and used through October.
‘Delft’ Leek
Sown 17 Oct 2022
This is a very buttery leek that grows and holds in the field through cold winters. Our area does have frequent frosts but the ground does not freeze and we do not have snow. The flavour of this leek is just superb and we use it gently fried with kale, in soups, roasted in the oven.
‘Little Finger’ Carrot
Sown 5 Feb 2023
In a carrot trial that including tasting over 120 varieties in three seasons, we found ‘Little Finger’ a flavour winner in four season - producing a sweet carrot even in the heat of summer. They are slow to bolt which offers a longer late winter harvest window. We harvest these from late October through until late September.
‘Shanghai Green’ Bok Choy
Sown 5 July 2023
The juicy ribs on these bok choy, their tight heads and the flavour mixed with their quick transplant to harvest time make these a winner. We closely space them and harvest from mini size through to a full size head with robust leaves.
‘Slow Bolt’ Coriander
Sown 15 March 2023
Coriander is one of our favourite four season herbs. In winter, we love it in curries and cabbage and lime juice slaws. In summer we love it with tomatoes. The key to continuous harvest, especially in summer, is frequent sowing.
‘South Anna Butternut’
Sown 17 Oct 2022
Derived from a cross between a Waltham Butternut Squash and Seminole Pumpkin, ‘South Anna Butternut’ has the shape of a traditional butternut squash with the disease-resistance and vigor of the Seminole Pumpkin. Fruits have a slightly darker exterior than traditional butternut squash with excellent flavor and storage potential.
‘Marina di Chioggia’ Pumpkin
Sown 17 Oct 2022
The drier, rich flavour of this pumpkin is exquisite and it is so ornamental and long storing. We especially enjoy it roasted in winter pesto pasta, pumpkin hummous and include it into stews which adds a depth of flavour and texture that is yummy!
‘Italian Long Keeper’ Onions
Sown 15 Sep 2022
The sweet depth of flavour in ‘Italian Long Keeper’ lends itself to every meal. Sown in September, harvested in March and still in the pantry in November!
‘Kalibos’ Cabbage
Sown 5 Feb 2023
Even though they are starting to produce little bulbettes indicating that soon they will flower, we are still eating these delicious, sweet cabbages. We love ‘Kalibos’coriander slaw on black bean burritos, put it into our stir fries and have a crock of kraut to last through the summer
‘Piracicaba’ Broccoli
Sown 22 June 2023
While this broccoli was bred for heat, we find it thrives in the cool season too. We love its ample harvest of broccolini side shoots.
‘Lincoln’ Leek
Sown 17 Oct 2022
‘Lincoln’ is an exceptionally tall leek, producing the earliest leeks in the season and great for baby leek production
‘Fingal’ Celery
Sown 7 Feb 2023
Great flavour with juicy, tender stalks, ‘Fingal’ is tolerant of a wide variety of growing conditions. We have been working with this celery now for 3 seasons, selecting for drought and heat resilience. The improved variety has been named for our area where large market gardens produce truckloads of celery.
A weekly harvest, starts with one seed!
Embrace the beginning of the warm season sowing and growing your own weekly harvest boxes.
SEPTEMBER
Onions
Celeriac
OCTOBER
Pumpkin
Leeks
FEBRUARY
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
APRIL
Coriander
JUNE
Broccoli
JULY
Bok Choy
