The Guides

This morning as I walked along the Merri Creek and the black wattles are finishing flowering and of course the spring weeds are out – the stinging nettles are up, the dandelions are heading, milkweeds growing like stink, wild brassicas are in flower and it’s looking like a very good year for mallow fans. 

Of course I thought about my old friend Adam Grubb – if, like Adam, you’re into eating weeds we are about to be in peak weed.

One of the things Adam Grubb loves about harvesting weeds is that they connect you to the nature that’s in your neighbourhood and also to the seasons. 

When you’re into weeds seasonality is simple – you just keep your eyes open – if you see a weed it’s in season, if you don’t, it’s not. 

Eating seasonally is good for you and often better value but it’s also another strand that binds us to the cycles of the Earth and helps us remember we’re part of something bigger.

Unlike weeds we’re so not connected with our everyday fruit and veg that we can just walk down the creek and see what’s growing  – which means it’s not always easy to work out what’s in season.

Which is the reason why we (and when I say we, I mean Liz, Fair Food’s Comms Co-ordinator) have made a Seasonal Produce Guide.

Seasonality is tricky, not just because different things grow at different times but also because of all the ways humans have worked out how to extend growing seasons or how to store fresh produce for longer and longer.

Take apples for instance; people often call or email Steph at Fair Food confused about when apples are actually in season. 

Now this is not a straightforward question – although apples (and pears) are picked around March and April they’re available almost all year round.

We do this by keeping apples in CA (controlled atmosphere) coolrooms that keep oxygen levels low to slow down the ripening. 

This news can be shocking because, like fresh greens, it is easy to imagine our apples being picked weekly throughout the year.

Anyway, after the shock subsides this is good info to know, because even with CA rooms apples are definitely fresher in April than they are in December, when your better option is a Valencia orange, a banana or some berries.

Then there’s different temperature zones – some green growers have two farms – one in Southern Victoria which they work summer and autumn and one up on the Murray which grows through winter and spring. Then there’s Queensland which has a completely different growing season altogether.

Liz has factored in these things in our new Seasonal Produce Guide which you can find here.

The guide makes it easy if you want to eat seasonally or stay local or just be a bit more connected to the Earth cycles.

Btw, if you’ve ever wondered how Fair Food decides what products we stock and how we work with farmers Liz has also created a new why-we-sell-what-we-sell guide here.

Citrus conundrum

Every Spring when our citrus trees begin dropping fruit I get busy leaving bags of lemons and limes on my neighbours’ front doorsteps. 

But even with their help I wake up the next morning to yet more fruit on the ground.

Citrus season is a blessing but also a conundrum – how do we honour this abundant lemony generosity and make sure it doesn’t rot on the ground or end up in landfill?

There is a way.

If you have too many lemons or limes for your neighbours, friends, family, workmates or local produce swap – drop them at the Fair Food warehouse (20 Water Rd, Preston) or CERES Grocery in Brunswick East and we’ll give them away to your fellow Fair Food customers.

Have a great week

Chris

If you’re coming bearing lemons email us info@ceresfairfood.org.au to let us know you’re coming and we’ll make sure we’re around 🙂