The joy that lies ahead 

I got an email from Jenny Indian up in Stanley this week containing the picture above-  it was a reminder that chestnuts would be arriving in the next couple of weeks. Now ignoring for a moment that it’s apple and pear season (we’ll be catching up with Hazeldean Forest Farm in the next week or so to get all their news – including a bush fire) autumn is about to bring us this parade of fruits and nuts as subtly opposite to the juicy sugar-rush of a warm white nectarine but definitely no less satisfying.
Chestnuts: anybody who has ridden a bicycle up the 10km Myrtleford-Stanley Road hill can tell you that the manicured chestnut orchards that line the road into Stanley are a welcome distraction from the weary pain flowing through your body and mind.  At the top of the climb is the Stanley Pub where right about now alongside the exhausted MAMILs, chestnut pickers will be meeting after work for age old beer drinking and chestnut prickle removal rituals. 
Feijoas: If you’ve spent any amount of time in New Zealand or hung around Kiwis then you’ll know how beloved pineapple guavas aka feijoas are.  During April all around that country front and back lawns are being covered in a light green carpet of these egg-shaped fruit. This in turn triggers a frenzy of feijoa giving, trading, selling, jamming and fermenting (yes, I kid you not – feijoa wine and even some pretty classy feijoa champagnes are fully a thing over there). 
Persimmons: One of the first things that struck me when I first moved to Melbourne in the winter of 2000 were the port wine magnolias and persimmon trees in people’s front yards – leafless with their extravagant creamy purple flowers and unnaturally orange orbs . Not long after I began working at CERES Market and I began buying these persimmons from Pete, a Maltese community gardener, who had a side business selling persimmons, figs, and lemons sourced from a huge orchard of family trees dispersed across backyards of the inner-North.
Kiwi Fruit:  With the rise of China as a dominant regional power in the Asia-Pacific I often wonder if there’ll come a morning in Beijing as President  Xi Jinping is slicing a kiwi fruit onto his muesli and he makes a mental note along the lines of – “Got to sort out those bloody cheeky Kiwis”.  Following upon which a Chinese trade delegation appears in Tauranga at the door of The Kiwi Fruit Marketing Board with an offer they can’t refuse.  Shortly after a typically clever kiwi advertising campaign rolls out and all of a sudden we are all eating Chinese gooseberries once again.

We’re Closed Easter Monday

Just a heads up we’ll be closed this Easter Monday.  Everything is back to normal from Tuesday.
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Fair Food seeks a Collingwood Food Host

It’s an opportunity to meet people and contribute to a healthier food system. If you live in Collingwood and have always wanted to be a Food Host?  Well maybe not always but maybe you’ve thought it might be a good thing to share your veranda, shed, spare space for Fair Food people to collect their groceries from then email Kate here.
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Weed Dating at Joe’s Market Garden

It can be hard getting a handle on a potential new person-in-your-life in some noisy venue over an Aperol spritz and a platter of mini-ramen burger thingos. 
Clearly dating apps, bars and after-work networking opportunities aren’t everybody’s cup of tea which is why Weed Dating is generating such grass roots support?
Let farmer, Em Connors, lead you down the garden path at Joe’s Market Garden next Saturday April 7th (yes, you can also buy your veggies as well) for a completely different take on “checking out the field” .
And while you may or may not end up meeting your significant other at least you’ll be getting your hands into the earth and be doing something good for your hamstrings.
This is a super-inclusive event for people over 18, Straight, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer.  Remember to wear gardening clothes, a hat, sunnies, sunscreen and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves .
Interested?  Book tickets here!                                                                 

Have a great week
Chris

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