Elaine has been growing veg in the Valley for longer than we can remember – and so she is our go to person when we want to know what’s in season right now plus what should be going in our gardens right now too (so we can keep on eating….)! Here’s the inside scoop from Elaine for our region right now!
Phew – it’s been so hot! These warm days of late summer just call out for chilled fruits and quick meals with little time in a hot kitchen. Although it has been a disappointing year for mangoes, there’s still watermelon to be had, along with figs, bananas, passionfruit, dragonfruit, and limes to lightly flavour chilled water. Looking ahead, just a few more weeks until persimmons and feijoas are ready!
Eggplant, tomatoes and capsicums are doing well right now, and cucumbers are at their best. Leafy greens are struggling in the heat, but baby leaf lettuces and spinach should start appearing soon.
The thin-skin Jap and Kent pumpkins are back, along with sweet potato. Very versatile vegies, they are fantastic roasted, thinly sliced and grilled, or steamed (have you tried replacing them for potato in a salad? Much quicker cooking time!) For adding that extra flavour to any dish, spring onions and herbs such as oregano and rosemary are in abundance, as are ginger and turmeric.
It’s been a great harvest of bunya nuts! Fairly easy to prepare (remove from husk, nick the shell, boil 20-30 mins, split and remove central spine), they are great roasted, ground up for pesto or sliced and fried.
And now Autumn’s here! That means cooler temperatures, decreasing day length, and soils starting to breathe a bit better after the unrelenting heat and intense radiation of the summer. That also means it’s going to be a good time to get back into the vegie garden!
This time of year, in this part of the world, is a great time for planting a wide range of not just cool season vegies, but some of the fast-growing heat-lovers as well. There’s generally about 3 months of temperate weather ahead, so you might get a crop of corn in, especially the shorter “bantam” types which will produce in around 75-85 days, and look to the ‘determinate’ types of tomatoes (bush types, rather than the rambling ‘indeterminates’) that will produce a good heavy harvest over a shorter time.
Sow seeds of all the leafy greens (asian greens, lettuces, rocket), bush beans, brassicas such as cabbages and broccoli, spring and bulbing onions, fennel, silverbeet and beetroot. It’s still warm enough for zucchinis and squash, and pumpkin in higher areas that don’t get frost. A little further ahead, the Equinox on March 21st is the traditional time to start sowing all the winter peas and planting out strawberries, leeks, sprouted potatoes and garlic cloves.
A limiting factor in starting seeds is temperature. Most vegie seeds have an optimal range of 22-26deg. They may germinate either side of this, but the success rate drops dramatically. If day temperatures are remaining high, it might be better to raise seedlings in a cooler area with shade, for later transplanting.
Just have to love the freshness and flavours of local fruits and vegies! 
Elaine Bradley
Operations Manager, Mary Valley Country Harvest Cooperative.
You can find Elaine every Saturday afternoon from 3pm at the Dagun Growers Markets (at the old train station in Dagun) where you can buy fresh local produce, enjoy live music, local wine and cheese and be part of community spirit at its best.
And when you need fruit and veg mid week we have you covered in store with organic veg, breads, beef plus eggs and preserves.
