Backyard Bounty all-Tasmanian Vegie box: 1st March

March is the beginning of autumn officially, and today is therefore the first day of autumn, but as is usual in the seasonal eating calendar this week’s box sits across a few seasons.

Our fruit supplement this week – wholly sourced from the Huon Valley – has a taste of summer in blueberries and plums, along with delicious autumn apples from Lucaston Park Orchards: a early-ripening variety of Fuji apple subtitled Fiero.

Veg boxes this week have lots of lovely summery items perfect for the heat wave that’s about to hit tomorrow – tomatoes, corn, basil, salad greens, green beans and snow peas – but also include silverbeet and kale, beetroot, leeks, wombok and celeriac, potato and onions. (Perfect for when the temperature dips below 20 on Wednesday!)

We’re particularly excited this week to be able to include the first of Dendra Market Garden’s fennel, which is still at the “baby” size at the moment, perfect for slicing thinly and eating raw or throwing in a tray bake with tomatoes, basil and a bit of fish – and don’t forget to use the stalks and fronds too! Maurice has never grown fennel before (he rang yesterday to make sure I was happy with it) but they’ve come up beautifully and we’re pleased that there’s plenty more to come. The celery is growing a little slower but should be ready around July when the fennel starts to peter out a little.