We might only be halfway through November but it’s already starting to feel a lot like summer! This week we’ve got the first raspberries of the season from Hillwood Berries – don’t be fooled by the generic Driscoll’s packaging, these are true-blue Tassie berries grown in tunnels north of Launceston, and they actually have a farm gate shop and pick your own if you feel like a drive up north! Blackberries and cherries are on the way soon too, so for the first year ever we’re going to offer our seasonal fruit supplement in December, although the fruit boxes will still have to wait until January when the full range of berries and stone-fruit kick in.
After a late start to pink eyes and shortages due to poor crops, a range of new season potatoes are coming in, with John supplying flaky-skinned new season Kennebecs this week, and a flood of new season pink eyes from Anchor Farm. Rhubarb is also well and truly in season – 190 bunches from Premium Fresh heading out in boxes this week plus a few extras from our own garden – and soft herbs like dill and coriander are also making an appearance. Truss tomatoes from Cracknells have also started, and bulbed fresh garlic, loose carrots and maybe even a zucchini or two should be appearing in boxes before we take our Christmas break.
On the flip side, this week will be the last week we’ll be including cauliflower from Southern Fields in boxes for the year – as the weather warms up cabbage moth and other pests become a big issue, the farm switches to growing (literally) millions of iceberg and cos lettuce for Woolworths. Next week will also be the last week of Southern Fields’ broccoli, but conveniently Premium Fresh prefer to grow their broccoli in the warmer months, so we’ll be able to pretty much source broccoli all year round.
