Preserving Traditions Winter Workshops

Hang on to that harvest for longer and the kitchen warmer in these delightful processes. Come along and learn how easy it is to fill those shelves with homegrown or foraged fruits. If you've a favorite ferment, ways with pickling or you're nuts about flours and want to share those skills, or you'd simply like to experiment with ways of storing & enhancing nutrition and flavours over winter, get in touch with the fruit and nut tree network via edibleforests@gmail.com

local produce this weekend at the co-op

This week a the co-op find local Persimmons, Lemonades, Rhubarb, tamarillos, quinces, lemons, apples, chestnuts,  kale, cos lettuce, rocket, bok choy, chillies, pumpkin, parsley, & beans. Feast on that! More updates over at the co-op  

Remember to look out too for free ingredients from fellow mountain fruits and nuts sharing their surplus, like these free curry leaves.

Edible Plants for Sale in Clarendon at the Collectors' Plant Fair Today

Grumichama

If you're a fruit and nut enthusiast not sure what to do after breakfast today (Sunday 14th April) then you'd do well to head on over to Clarendon, Richmond this to catch day two of the Collectors' Plant Fair. It's not such a well publicised event, and only thanks to gardening friend Lloyd this is the first time I've had the opportunity to attend event, rather than just hear about it some weeks later. 

With talks, plant stalls & refreshments this is easily a full day out. Sunday's talks begin with landscape gardener Michael Bligh on Edible Gardening in a more formal garden context in an eclectic schedule.  Plant enthusiasts, garden geeks, books, accessories as well as plants you will rarely see elsewhere all feature at this friendly event. 

$12 gets an adult through the turnstile, accompanying under 18's get in for free.

We're just there for a morning and so it's my chance to see what small productive plants I can find for my own garden and see the wider range of suppliers all in the one spot. With over 40 nurseries' stalls, it would be easy to be overwhelmed, so I checked out the list of nurseries selling edibles as a shortlist,  within those stopping to explore those with whom I felt some accord in their plant selections. I picked up some more unusual herbs like caraway thyme at 5 for $15 at Four Seasons Herbs in Coffs Harbour. Bargain! Their stall includes certified organic garlic, saffron corms and even wasabi all at prices lower than advertised on their website. If you're as keen to seek out unusual fruits to keep fresh sources of vitamin C flowing throughout the year,  peruse the offerings from Forbidden Fruits who have everything from Acerola Cherry (Malpighia emarginata) & Midyim berry (Austromytus dulcis) to the humungous White Sapote (Casimiroa edulis) tree, at up to 15m high its not one for my tiny backyard unfortunately!


If you discover this post a little later than 'in the nick of time' don't despair, many of the great plants suitable for fruit and nut tree growers are available at some participating nurseries on site or online for the rest of the year through nurseries represented at this event. 

Visit nearby Secret Garden at the UWS Richmond campus who have an open day coming up in time for Permaculture Day weekend with Autumn Harvest on Saturday 4th May, or locally to our own Blue Mountains Community Gardens in North Katoomba also be open for plant sales on the morning of May 5th for International Permaculture Day. Online pleasures can be found at Forbidden Fruits with their formidable catalogue of unusual fruit, and Heaven in Earth displayed a fabulous range of low key, beautiful and useful gifts made from natural materials for you and your gardening friends. I'll also mention that the  wonderfully helpful & friendly booksellers Florilegium carry a range of excellent books on edible gardening including the mighty Edible Forest Gardens volumes, online or in Glebe. Full list of nurseries at this special annual sale available here.


If you know of  sales, swaps or events coming up through the year which would be of interest to budding or established food foresters, please leave a message here or drop a line to edibleforests@gmail.com and we'll include it in upcoming calendar notices and/or newsletters.

This week (8th April) at the Food Co-op local producers have brought in HEAPS: Quinces, figs, limes, apples, plums, chestnuts, beetroot, potatoes, beans, choy sum, chillies, parsley, basil, chives, rhubarb - see regular updates on their facebook page, share and swap with the Blue Mountains Foragers' Network and monthly in the mid mountains at Crop and Swap (next meeting April 13th)