Sprout Magazine Summer 2017

ISSUE 32 | SUMMER 2017

sproutmagazine.com.au

Local Sustainable Food

RRP $5.95

Bursting with berries Beyond the punnet Grow your own berries ISSN 977-183921000-7

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PLUS: What’s in Season now & Summer planting guide

Contents

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Summer 2017 | What’s inside

Special features

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06 | Bursting with beautiful berries With summer comes an abundance of fresh berries to eat by the handful, and these producers are growing some of the best fruit in Australia.

19 | Beyond the punnet From tayberries, silvan berries and jostaberries to molucca and native raspberries, there’s a huge range of berries beyond the supermarket.

26 | Growing an abundance of berries Grow your own berries at home and enjoy new varieties at their peak of flavour at your own back door.

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In every issue 04 | Crumbs—News bites City Farm launches, an app to help with your vege intake, Australia is a top meat exporter and hemp as a food source becomes legal.

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10 | Budding—What’s in season: Summer harvest Summer is peak season for many of our favourite fruit and veg. There’s an abundance of choice in the vege patch, the farmers’ market and the supermarket.

12 | Edible—Berry good recipes A sense of place and the use of locally sourced native produce makes Fervor’s dining experiences special. They share some of their original recipes with us.

22 | What’s on—Summer There’s a variety of summer events around the country including many craft beer and wine festivals to relax and enjoy the summer holidays.

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25 | The best new products We’ve hunted high and low to bring you the best products that complement our ethos: seasonal, local, sustainable, useful—and a little bit quirky.

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30 | In the garden—Summer planting guide Our Gardenning Goddess Linda Brennan provides an interesting selection of traditional and unusual veges that thrive in summer conditions all over Australia.

32 | Food for thought—The Cookery Book reviews A selection of books that will keep you cooking your fresh veg, fermenting, choosing cheese for your party cheeseboard, cooking with the kids as well as a wave of Hispanic-inspired volumes.

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PUBLISHER

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Diane Jardine dianej@sproutmagazine.com.au

Jason Cupitt www.jasoncupitt.com

PHOTOGRAPHY Arunas Klupsas www.arunasphotography.com.au

Kym Burrows www.kymba.com.au

ILLUSTRATIONS

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

Lauren Briigmann Tanita Large

CONTRIBUTORS

THIS ISSUE

Linda Brennan, Sussannah Hardy, Sophie Pusz

Image courtesy Mountain Blue.

Georgia Booth, Tatyana Deniz, Angela Denly, Chris Gillies, Lilani Goonesena, Melissa Gowen, Vanessa Green, Hannah Jermyn, Charlotte Lonergan, Gail May, Linda Moon, Catherine Sullivan, Erin Wright

© 2017 Sprout Magazine. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher.

‘Summer has arrived and with it comes an abundance of berries, bursting with summer flavour and colour.’

From the editor

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ummer has arrived and with it comes an abundance of berries, bursting with summer flavour and colour, so we’ve dedicated this issue of Sprout to all things berry.

The appeal of berries isn’t only in that they’re sweet and juicy, their bright colours make them a happy, fun fruit—perfect for this time of year. They’re also the right size for a snack and the health benefits are being recognised more and more. Blueberries alone, with their high concentration of antioxidants and other nutrients, are said to fight postnatal depression, defend against diabetes, look after your heart, boost brainpower, enhance vision and combat ageing. That’s an impressive list of benefits in such a small package.

Berries are the most popular fruit category according to Raspberries And Blackberries Australia (RABA)—taking over from apples and bananas— so in this issue we talk to berry growers who are expanding to meet this demand, despite the challenges finding seasonal workers to pick these fragile fruits by hand.

While the popularity of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries continues to grow, there are surprisingly many other berries to choose from. In this issue we also talk to growers of unusual berries like the imported tayberry and the indigenous molucca berry and Atherton raspberry that thrive in a variety of local conditions.

And if berries are a little beyond your budget, don’t despair, our Gardening Goddess Linda Brennan is once again on the case to help you enjoy your own bounty of berries—without the price tag.

Along with our usual seasonal shopping/harvest and planting guides, some refreshing food, wine and beer events, and a perfectly packaged seed gift in our subscription competition, this issue of Sprout is packed with inspirational people and great local food. Enjoy it in the shade.

Sprout Magazine is a seasonal publication published quarterly. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information in this publication however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omission or consequences in reliance on this publication.

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City farm makes connections After years of lobbying and planning, the first stage of Sydney City Farm has launched in Sydney Park in St Peter’s with a Community Hub and Cropping Area. The Community Hub has been specially landscape designed for outdoor education. The plan is to hold community events, workshops and farmers’ markets in the space.

The Cropping Area has been planted with vegetable, herbs and fruit trees. The aim is to connect the city with the country and minimise waste while using organic growing principles. The income from the events and workshops will help support urban agriculture ventures.

The farm is looking for volunteers. If you’re interested you can email cityfarm@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au. www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/community/participation/ sydney-city-farm

Crumbs | News bites

Eat more veges online

Red meat nation

Hemp food now on sale

If, like 2 out of 3 Australians, you’re not eating your daily serve of vegetables, CSIRO scientists have come up with an app that will challenge you. VegEze encourages long-term healthier eating habits with a 21-day ‘Do 3 at Dinner’ challenge. The challenge encourages you to eat three different vegetables at dinner for 21 days. It will help you track your vege intake with daily reminders and rewards to help you stay motivated.

Australia was the world’s largest global exporter of beef in 2017 according the Red Meat Advisory Council’s inaugural State of the Industry 2017 report. The report shows that Australians are some of the highest red meat consumers in the world, eating four times the amount of beef and six times the amount of sheep meat than global averages

Hemp food has become legal to sell and consume in Australia for the first time. Australian producers are set to access a growing global industry worth more than $500 million—hemp is already legal as a food in the UK, the United States, Canada and many European countries. Up until now, hemp has only been able to be used for industrial and clothing purposes.

Research has show that eating three types of vegetables as part of the evening meal is a key marker in having a better diet, but some Australians were being held back by low awareness, lack of time and low confidence. To help people overcome these barriers, the VegEze app features a guide to vegetable serving sizes, recipes and nutritional information. Information from app users will feed back into CSIRO’s study of Australians’ vegetable consumption.

Australia’s meat industry is healthy: the value of Australian red meat and livestock exports increased by almost $6 billion over the past five years to $15.1 billion in 2015–16

Hemp is derived from the same species as cannabis and Food Standards Australia and New Zealand spokesperson said, ‘Our risk assessment found that low-THC hemp seed foods are safe for consumption and can provide a good alternative source of nutrients and polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially Omega-3 fatty acids.’ Hemp is considered a health food and is a great source of protein with a nutty flavour.

To take the challenge and participate in the research study, download the free VegEze app from the Apple App Store. www.csiro.au

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Surprisingly, goat meat has experienced a significant boom with Australia now a leading supplier of global goat meat, enjoying a recent price increase of 177 per cent and exporting over 27, 000 tonnes. www.mla.com.au

Already hemp beer, hemp chocolate, hemp ice-cream and hemp oil have appeared and the industry is rushing to bring even more products to consumers

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Bursting with beautiful berries Sprout | Feature WORDS Susannah Hardy With the arrival of summer comes an abundance of fresh berries for cooking, juicing, jamming or just eating by the handful, and these producers are growing some of the best fruit in Australia.

Image courtesy Mountain Blue

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hether it’s because they’re considered nature’s superfood, provide an easy snack, or simply taste delicious, berries are enormously popular—and this popularity is growing—with producers expanding to meet demand.

According to Jonathan Eccles, General Manager of Raspberries And Blackberries Australia (RABA), the gross value of the wholesale production of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries together is over $800 million a year. ‘This now makes us the biggest fruit category,’ says Eccles. ‘We’ve taken over from apples and bananas.’

Raspberry delight The Clark family of Westerway Raspberry Farm has been growing berries on Tasmania’s picturesque Tyenna River for 20 years. Predominantly a raspberry and blackcurrant farm, the family-run business produces over 100,000 kilograms of each fruit per annum, with a smaller amount of other berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and redcurrants.

Richard Clark still remembers, at aged 15, when his father sent him out to sell their first raspberries. ‘Dad gave me a summer project,’ says Clark. ‘To see if I could sell some berries fresh—one customer gave me a go and it grew from there.’

The Clark family grows an older variety of raspberry known as the Willamette, which is soft and delicious, perfect for juice and jam. As its shelf life is very short, it’s not suitable for extensive transportation so Westerway Farm only supplies fresh berries to

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the Tasmanian local market, where they are extremely popular.

The season is only from December to January, so Tasmanians flock to buy fresh raspberries for their Christmas table. As well as buying retail, people can also buy straight from the farm or pick their own. ‘We’ve found that in the last two or three years, our farm gate sales have doubled,’ says Clark. ‘We can get 200 to 300 cars in a day to the farm to pick their own and it’s a wonderfully vibrant activity.’

Finding seasonal workers can be an issue, however. Raspberries must be handpicked and ‘it’s always difficult to find a lot of local pickers when we go from having 6 or 7 full time people all year to requiring 120 people in the summer,’ says Clark. While the family does mechanically harvest, this picks very ripe soft juicy fruit, ideal for manufacturing as opposed to fruit bought by consumers.

Not so stylish but crammed with as much goodness, if not more, is the blackcurrant—and Westerway Farm is the last commercial blackcurrant grower in Australia. Blackcurrants are less popular here as they require a much cooler climate and are more tart in flavour compared to other berries. Mostly used for their juice, Clark is pleased that some of their blackcurrants have made their way into Coles branded blackcurrant syrup, and hopes this will eventually lead to syrups with 100 per cent Australian grown blackcurrants.

The super blue Thanks to various studies touting their many health benefits, blueberries have definitely become the latest go-to snack. With a high concentration of antioxidants and other nutrients, they are said to fight postnatal depression, defend against diabetes, look after your heart, boost brainpower, enhance vision and combat ageing. The list is lengthy and Australians can’t seem to get enough.

Blueberry producer, Ridley Bell of Mountain Blue is known as a world leader in blueberry variety development. In fact

Mountain Blue, a family run business, located in northern NSW, has been producing blueberries since 1978. After studying and working as a lawyer, Ridley’s son, Michael Clark returned to the business in 2016 as General Manager. In fact, his entire family works in the business. ‘We have a family meeting every Friday morning at dad’s place,’ says Bell. ‘He cooks breakfast and we talk about issues, the direction we’re going—it’s our equivalent of a board meeting.’

While the Bell family continues to develop and produce different types of blueberries, the Eureka is their flagship variety. ‘It’s one of a number of varieties that we have now, but it was the variety that kick-started our business,’ says Bell. Mountain Blue produces berries for the Australian market with a small percentage going overseas and also freezes and sells fruit to manufactures. Mountain Blue also has a popular commercial nursery, where growers can buy the varieties to grow themselves.

According to Bell, mould caused by sustained wet periods can be an issue for growers or a fungal disease known as Blueberry rust, however such situations are easily managed. As with Richard Clark of Westerway, the biggest challenges, as with raspberries, is sourcing workers. ‘Blueberries are very labour intensive, all picked by hand so attracting labour in the numbers we need is difficult,’ says Bell.

At this stage, there is no way of mechanically harvesting the fruit, but Bell is hopeful this might change. ‘We’re working really hard through variety development to develop varieties that are machine harvestable for the fresh market,’ he says. ‘That’s certainly a big priority of ours.’

Mountain Blue continues to expand at a rapid rate. ‘In the early days of the blueberry industry a lot of blueberries were grown for things like pies and muffins whereas now with better tasting varieties there certainly becoming a snacking alternative,’ says Bell.

‘Through variety advancement, we’re seeing better shelf life and more crunch.’

■■ Raspberries And Blackberries Australia (RABA) hin.com.au ■■ Westerway Raspberry Farm lanoma.com.au ■■ Mountain Blue Farms mountainblue.com.au

Images courtesy Westerway Raspberry Farm

Images courtesy Mountain Blue

Ninety percent of the Clark’s produce is frozen, mostly in large packs for manufacturers needing fruit for jams, liqueurs and juices. However recently there’s been demand for Australian frozen berries in the retail market. A more time consuming process as berries are frozen individually, the Clarks initially produced only 4000 packs—just as Australia experienced a hepatitis outbreak in frozen imported berries. ‘Those 4,000 packs got snapped up in a very short amount of time,’ says Clark.

‘It gave us the confidence that there was a market for Australian frozen berries.’

according to Jonathan Eccles of RABA, his varieties are grown all around the world. ‘Australia has some of the best blueberry varieties in the world because of him,’ he says.

Budding | What’s in season—Summer harvest

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ummer is peak season for many of our favourite fruit and veges. In the vege patch, in the farmers’ market or the supermarket, the abundance of choice, from berries and melons to beans, capsicum, leafy greens and tomatos, means you will never run out of fresh local produce this summer.

Vegetables

Fruit December Cool apricots

Temperate

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bananas blackberries blueberries boysenberries cherries

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January Sub-tropical

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Cool

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Temperate

Sub-tropical

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l l l l l

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mango

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nectarines oranges

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(Valencia)

passionfruit peaches pineapples plums raspberries

l l l

rockmelon strawberries

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l l

l l l l

(Valencia)

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l l l

4

l l

l l l

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(Valencia)

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l l l

tayberries watermelon

Cool

l l l

Temperate

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Sub-tropical

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Asian vegetables beans

l l l l l

l l l l l l

l l l

l l l l l

l l l l l l l

l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l

Cool

Temperate

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l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l

January Sub-tropical

Cool

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l

l l l l l l l l l

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beetroot cabbage capsicum celery

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honeydew melon

February

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grapes

l l l

December

cucumber eggplant lettuce mushrooms onions peas potatoes radish silverbeet /Swiss chard tomatoes zucchini

l l l l l

l l l l

l l l l l l l

l l l

l l l

l

l l

Temperate

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February Sub-tropical

l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l

Cool

l l l l l l l l l l l

Temperate

l l l l l l l l l l

Sub-tropical

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l l l

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Aromatics

Cool & mountainous

Mild or warm summer, cold winter with frosts. Includes highland areas of NSW, Northern and Southern Tablelands of NSW, Canberra and ACT, highland areas of Victoria, most of Tasmania.

garlic

Temperate

Warm summer, cool winter. Includes Darling Downs region of Queensland, coastal NSW to Victoria, southern Australian coast from Melbourne to Adelaide through to Perth and Geraldton.

ginger

Sub-tropical

Warm, humid summer. Mild dry winter. Includes the eastern seaboard from Brisbane north to Townsville and South to Coffs Harbour in NSW, southern coast of WA from Geraldton to Canarvon.

Courtesy Hawkesbury Food Program and Department of Investment and Industry, The Food Co-op, Canberra and Sustain Food, Northern Rivers.

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Spiced Freekah, Turkey and Blueberry Salad with Persian Feta Serves 4 Although sweet and juicy are the flavours that come to mind when you think of eating berries, they are more versatile than just an addition to breakfast or dessert.

Berries work beautifully in summer tarts, salads and even on pizza!

We’ve brought you some of the best berry recipes from the experts who know.

■■ 500 g turkey breast

½

■■ 1 cups freekah, rinsed ■■ 4 large handfuls baby spinach, coarsely shredded ■■ 30 g butter ■■ ■■

½ cup flaked almonds ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced

■■ 2 x 125g punnets blueberries ■■ 125g Persian fetta, crumbled

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emove and discard the skin. Place in a medium saucepan, cover with cold water and gently simmer for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly in the poaching liquid. Transfer turkey onto a plate and refrigerate until completely cool.

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Meanwhile, bring 3 cups of water to the boil in a medium saucepan. Add the freekah, decrease the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender and most of the water has been absorbed. Drain and transfer in a medium bowl. Add the spinach and mix to wilt. Spread out onto a tray and set aside to cool.

Dressing ■■

¼ cup lemon juice

■■ 1 teaspoon ground cumin ■■ 1 teaspoon ground cardamom ■■ ■■ ■■

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon caster sugar ¼ cup olive oil

■■ sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the dressing, combine the lemon juice, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and caster sugar in a small bowl.

Gradually whisk in the oil and season with salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat.

Add the almonds and cook for 4–5 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer onto a plate lined with kitchen paper, to drain.

Shred the cooled turkey into small strips.

Combine the turkey, freekah, onion and blueberries in a large bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss to coat.

Scatter with Persian feta and butter toasted almonds to serve.

Recipe courtesy Australian Blueberries.

Berry delicious recipes Edible | Seasonal recipes

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Raspberry, spinach and Persian feta salad with salted candied walnuts

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o prepare the salad, place the spinach in a large bowl. Sprinkle over the chives, lemon zest, raspberries, candied walnuts and feta.

For the dressing, place the oil, verjuice, mustard and sugar in a small screw-top jar. Season with salt and pepper. Shake well to combine.

Drizzle over

½ the dressing and serve immediately.

To make the candied walnuts, heat sugar in a medium, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook, tilting and swirling the pan occasionally for 2–3 minutes or until sugar melts and a light caramel forms.

Working quickly, remove pan and add walnuts, salt and chilli flakes. Carefully toss to cover nuts in caramel, and pour mixture onto a tray lined with baking paper and spread out using a wooden spoon. Allow to cool. Then, using your hands, snap the caramel, separate the clusters.

Note: For a simpler and quicker salad serve with plain walnuts rather than candied.

Recipe courtesy Raspberries and Blackberries Australia.

Serves 4 ■■ 100g baby spinach leaves ■■ 2 tablespoons chives, roughly chopped ■■ 1 lemon, coarsely zested ■■ 125g raspberries ■■ 100g Persian feta, drained, crumbled Dressing ■■

¼ cup olive oil

■■ 2 tablespoons verjuice ■■ 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ■■

½ teaspoon caster sugar

Salted candied walnuts ■■ 2 tablespoons caster sugar ■■ ■■ ■■

½ cup walnuts, lightly toasted ½ teaspoon salt flakes ¼ teaspoon dried chilli flakes

Choosing and storing berries Berries are fragile fruit so when you’re buying them look for plump, whole berries with even colour and no signs of damage to the fruit, bruising or seeping juice in the punnet.

Store them in the fridge at 4° Celsius in the punnets you bought them in. Berries are highly perishable so you need to eat them within one to two days of purchase. They taste best if you allow them to come to room temperature before eating.

You can eat them straight from the punnet or wash them gently with a light spray of water just before eating—don’t wash them before you store them or they’ll go mushy. freshberries.com.au

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Lilly pilly muffins

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reheat oven to 180° Celsius (160°C fan-forced).

Grease a 12-hole, 1/3 cup-capacity muffin pan.

Serves 12

¼

■■ 2 cups self-raising flour

Sift flour into a bowl. Using fingertips, rub butter into flour until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in sugar.

■■ 90g butter, chopped

Make a well in centre of flour mixture. Add lilly pillys, milk and egg. Gently stir until just combined. Spoon mixture into prepared holes. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre of 1 muffin comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes.

Turn out onto a wire rack to cool and serve.

■■ 125g fresh lilly pillys, seeds removed

■■

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

■■ 1 cup milk ■■ 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Recipe and images courtesy Playing With Fire.

Lilly pillies are a native variety of clove.

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Beyond the punnet Sprout | Feature WORDS Sophie Pusz While strawberries, blueberries and raspberries may be what most people think of, and buy, when it comes to summertime fruit, there are plenty of other types of berries bearing fruit for producers.

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pend five minutes in conversation with producers Bob Harley from Sorrell Fruit Farm outside Hobart, or Rebecca Barnes from Playing With Fire in Ballina in Northern NSW and you will discover there are dozens and dozens more types of berry than you could ever have imagined possible!

At Sorrell Fruit Farm, founded by Bob and his wife Elaine, you can visit for the day and pick your own fruit. As well as the standard offerings such as strawberries and cherries, you can pick tayberries, silvan berries, jostaberries, boysenberries and loganberries.

Loganberries

Bob’s favourite is the tayberry, a fruit first bred in Scotland in the 1970s and brought to Australia in the 1990s. The tayberry (bottom right) is a cross between the raspberry and the blackberry, ‘We’ve used it not only to eat but we make jam and vinegars and I make a liqueur with it. It’s got that freshness of a raspberry, but with more of a background blackberry flavour. It’s very nicely balanced.’ In fact Bob’s French-style tayberry liqueur won a gold medal at the last Australian Fruit Wine show in Hobart.

Although the tayberry is a fairly recent import, berries have quite a history on the Apple Isle. Berries (usually blackberries) were a popular supplement for small, family-run apple farmers on the sloping hills behind Hobart, because the berry season started and finished before the apple season began. According to Bob, a curious collection of scenarios combined to bring about the demise of this once bustling industry.

Riberries

‘First of all, people stopped eating as much jam as they had, so demand for berries decreased.’ On top of that was the introduction of mechanical harvesting in the late 1970s and 80s, ‘With the introduction of mechanical harvesting…they couldn’t harvest on these steep blocks [and]… to make a machine worthwhile one grower had to plant a very significant acreage.’

Between them, these two factors did a lot of reduce the number of families growing berries commercially. But there was one further incident which came into play: ‘In 1967 we had a very, very serious bushfire and a lot of those growers, if they weren’t out of the business by then, basically left at about that time.’

Jostaberries

While Sorrell Fruit Farm is a bit of a novelty and has become a popular tourist attraction for locals and overseas visitors to Hobart, at the opposite end of the spectrum, the Australian native berry industry is just beginning to bear fruit.

Tayberries

SPRING 2017

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At Playing With Fire, Rebecca and her partner Gus Donaghy grow native bush foods, and count a number of native berry varieties (Australian Rubus) and several varieties of lilly pilly among their produce.

Australia has eight indigenous raspberries, according to Rebecca and Gus, in the true sense that they bear red raspberries on mostly prickly biennial canes. While much is known of it’s close relatives in the northern hemisphere, little information is available on Australian Rubus species and their taxonomic variations, which isn’t surprising given real interest in Australian natives is still in it’s infancy.

Image courtesy Playing with Fire

The main variety they promote is the molucca berry (Rubus moluccanus), which shows the most promise as a cultivated variety as it has the best yield and works well with similar growing practices to the European and hybrid varieties. Australia’s molucca berry is closely related to and resembles the European raspberry familiar to most people, but with a brighter colour and sweeter flavour. It is a rainforest fruit that grows happily alongside streams and shady creeks, over a wide are of eastern Australia from Victoria in the south to tropical north Queensland.

As well as being delicious to eat molucca berries are very nutritious and are fast gaining a reputation as a natural medicine.

Recent research undertaken by Food Science Australia shows the berries have extremely high anti-oxidant activity. Other research undertaken at Charles Sturt University suggests the berries could be developed for their anti-bacterial properties.

Rebecca says they have just run a series of workshops to respond to the recent interest in native berries, ‘We’re starting to grow the network and we’ve just done a series of growers workshops trying to attract people to the industry and so now we’ve got plenty of keen growers.’ While Rebecca admits that native berries are becoming available in some of the larger nurseries, they’re still not very common and Playing With Fire is often the only source of cuttings available to interested growers. ‘We’re working hard to keep supply up with demand’, she says.

Rose-leaf raspberry

Rebecca’s favourite berry is one of the native raspberries that she grows. ‘The Atherton raspberry is pretty hard to beat. It’s very sweet; it’s much sweeter than European raspberries but it’s still got that beautiful raspberry note to it. It’s best taken by the handful. They’re divine, they really are. It’s very hard to not eat when you’re picking. They get so juicy, they get really large and soft and juicy. They’re just wonderful.’

Rebecca and Gus also grow several varieties of lilly pilly, a native variety of clove. ‘The riberry is the one that’s mostly commercialised. It has a bit of those clovey, gingery notes to it.

Its had some breeding done to it so we’ve got a seedless variety [which] the chef ’s are pretty happy about,’ she says. There are countless other varieties of lilly pilly, some of which are more suited to harvesting and eating than others.

Although these berries may seem exotic, there’s not a lot of difference between native, unusual and traditional European berries when it comes to planting and maintenance. When they were starting out, Rebecca says that as there wasn’t really any information available on how to grow native berries. ‘We looked up how to grow European raspberries and tried it the same way.’ It worked beautifully.

At Sorrell Fruit Farm, Bob has also found that their more unusual berry types like the same conditions and treatment as traditional varieties. Because Sorrell is in an area much drier than these fruits would typically like, they have put in irrigation but apart from that do very little to interfere with the growth (they are almost entirely pesticide free). ‘They simply need to be kept moist, pruned well and avoid crowding the branches,’ Bob says.

Contrasted to this, Playing With Fire in Northern NSW is located in an area climactically perfect for their crops, so more often than not they do not even need to water their berries at all, although they do so if a season is unusually dry, as was the case this year. ‘They do have a propensity to spread though,’ Rebecca says, ‘so there’s a bit of work in just keeping them contained, but nevertheless they’re quite easy to grow’.

So look beyond your favourite summer berries to find an immense variety of unusual and native berries with new flavours.

Playing With Fire sell many of their products: fresh and frozen fruit, spices, teas, jams and cordials on their website.

■■ Sorrell Fruit Farm sorellfruitfarm.com ■■ Playing With Fire playingwithfire.com.au

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What’s on | Summer 2017 DECEMBER 2017 Great Australian Beer Festival Albury

Saturday 2 December The inaugural Albury beer festival will be a beer and cider lovers paradise. You can wander through pop-up bars and chill out on the lawn while savouring a variety of hand-crafted beers and ciders.

There will be all-day entertainment including a mini speigel tent. www.gabfalbury.com.au

Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival

Saturday 9 December This festival marks the best of this WA region’s wines and food. Sit amongst the cherry trees at the Cherry Harmony Soiree long-table dinner using the finest and freshest produce from the Southern Forests region. www.cherryfestival.com.au

Christmas Fare

Thursday 14 December Presented by the City of Sydney, this Christmas Fare held at the historic Hyde Park Barracks Museum, features Sydney’s finest artisan producers, makers and small-scale retailers with gourmet food hampers to premium hand-made produce and artisan wares. www.sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/events/christmas-fare

Taste of Tasmania

28 December – 3 January In its 29th year, Hobart’s waterfront showcase returns with a new look and feel with close to 70 stallholders. The festival offers visitors the state’s best seafood, cheeses, berries, cool-climate wines, boutique beers and ciders and much more. www.thetasteoftasmania.com.au/about-the-taste-of-tasmania

JANUARY 2018 Maldon Twilight Dinner

Saturday 13 January Visit this historic Victorian gold rush town for the highlight event of the year. Dine in the main street on a range of fabulous local food wine with entertainment including opera at twilight by Pavarotti and the Diva then the Beatles Tribute band Penny Lane. www.maldon.org.au/event/maldon-twilight-dinner

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For more Summer food and wine events visit www.sproutmagazine.com.au/events

Tastefest on the Manning

Saturday 13 January Set on the foreshore of the Manning, the second year of Tastefest will run alongside the Summer Rowing Regatta, so pull up a rug by the river, and celebrate the region’s love of food, or check out the boutique beer garden at this family-friendly event.

FEBRUARY 2018 Festivale Tasmania

www.tastefest.com.au

2–4 February This is a celebration of the very best Tasmanian food, wine, beer, cider and sprits and arts and entertainment. Meet the growers and makers of Tasmania’s produce and gourmet food, enjoy the cool-climate wines of the Tamar Valley, local craft beer and cider and the terroir of Tasmania’s award-winning distilleries.

Ballarat Beer Festival

www.festivale.com.au

Saturday 20 January Presenting more than 150 of Australia’s leading independent craft beers, this year’s festival is on the shores of Lake Wendouree.

It celebrates the very best of craft beer culture with beer education classes, blind tastings, trivia games, the popular brewers sack race and a great line up of local and Australian bands. www.ballaratbeerfestival.com.au

Crush Adelaide Hills

26–28 January Celebrate the best things about life—food, wine and music—in the Adelaide Hills by beating a path to its shady vineyards for a weekend celebration of chilled sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and Riesling and fresh local produce. www.crushfestival.com.au

Taste Eden Riesling Festival

Saturday 27 January Some of the Barossa’s best family owned wineries producing handmade wines from small, rare vineyards come together to offer more than 30 single-vineyard Rieslings to taste and buy and a chance to learn about the region’s distinctive wines and people.

Kosciuszko Craft Beer Festival

Saturday 10 February Held at Thredbo, in the heart of the picturesque Snowy Mountains, celebrate the art of craft brewing poolside. Events include a brewing demonstration, home brew competition, cheese and beer matching, and an Beers Ales & Tales degustation dinner. www.thredbo.com.au/events/craft-beer-festival

Apollo Bay Seafood Festival

16–18 February Taste the flavours of the sea straight from the source. Staged on the picturesque foreshore, visitors will enjoy cooking demonstrations, live entertainment, market stalls, wine, beer and, of course, seafood in abundance! www.apollobayseafoodfestival.com

Great Australian Beer Festival Geelong

www.tasteedenvalley.com.au

Saturday 17 February Gallop down to Geelong racecourse to taste and appreciate more than 200 beers and ciders, join the keg rolling competition, participate in interactive seminars hosted by industry experts and mingle with the brains behind the brands along with all-day live entertainment.

Kilcunda Lobster Festival

www.gabfgeelong.com.au

Sunday 28 January This family friendly day offers rides, food, drinks, market stalls and music and of course lobsters. Held in the small village of Kilcuda on Victoria’s Bass Coast Shire, make sure you get a ticket on the lobster spinning wheel to win a huge freshly cooked lobster. www.kilcunda.org.au

Port Lincoln Tunarama Festival

25–28 January Experience the Eyre Peninsula’s food and wine including the Best of Eyre Dinner, the Artesian Cheese and Charcuterie Grazing smorgasboard, the street procession and of course the world famous Tuna Toss. www.tunarama.net

SUMMER 2017

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Growing an abundance of berries Sprout | Feature WORDS & IMAGES Linda Brennan Berry fruits are so often a treat, available in small punnets for high prices, but if you love berries, you can grow your own at home, and enjoy an abundance of berries at their peak of flavour.

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erries often elicit the most romantic and intense cravings in us. For many people, just thinking of berries brings back wonderful memories of desserts with ice-cream, thick gooey jam and warm berry puddings. Do you love fresh raspberries, blueberries and blackberries? Perhaps you recall childhood joys of picking mulberries, only to find your clothes, face and hands were stained purple from the fruit?

Elderberries develop after elderflowers.

We’ve tended to lose the skills of growing berries as our gardens become dominated by hedges and shady trees, but I encourage you to give it a go. There’s a berry for every garden, no matter how large or small and whether you are renting with a balcony or have a garden bed to fill.

You can grow tree berries such as elderberries and mulberries; you can plant canes such as raspberries and blackberries; or grow berries on bushes and as small perennial plants like blueberries and strawberries that are suited to container growing. Let’s look at a selection of each so you can choose your ideal berry. But to start, choose a berry you love to eat. It’s going to need a bit of TLC, so your favourites are worth it.

Tree berries Think about your space. A tree berry will look gorgeous and will perform well in the ground. A weeping, grafted black mulberry makes a sensational feature tree, usually about 2-metres tall.

White King Shahtoot mulberries are a medium-sized tree with pendulous foliage that provide neat hidey spots for children with an inbuilt food source and no staining! They are deciduous, so will allow light into your winter garden.

The fruit of the Panama berry taste like caramel.

Elderberries (Elderflowers) provide edible flowers and fruit, but the black fruit must be cooked before eating. Trim them to create a screening shrub. They flower profusely.

Panama berries are a fast-growing medium tree, suited to warm temperate and tropical areas. The fruits are held on a long stem and taste like caramel. They have a short life, but reward you with lots of fruit.

If you are keen on bush tucker, the orange berry (Glycosmis) gives small juicy fruits tasting like intense oranges. They are easy to grow shrubs in a warm spot, with full or part sun. Fruits are formed in winter to late spring. Grab a handful for all your Vitamin C needs.

Ask for thornless varieties when choosing berry fruits. These boysenberries will suit even the most discerning palate.

SPRING 2017 Raspberries ripening on canes.

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Tree berries

Orange berry (Glycosmis) are a native shrub with intensely orange flavoured berry fruit.

Cane fruit When choosing cane fruits such as raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries or youngberries, ask for a thornless variety, and plant them into rich soil in a confined spot such as an old bath.

This prevents suckers (runners) in the garden and ensures a painless harvest. Native raspberries want to take over the world, so confine them too! The sweetest is Rubus probus, also known as the Atherton Raspberry, but it comes with thorns.

European type raspberries can be purchased in several varieties so that you can harvest from early summer to autumn. Many cane fruits will die down in winter, when you cut away the old canes. After pruning, heap over manure fertilisers and wait until spring. Provide a trellis or fence to tie them to and harvest will be much easier.

Thornless youngberries and thornless blackberries are vigorous bushes but reward with loads of fruit. Tie them to a trellis for a more compact habit.

Red mulberries taste like raspberries.

Shrubs and small plants Blueberries are the berry fruit of choice for wet spots with acidic soil. No wet spot in your garden? Growing them in a pot with a deep saucer will keep those roots damp. Large pots are needed, so transplant them from the small nursery pots into pots at least 30–50 centimetres across. Add a little sulphur and some peat moss to your potting mix for acid conditions.

Strawberries are the ultimate in easy care plants for small spaces and pots. You can expect two main harvests per year and a few berries through the warmer months in between. Cut and replant the long new plantlets in late summer to autumn. Feed them monthly in spring to autumn with animal manures.

Elderberry

An open shrub producing flowers followed by berries in the first year from spring to late summer. Only eat ripe berries after cooking.

Mulberry

King Shahtoot is a weeping tree with long white fruit in spring.

Red mulberry fruit tastes like raspberry and may be espaliered.

Black mulberry: Large trees produce prolific fruit in spring. Grafted weeping trees produce small black fruit.

Orange Berry

Glycosmis is a native bush tucker shrub. Grow in a warm spot from seed or cuttings.

Panama Berry

A spreading tree suited to warm temperate and tropical areas. Fruits after 1 year, in warm months.

Cane fruit Blackberries

Delicious, intense black fruit in autumn. Request thornless varieties.

Boysenberries

Delicious fruit that, like all cane berries, benefit from an application of potash each winter with a generous helping of animal manure, in particular chicken based manures.

Raspberries

Choose varieties to provide a long picking season. Chiliwack produces early summer, Chilcotin fruits next, followed by Heritage in autumn. Cut back canes to the ground each winter.

Native raspberries

Rubus probus is a sweeter form but is very thorny. Beware that they need confinement by root barrier or growing in an old bath.

Youngberries

Fruit from December to February.

Shrubs and small plants

Growing care All berries benefit from the application of sulphate of potash. Berry production needs plenty of this nutrient. Use seaweed solution foliar feeds during the growing season to fight fungal infections.

Fertilise the beds in winter if plants are deciduous. Manure fertilisers are excellent. Be generous in your application.

King Shahtoot mulberries are sweet and prolific with the added bonus of being non-staining.

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Evergreen trees and shrubs respond to regular fertilising.

Add manure fertilisers during active growth, flowering and fruiting phases.

Blueberry

A range of fruiting times depending on the variety you grow. Ensure acidic soil and keep them moist. The low bush varieties are especially suited to pot growth.

Strawberries

Plant runners in March, into a rich composty soil or potting mix.

In the garden | Summer planting

By Linda Brennan, Greenthumb Goddess, wwww.ecobotanica.com.au December

beans

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Planting notes Bush beans, including the golden Roc D'or, do well over summer in most conditions. Take care to protect from bean fly if it's a problem in your area. Cover with vegie netting until the plants are well established. Plant seeds directly in position.

Climbing beans are great space savers. Grow heirloom varieties like Lazy Housewife and Blue Lake.

kohl rabi

lettuce beetroot

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Beetroot thrive in a moist, soft soil in full sun or a little shade. They are easy to grow from seed, but if you do buy punnets, make sure you wet the punnet first, then separate out each tiny seedling before tucking them into the soil about 5cm apart.

onions capsicums and chillis

celtuce

cucumber

edible flowers

green manure crops

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Capsicums grow well when planted as seed or seedlings into warm, fertilised soil. Heavy bearing plants will require a short stake for support. If you’ve had trouble growing the round capsicums, try long, sweet varieties like Marconi Red. They colour up as they mature. If you want to grow chillis, mild chillis include Black Hungarian and Poblano.

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This member of the lettuce family has long, grey-green leaves and over time, forms a firm stem. While the leaves are delicious in salads or cooked, it's the crisp stem that is sought after for use in Asian dishes. Use the leave, but when the stem is about 10–30cm long, harvest it for stir fries and soups. Grow from seed in sun or part shade.

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Sow cucumber seeds into a well manured and composted bed. Providing a climbing frame will help keep them clean and will prevent sunburn in summer. A piece of weldmesh or similar, angled to allow the cucumbers to hang under the foliage is a perfect setup.

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Grow edible flowers organically and enjoy their colourful petals in your summer dishes, desserts and drinks. Enjoy Sunflowers, Calendula, Cosmos, Nasturtiums, Torch Ginger (in the subtropics), bedding Begonias and Forget-me-nots. Roses are of course edible too as long as they are organic.

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A green manure crop grown as part of your crop rotation helps to improve the soil, adding nitrogen, organic matter and building soil life. Summer green manure crops are dug in before flowering and include soy beans, cowpeas, Japanese millet and mung beans.

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Cool & mountainous

Mild or warm summer, cold winter with frosts. Includes highland areas of NSW, Northern and Southern Tablelands of NSW, Canberra and ACT, highland areas of Victoria, most of Tasmania.

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Temperate

Warm summer, cool winter. Includes Darling Downs region of Queensland, coastal NSW to Victoria, southern Australian coast from Melbourne to Adelaide through to Perth and Geraldton.

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Sub-tropical

Warm, humid summer. Mild dry winter. Includes the eastern seaboard from Brisbane north to Townsville and South to Coffs Harbour in NSW, southern coast of WA from Geraldton to Canarvon.

popcorn and sweetcorn

rhubarb

rockmelon/ canteloupe

spaghetti squash

tatsoi

tomatoes

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Planting notes

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Kohl rabi are a vegetable with a swollen stem.

Available in green, white or purple forms, they are worth including in every garden. Sow from seed planted about 10cm apart and expect to harvest in about 2 months. The leaves are also delicious.

Substitute them for kale in your recipes.

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In a hot climate, grow lettuce in the shade or under other plants such as climbing beans and sweet corn.

Sow the seeds under 1cm of soil and keep moist. When germinated, transplant the 4-leaved plants to spread them out a little. Seaweed and fish fetiliser as fortnightly foliar feeds will improve your lettuce harvest. Hot days and drought will cause them to run to flower quickly.

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Spring onions/shallots are the best onions for summer.

In wet summer areas, take a planting break over January and February to avoid the seedlings rotting.

Red-stemmed Welsh Bunching Onions are especially attractive.

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Depending upon your microclimate, corn can be grown through summer even in Tasmania. It’s a heavy feeder, so will need a fertile soil to start and then a side dressing (along the rows) of organic fertiliser just as the cobs start to form. Moths will lay their eggs in the corn ears, so a light dusting of diatomaceous earth as the cobs fill may help to reduce caterpillar infestations.

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Rhubarb may be grown from seed or from 'crowns' which are pieces of original parent plants. Sow seed in pots over summer and plant into soil prepared with a heavy application of compost about 8 weeks later. Rhubarb requires plenty of water and seasonal fertilising. Drought will cause rhubarb to send up unwanted flowering stems.

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Melons love hot weather and a long summer will provide plenty of growing and ripening time. If you are in a cooler area, plant them in the warmest and most protected part of your garden. Add a sprinkle of lime to the soil before planting and spray weekly with seaweed solution to prevent early onset powdery mildew.

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These squash grow on a trailing vine so support them with a low trellis. The fruits weigh about 1kg and when ripe, are boiled whole and cut open then scooped out with a fork to produce a spaghetti-like flesh.

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Tatsoi are an attractive leafy green. Pick just the outer leaves or cut the whole head. Plant from seed as they germinate readily. A fortnightly foliar fertilise will give you excellent results and plenty of leafy greens.

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Tomatoes are a perennial favourite and can be grown year-round in warm climates. The determinate types are bush tomatoes, whereas the indeterminate tomatoes need a support structure such as a stake or trellis. Protect summer tomatoes from fruit fly attack with paper or net bags.

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Yakon or Peruvian ground apple, is a root vegetable grown from pieces called 'setts'. The tall, spade shaped leaves are a handsome garden addition, but it’s the roots that form after flowering that are really crispy and delicious raw or cooked. They can be grown in a half wine barrel if you don’t have room in the ground.

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Zucchini seeds germinate within a fortnight and begin bearing about 6 weeks later. Choose a spot in full sun.

Sow into fertile soil with a little gypsum added. Plants will spread to about 1 metre in length. Zucchini need to be harvested regularly.

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Food for thought

The Cookery Book | www.cookerybook.com.au | Celebrating 32 years!

River Cottage Much More Veg

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, $45.00 hb Hugh’s River Cottage Veg Every Day became a best-selling vegetable cookbook, persuading us through sheer temptation to make vegetables the mainstay of our daily cooking. In this much-anticipated follow-up, Hugh delivers more irresistible recipes, and this time, takes things one step further. Fuelled by his passionate belief that plant foods should be the dominant force in our kitchens, Hugh has put cheese, butter, cream, eggs, and refined flour and sugar firmly to one side.

Instead, he uses veg, fruit, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, spices and coldpressed oils to explore the length and breadth of what can be achieved with natural, unprocessed plant foods. River Cottage Much More Veg! makes it clear that unadulterated ingredients are the very best building blocks for delicious and healthy meals.

Ferment: A Guide to the Ancient Art of Culturing Foods

Holly Davis, $45.00 hb What does your favourite farmhouse cheese have in common with crusty sourdough bread, a glass of sparkling ginger beer or a bowl of marinated olives? The answer is each is a product of fermentation, a process that harnesses good bacteria in order to preserve ingredients and transform them into uniquely delicious foods with remarkable health benefits. Thanks to an increasing awareness of the crucial role probiotic-rich foods play in our wellbeing, the ancient art of fermentation is experiencing a renaissance. Add to this the joy, ease and economy of making fermented foods at home, and it’s no wonder we are scrunching, pickling and bottling our way to better gut health and a deeper connection with our food.

Children’s Baking Kit

(Giftbox with book rolling pin cookie cutters) $24.99 pb A sturdy children’s baking kit in a beautiful gift box containing two biscuit cutters (one heart-shaped and one star-shaped), a rolling pin and a 32-page recipe book. Suitable for complete beginners, these triedan’d-tested recipes will put the fun into baking.

Rick Stein The Road to Mexico: 120 Recipes from California and Mexico

Rick Stein, $49.99 hb Rick Stein brings his unrivalled enthusiasm and trusted expertise to the fresh, flavourful food of Mexico and California. No one better captures the food essence of a country and brings the best recipes into our kitchens like Rick. Starting in San Francisco and Baja California, and working his way down to the southernmost tip of Mexico, Rick Stein cooks, eats and experiences Mexican food at its very best and most diverse. Packed with vegetables, centred around fresh ingredients and always high on flavour, Mexican and California cooking is naturally healthy and satisfying—from the incredible seafood of the north Pacific coast and the mole of Oaxaca, to the spices and salsas of Yucatan and Quintana Roo. With the trademark beautiful photography and evocative design of Rick’s books, this cookbook will encourage anyone to try out the bold food of these sunshine states.

Cheese: The Essential Guide to Cooking with Cheese

Michel Roux, $29.99 hb Cheese has been a lifelong passion for Michel Roux, initially inspired by early visits to French markets and fuelled by extensive travels around the world discovering new cheeses. Here he offers a wealth of advice on cheese and a fantastic collection of over 100 recipes for inventive canapés, comforting soups, tempting starters and snacks, sensational salads, original fish and meat dishes, mouthwatering pasta, rice and vegetable dishes, and delectable desserts.

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