RSS

Blog posts tagged with 'preserves'

A Great Day at the Little Church Markets in Goulburn NSW

Little Church Markets Goulburn NSw

A Great Success!!!

It was H&H first market in Goulburn and we were blessed with magnificent weather. Alongside the St Saviours markets a little way down the road, people came along all day to support both markets. It was wonderful to meet so many local folk who really appreciated the local produce and products on offer. Thank you to all those who came and tasted our preserves and for all those who took a little something home, we hope you enjoy them very much.

The markets are likely to be held every second month in the Baptist Church hall from 9 am - 2 pm. I hope to see you all again in a couple of months.

Thanks Again to my dear friend Dianne and my beautiful assistant/husband Stephen who made the day such a lot of fun.

See you all again very soon.

Unfortunately the husband snuck up on me with the camera, so didnt have my smile on, busy setting up.   (:

End of the Chutney and Pasta Sauce season

I have made the decision, which is a tough one for me each year, when have I made enough and when should I stop preserving.   I have reached my goal for each of the tomato products, the 3 chutneys and the Pasta Sauce and despite still having great quality tomatoes off and on the vines I have drawn a line in the sand.  I am sure that every preserver has the same dilemma.   It ends up being a decison of head over heart, not my strong point, keep making my preserves past what I think I can sell and using up hard earned capital or say enough is enough.

Stock Mar 21

So the best of the surplus tomatoes and any new harvest will go to friends or neighbours and down to our local Binda Store to be given away to the locals or visitors who would like them.   During the apple season every trip to the local store ends with bringing home a big bag of free local apples from a backyard tree, which are just superb.  I have made many a jar of apple sauce from these wonderful apples.  So I will return the favour with my tomato surplus.

Every year we struggle with the decision of when to clear out the tomatoes beds and start to plant the winter crops or green manure.  It just seems wrong to take out plants with so many green tomatoes and just throw them away but I only once found a home for my green tomatoes.  A local chap made his green tomato relish and was just so happy to take them off my hands.   Might see if I can find that fellow again this year because there will be a lot.

Now the focus is on the new Beetroot and Chilli crops.  Despite the rain and surprisingly cool summer / autumn the beetroots are thriving and another good harvest will come through this week.   The long awaited ripening of the chillis is slowly happening but the cold weather is definitely not helping speed this along.

However in anticipation of that wonderful event the covering of the beds has begun, because there is just nothing that a Currawong likes more than a lovely big meal of red hot chillis.  Well so it seemed last year, when times were tough for all the native birds.    We are not going to take the chance this year and the bird netting is in progress.  Temporarily suspended due to the inclement weather but later in the week there is hope of some sunny skies so we all look forward to that.

Start of Chilli Netting Mar 21

Finding your Heirloom Tomato Variety

What is the difference between a Hybrid and an Heirloom tomato?

Hybrid tomatoes are what we all have purchased in our supermarkets, they are bred for long term storage, to be less susceptible to diseases, to be perfect in appearance but are less flavoursome. If you save the seeds to replant you cannot be certain that your seed will grow true to type. The hybrid is a combination on many varieties bred to give all the attributes listed above.

An heirloom tomato is an older-style tomato variety which can be susceptible to diseases, cannot be stored long term, may or may not be perfect in appearance but will have the most wonderfully intense tomato flavour. An heirloom tomato seed should always grow true to type.

There are many seed suppliers who specialise in heirloom tomato seeds in Australia, Diggers Club, Eden Seeds, Seed Freaks, Boondie Seeds are just a few. There are many others around the world who are dedicated to saving heirloom seeds so that these varieties are not lost to future generations.

After a lot of investigation and trial and error in growing, we discovered a book called "TOMATO" written by Penny Woodward, Janice Sutton and Karen Sutherland, it has become our tomato bible.

One of the great things that is included in the book is a list of Heirloom varieties and all their attributes, colour, size, flavour, uses etc. After a couple of years planting different varieties, we have settled on our selection which we use for our preserves.
Each of the past few seasons have brought with it different challenges. Extremely wet summers, causing fungal infections, excessive heat causing wilt and poor germination, drought and bushfires or as we experienced in 2020/21 almost no summer with the whole season being spring like in its temperatures and above average rainfall.

Then our friends the insects and birds cause their own problems, caterpillar infestations are a big problem for tomatoes. In tough seasons the native birds such as King Parrots, Crimson Rosellas and Currawongs, find tomatoes a great alternate food source.

The "TOMATO" publication gives great assistance with the types of diseases which affect tomatoes, also eco-friendly alternatives to chemicals, such as chilli and garlic spray to combat caterpillars. Really when you get right down to it, tomatoes can be quite the Goldilocks, liking everything just at the right temperature, not to cold and not to hot, not too much water, or too little, but just the right amount.

It is all worth it when you get a tomato harvest like we have had this year, which has been exceptional. We never get everything right, we make mistakes every year, but normally different ones! In the end we get a harvest like this that makes it all worthwhile.