Brae Farm Harvest Notes January 9, 2024

Hi everyone,

Welcome back. The zucchini are in full production, and we'll start a daily harvest of baby zukes with flowers on Monday. There should be plenty.

The broad beans and peas are finished. We will get a final harvest from both before we clear the beds, so expect a crate of broadies and a plastic container of peas this week. 

The herbs have all had a growth spurt, so there's more basil, dill, parsley, and chervil available than before the break. I've added shiso, amaranth, sweet potato leaves, and oyster plant to the baby leaves section. The ice plant is looking unhappy after all the rain. If it doesn't perk up I might take it off the list. 

The mulberries have started ripening, and are looking good. We missed the harvest window on some nice apricots over the break (the rain didn't help), but there's quite a few still coming on that are probably more jam quality. There's also a handful of plums beginning to ripen up. 

The bramble berries are finishing, but we should continue to pick the blackberries for a bit longer. There's one more big harvest of jostaberries we should pick early in the week. The strawberries are not producing much, but they might have another flush if we get some warmer weather.  

I've left trays of strawberries, blackberries, mulberries, and jostas in the kitchen freezer. 

We have a bed of purplette onions and half a bed of barlettas that should come out asap. We have a small gap in production on spring onions. They should be back on the list in 1-2 weeks. 

I've picked the first few ripe tomatoes, so they should start trickling in over the next couple of weeks. 

We continue to have loads of beetroot if the kitchen can use a crate (or 3) of large detroits. There's also an abundance of daikon. 

Thanks! Jo 

Jodie Lawson, Head Gardener