Brae Farm Weekly Notes for the Kitchen – November 17, 2023 —

Hi everyone,

I’m about to clear a self-sown patch of good-quality warrigal greens, so let me know if you would like to use them.

The lagrima peas are slowing down, and we’ll likely have a gap in production in another week or two. We have another similar-sized bed coming on.

The boysenberries are starting to ripen so I can check if there’s a useful amount on Tuesday.

The medium-sized English spinach has been knocked around by the weather a bit, but it will hopefully keep producing nice new leaves for a bit longer. We have another bed that will be ready in about two weeks.

We have lots of really nice beetroot available, and plenty of baby greens for next week.

Thanks! Jo
Jodie Lawson – Brae Head Gardener

Brae Farm Weekly Notes for the Kitchen – November 10, 2023 —

Hi everyone,

I’m giving the chive patch a major haircut so we’ll have limited quantities for a few weeks.

The broad beans are in full production, and I would expect around 3 crates next week.

I’ve taken pea flowers off the list, but there are nice young tips on the new patch of peas if you would like to keep ordering them.

Almost all the spring garlic is bulbing up. I may not be able to find any slender ones next week (but I’ll check on Tuesday).

We have plenty of juicing-size beetroot and carrots available. We have a few pink and purple daikon again. Some of the kohlrabi have sized up nicely, with lots more in the pipeline.

The purplette and barletta onions are forming bulbs, so if you’d like to use them small we’ll have them available in a couple of weeks.

The rainbow chard is looking great at the moment if you’d like a couple of bunches for staff meals. There’s also a crate of white spring onions I’d like to clear out please.

The cima di rapa is finito.

Thanks!

Jo
Jodie Lawson – Brae Head Gardener

Brae Farm Weekly Notes for the Kitchen – October 27, 2023 —

Hi Everyone,

I could use some help picking the fruiting crops like peas and broad beans this week, if one of the chefs has a spare hour on Tuesday, but I’ll be fine if not.

Peas will be peaking over the next few weeks, I would expect about a full plastic container twice a week. They are making less new green growth though, so I don’t think we’ll be able to do such a large quantity of pea tips again.

The strawberries are looking really good, but I think will continue in fairly modest quantities until we get some warmer weather. There is enough there for a small Saturday pick this week if someone wants to harvest them.

I’ve planted a very generous succession of Tokyo turnips for the next two weeks, so we’ll have enough for extras  if you can use them.

The Geraldton wax is starting to get over-harvested, if it’s possible to give it a rest.

The mini mak daikon are getting to their full size, if you’d like to use them larger. We also have some babies in the pipeline.

We can start doing a light harvest from the new rhubarb patch but I’d like to cap it at 2 bunches a week until they’re a bit more established please. By December we should be able to bump that up.

Thanks! Jo
Jodie Lawson – Brae Head Gardener

Brae Farm Weekly Notes for the Kitchen – October 20, 2023 —

Hi everyone,

The cima di rapa is forming florets so it would great to do a first harvest on Tuesday. I expect the crop to have a about a 3-week harvest window.

I’ve added golden and chiogga beetroot to the list, as well as large-leaf shungiku, pink daikon, garlic scapes, Tokyo bekana, agretti, and strawberries.

The strawberries are looking really good, but are still in limited quantities.

We harvested the Tokyo turnips hard this week, so we’ll be short until the next succession is ready.

Our final planting of bok choi is huge and needs to be harvested asap.

We have some nice head lettuces – green butterheads and little gems – that we could send to the kitchen whole if you would like them. Otherwise, I’ll use them up in the supper plate salad mix.

Thanks! Jo

Jodie Lawson – Brae Head Gardener

Brae Farm Weekly Notes for the Kitchen – October 13, 2023 —

Hi everyone,

We’ve picked our first few (delicious) ripe strawberries, so expect a harvest as soon as we get another run of warm days.

The cima di rapa/spring rapini should also be ready within a couple of weeks.

We have our first new season kohlrabi, beetroot, potatoes, and spring onions on the list this week. I would expect a more generous harvest of peas and broad beans.

I would like to pull out the last winter brassicas and clear the beds. Can we do a final pick of purple sprouting broccoli on Tuesday, or would you prefer us to hang onto the plants for a couple more harvests?

We’ve picked almost all the limes and larger lemons now. There are still plenty of Myer lemons, oranges, and lemonades.

Thanks! Jo
Jodie Lawson – Brae Head Gardener