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​Growing your own organic food has many health benefits:

  • You know exactly what is in the food you feed your family.

  • You can have nutritionally superior and tastier produce at a fraction of the price of a supermarket.

  • Gardening is relaxing and stress-relieving, as well as great exercise.

  • Your children will learn where food really comes from.

Handy Harvesting Guide | Vegetables

Nothing tastes better than home-grown vegetables: from vege patch to plate

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BEANS

SUMMER CROP
Royal Burgundy, Blue Lake (Bush), Provider (Bush Bean), Snake Beans, Aquadulce (Broad), Egyptian (Broad), Climbing/Runner Beans

We have many different varieties and plant them in mid-Spring to early Summer. Pick your beans when they reach 12-14cm in length. Regular picking encourages more new beans to grow.

WINTER CROP
Broad Beans

They prefer cooler temperatures and are best planted in Autumn. They should be picked when you can only just feel the beans inside them. If they are left to get too big they can become tough and lose their sweetness.

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BROCCOLI

Belstar, Di Ciccio Broccoli is the king of our Winter crop.
We plant broccoli in Autumn and do not stagger the growth as broccoli can be preserved. It is good to remove the sprouting broccoli shoots for the first few weeks as this encourages more growth giving you thicker heads come harvest.

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CAPSICUMS

Californian Wonder, Macaroni Red Capsicum features in our Summer vegetables, as peppers need long, warm summers to mature. You can pick your capsicums before the colour develops in them as long as they have reached full size. For the long sweet capsicums this is at least 10cm in length and for the bell capsicums it is at least 10cm in length and 6cm wide.
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CAULIFLOWER

Sixty Days, Snowball
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CELERY

Tender crisp celery is grown in our Summer crop. You can pick at celery as it grows, once the plant is firmly established, with stems at least 1cm wide at the base of the leaf.
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CORN

Sweet corn ears should be picked during the “milk stage” when the kernels are fully formed but not fully mature. This stage occurs about 20 days after the appearance of the first silk strands. The kernels are smooth and plump and the juice in the kernel appears milky when punctured with a thumbnail. Other signs that indicate when the corn is ready for harvest are drying and browning of the silks, fullness of the tip kernels and firmness of the unhusked ears.
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EGGPLANTS

Little Finger, Black Beauty, Rosa Bianca
Eggplant is another of our Summer delights. Pick your eggplants when They are at least 15cm long and are still have the glossy sheen to their skin. Over-mature fruits tend to be duller and turn brown. Discard them if this happens as they will be spongy, seedy and bitter.
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KALE

Dwarf Green, Nero Di Toscana, Red Russian
Kale is one of the most nutrient-rich vegetables on the planet. We can grow kale all year round in your garden. Harvest kale as you need it (like lettuce), picking off leaves once the plant is firmly established. Best used in stir-frys and currys.
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LEEKS

Carentan Leeks are in our Summer vege crop. You want your leeks to be at least 3cm wide at the white stem below the leaves. Cut the leaves just above the point where they join the stem. Leeks have laxative, anti-arthritic and antiseptic properties.
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ONIONS

Brown, Red, Red Creole
Bulb onions should be left until their leaves turn brown and fall over naturally. When this happens it means the onion has stopped growing and is ready for harvest.
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PARSNIP

Parsnip is quite similar to carrots in when you harvest them. You should see the top of the root protruding from the soil and you want it to be at least 2cm in diameter before you pull them. A good indicator of maturity is when the leaves begin to die, as with onion.
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PUMPKIN

Japanese, Jarrahdale, Waltham Butternut
Pumpkin is in our Summer range. Harvest your pumpkins when the fruit stalk begins to dry out. The pumpkin flesh should be a dark gold colour inside.
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SILVERBEET

Ford Hook, Perpetual, Ruby, Silver Ribs
Silverbeet is a permanent resident in Your Patch gardens. As with lettuce, bok choy and pak choy, just take from the silverbeet as the leaves get big enough. Be sure to remove dead or dying leaves from the outer layer of the plant.
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SPINACH

English, Galilee
English spinach and perpetual spinach are harvested like lettuce and bok choy. Just take as you need from the plant once it is firmly established. We can grow spinach all year in your garden.
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SQUASH

Squash is another Summer-loving vegetable. Harvest your squash anytime after they are 10cm in diameter. With button squash, once they have dropped their flowers you can take them, providing the colour is rich and their skin is glossy.

TURNIP

Purple Top, White Globe
You should see the tops of the turnips poking through the soil as they mature. You want the turnips to be at least the size of a golf ball before pulling them. Turnips are a Winter vegetable for your patch.
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BEETROOT

Bulls Blood, Early Wonder
We grow beetroot all year round in your garden. You can usually tell when your beets are ready by the roots protruding above the soil. The best beets are about the same size as a tennis ball.

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BOK CHOY

Bok Choi, Pak Choi, Bok Choy is grown all year.
With this leafy green, you pick what you need after the plant is established. Stems should be at least 1cm thick at the base of the leaf before you start taking them so you don't shock the plant too much.
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CABBAGE

Red Dutch, Savoy, Tatsoi, Wong Bok

Cabbage is another of our winter favourites. Harvest the heads when you think they are big enough. They should be at least 15cm wide before you cut them.

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CARROTS

Chantenay Red Cored, Nantes Carrots are a year round crop for your vege patch. Like beetroot, you can usually tell when carrots are ready to be pulled by the top of the root protruding through the soil. Ideally you’ll be pulling them when the exposed top is at least the width of a ten cent coin to ensure a full carrot.
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CELERIAC

Celeriac produces a large bulb which tastes just like celery and is grown as a root vegetable. Harvest your celeriac when you think the roots are big enough. You shoud see the top of the root protruding approximately 1cm to 2cm above the soil before you take them.
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CHILLIES

Cayenne Slim, Fiesta, Jalapeno, Magnum, Ring Of Fire
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CUCUMBERS

Lebanese, Muncher Burpless
Harvest cucumbers when you think they are big enough, which is about the same as they would appear on the supermarket shelves. If left to grow too big they will bleach and lose flavour. Cucumbers are a favorite of our Summer crop list.
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GARLIC

Garlic adds the flavour to our Winter gardens. Planted in Autumn, our garlic should be harvested once the leaves have begun to turn yellow. This is usually around late-July to August. You can leave your garlic cloves outside to dry or hang in a cool dry shed.
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LETTUCE

Brown Romaine, Buttercrunch, Cos, Great Lakes, Green Oakleaf, Little Gem, Lollo Rossa, Mignonette, Salad Bowl Green
Everyone loves their lettuce. We can grow your lettuce varieties all throughout the year so you’ll always have fresh lettuce leaves. Once the lettuce is established, just pick the leaves off as you need them. If you see the plant going to seed, cut the top off to encourage more leaf growth. Once one lettuce goes to seed, it triggers all the other lettuce to do the same.
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PAK CHOY

Pak Choy is an annual resident in our gardens. It is harvested similar to Bok Choy in that you take from the plant as you need once it has established. Be sure to remove dead/dying outer leaves as the plant grows. Stems must be at least 1.5cm in width at the base of the leaf before harvesting.
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PEAS

Greenfeast, Massey Gem, Sugar Snap
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KOHLRABI

Purple Vienna
This exotic vegetable is from the same family as broccoli and cabbage, yet it is grown in our Summer crop. The edible parts of Kohlrabi are always pale yellow. They are best when no bigger than a tennis ball as they tend to get woody when larger.
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SNOW PEAS

Snow peas should be picked every two days when the pods are flat before the development of any seeds. Make sure they are at least 7.5cm long and 2.5cm wide. Pick off old pods and discard.
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SPRING ONIONS

Spring onions can be pulled anytime after the tops reach 15cm tall. Though the leaves are traditionally removed, everything above the roots is edible.
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RADISH

Cherry Belle Radish is a year round player in our gardens. Pull your radishes when they are at least 3cm wide, you should be able to see the red bulb protruding above the soil. Don't let them get too big otherwise they will go woody and lose flavour.
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TATSOI

Tatsoi does best in the cooler seasons of Spring and Autumn but can be grown all year round. Harvesting is much the same as lettuce and spinach, where you take as you need from the plant once it has established itself.

ZUCCHINI

Black, Fordhook
Zucchinis are a Summer standout for your patch. Harvest your zucchini when they are at a manageable size, about the same as the supermarket. Our organic zucchinis have a tendancy to grow to enormous proportions so be sure to take them at the size you want them! Make sure you take the flowers off the ends of young fruit as they can rot back into the zucchini, ruining it.

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Medicinal Herbs