The Spring Shoulder
It is a beautiful, sunny Spring day which means my first task for the day is to get on the roof and cover our wood stove flue with wire mesh. We have to do this to stop flies and bees from invading our living room. It is still cold enough at night to light the fire so we remove the mesh at the end of each day. You get a great view of the farm from the roof so I took the photo above.
Shoulder seasons are the transition periods between Winter and Spring and Autumn to Winter. They are interesting times where you are growing both cold and warm season crops simultaneously, growth rates change rapidly, harvesting time windows become even more critical and daily chore schedules evolve with the warming temperatures.
These are all the crops we currently have growing in the ground or will soon transplant, Salad Mix, Head Lettuce, Spinach, Rocket, Carrots, Beetroots, Sugar Snap Peas, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Capsicums, Zucchinis, Coriander, Parsley, Garlic, Celery, Spring Onions, Potatoes, Onions, Ginger and Turmeric. We also have culinary and medicinal herbs including Thyme, Lemon Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary, Comfrey, Calendula, Plantain, Yarrow as well as dozens of flower varieties surrounding the farm.
This is a great time of year to be outside in the garden and the weather for this Saturdays Mount Gambier Farmers Market is looking fantastic. We look forward to seeing all of our regular customers, meeting new people and enjoying the other great stalls at the market. We will be set up and ready to go from 9:00-12:00.
Customers are welcome to visit the farm in Nelson to take a look and purchase vegetables, honey, salves and supplements Monday to Saturday between 11:00 am and 6:00 pm.
Our produce is available year round at Food For Thought in Mount Gambier where you can find a wide range of healthy products to compliment our vegetables and are featured on the menu at the Nelson Hotel.
We are actively seeking a retail outlet in Portland to extend our reach in the local region.
Look out for official farm tours coming soon!
This Week’s Available Vegetables & Supplements
Salad Mix $5
Head Lettuce $5
Spinach 150g $5
Spinach 500g $15
Sugar Snap Peas $5
Rocket $5
Carrots $5
Beetroots $10
Coriander $5
Celery Stalks $5
Rainbow Chard $5
Sunshine Salve Small $20
Sunshine Salve Medium $50
Sunshine Salve Large $100
Notes From The Garden
At Rainbow OMG we recognise the centuries long tradition of Moon Planting. In short the different phases of the Moon correspond to growth in in different parts of plants with about 7 days for each phase. The order is Leaf, Fruit/Flower, Root and Stop. We find this cycle an excellent tool for planning and scheduling of all the regular tasks needed for a functional farm.
We have just entered a Flower and Fruit Week so we will be transplanting more Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchinis, direct seeding more Green Beans, seeding back up trays of fruit crops in the Nursery as well as seeding and transplanting more flowers
Product Focus – Salad Mix
Organic Loose Leaf Lettuce Salad Mix
Perfect for salads, wraps, tacos, sandwiches and more.
Lettuce contains the following nutrition and health benefits:
- Vitamin’s A, K and C
- Manganese, Iron, Potassium
- Folate
- Source of Antioxidants
- Helps Prevent Bone Loss
- Boosts Heart Health
- Promotes Healthy Eyesight
- Helps Prevent Aging Skin
- Boosts Immunity
- Assists in Treating Cancer
- Helps Maintain Healthy Pregnancy
- Helps Weight Loss
- Assists Digestive Health
Instagram Reel of the Week
| See what we have been up to this week at the Rainbow OMG micro farm. |
We look forward to serving you,
Evan and Jill Young
