Vegetables we grow and how to store them!
As a general overview most vegetables require humidity levels of 80-95% for the best possible storage results. Most fridges humidity levels are usually at 65% so to prevent your vegetables from dehydrating in your own fridge you need to keep them in sealed containers, bees wax wraps or silicon wraps. Removing excess moisture is also very important for a long storage life. While a small level of moisture is important to keep humidity around the vegetable to much moisture can dramatically shorten the storage life of all vegetables but especially leafy greens.
Not all veggies should go in the fridge – Tomatoes and capsicums are best ripened at mild warm room temperatures, this allows them to develop more taste as they ripen naturally. Once they are fully ripened and the weather is hot you may store them in the refrigerator. The longer they are in the fridge the more likely they are to develop soft spots and loose flavour.
Root vegetables – The best possible way to store all root vegetables is to snap the leafy tops and store them in a sealed container. This includes carrots, beetroots, radish, kohlrabi and turnips. The greens can be stored like all other leafy greens.
Leafy greens- Greens do not have an outer skin like most other vegetables which makes it especially important to remove excess moisture and keep in a sealed container to prevent dehydration.
Herbs – We store our herbs on the bench in a glass of water, it is important to change the water very few days. If this is not for you a moist cloth in a container is second best.
What’s in season at Rainbird Farm?
This is a rough guide on what we will have available through the different seasons. With our crop plan we try to have as much available as often as possible but as I’m sure most of you know the best made plans can be unexpectedly interrupted by a hungry caterpillar, duck or snail. This list is also not exhaustive as we always want to try new crops out in our system.
Summer (December - February)
In the heat of summer there is always abundance to juicy summer fruits, leafy greens and roots with the last tastes of winter still disappearing- Rocket
- Salad mix
- Wombok
- Pak Choi (although hard to keep the caterpillars off!)
- Silverbeet
- Cabbage (early and late summer)
- Broccoli (late summer)
- Parlsey
- Basil
- Spring onions
- Shallots
- Beetroots (early summer)
- Radish (early and late summer)
- Turnips
- Carrots
- Green beans
- Capsicum
- Cucumber
- Eggplant
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Yellow squash
- Leek
- Fennel
Autumn (March – May)
At the beginning of Autumn you will get the tail end of all the summer fruiting crops and it will slowly transition into an abundance of crunch sweet winter crops such as snow peas, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, beetroots, English spinach ect.- Rocket
- Salad mix
- Wombok
- Pak Choi
- Silverbeet
- Cabbage
- Kale
- English Spinach
- Broccoli
- Broccolini
- Cauliflower
- Parlsey
- Basil
- Spring onions
- Shallots
- Beetroots
- Radish
- Turnips
- Kohlrabi
- Carrots
- Peas
- Capsicum
- Cucumber
- Chillies
- Eggplant
- Pumpkin
- Tomatoes
- Shishitos
- Zucchini
- Yellow squash
Winter (June – August)
Once winter has set in we have seen the last of the summer treats and we have settled into the soft crunchy delights of winter. Winter is a wonderful time of brassicas, leafy green, lots of sweet roots and peas.- Rocket
- Salad mix
- Pak Choi
- Silverbeet
- Cabbage
- Kale
- English Spinach
- Broccoli
- Broccolini
- Cauliflower
- Parlsey
- Coriander
- Spring onions
- Shallots
- Beetroots
- Radish
- Turnips
- Carrots
- Peas
- Pumpkin
Spring (September – November)
Early spring is very similar to winter crops but by mid spring the juicy summer fruits are starting to trickle in. By the end of spring you’re getting all the summer crops as well as the end of winters.- Rocket
- Salad mix
- Pak Choi
- Silverbeet
- Wombok
- Cabbage
- Kale
- English Spinach
- Broccoli
- Broccolini
- Basil
- Parlsey
- Coriander
- Spring onions
- Shallots
- Beetroots
- Radish
- Turnips
- Carrots
- Peas
- Green beans
- Capsicum
- Chillies
- Cucumber
- Eggplant
- Tomatoes
- Shishitos
- Zucchini
Each year will have 4 subscription blocks following the seasons.
The 2023/2024 blocks will be:
Spring : 19th of Oct - 21st of Dec (10 weeks)
Summer: 1st of Feb - 11th of Apr (11 weeks)
Autumn: 2nd of May - 4th of July (10 weeks)
Winter: 25th of July - 26th of Sep (10 weeks)
What vegetables are available each season?
Check out whats in season!FAQ
What size suits me?
Small - This box will have 4-5 seasonal items which add up to the value of $20
This will feed one or two people who cook a few times a week.
Medium - This box will have 7-8 seasonal items adding up to the value of $35.
This will feed two moderate veggie eaters for the week.
Large - This box will have 10-11 seasonal veggie items adding up the the value of $50.
It will feed most families or a couple of adults that just really love vegetables!
In this box you may get double items some weeks such as 2 capsicums instead of 1 or 2 punnets of tomatoes instead of 1.
When and where is Pick-Up?
Pick up is available each Thursday at:
Bobs Farm from 3-6pm at Rainbird Farm Stall (3327 Nelson Bay rd, Bobs Farm)
or
Islington from 4.45-6pm at High Swan Dive (113 Maitland Rd, Islington)
What if I'm away one week?
- Let me know before 7am Wednesday before we harvest and you can receive a credit to use on the store later on.
- Arrange for a family member or friend to receive the box for you
- Contact us and we can Donate it to someone
I'd loved to be involved but can’t afford the upfront payment.
Please don’t stress, that’s fine. Just add the item to your cart and select pay with Paypal.
This will give you the option to Pay in 4 to split up the payments and make it a little easier on you.