It’s cold and wet, it must be winter. Time to put the “Soup Packs” back on the menu. Our soup packs contain: carrot, parsnip, celery, turnip, onion and potato, a great starter pack for vegetable soup.

Other simple soup options are “Potato and Leek Soup”, “Pumpkin Soup”, and my all time favourite “Chicken and Pearl Barley Soup” (plenty of recipes online).

Those that ordered Queensland strawberries last week would have noticed a huge improvement from the previous week, this week they should be just as good.

This week’s early bird coupon code for a 5% discount is CC33

Have a great week

Cheers,

Michael

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I’m very excited to report that beginning this week, we will be the first Melbourne retailer to supply Jindi (Genuine Pastured) Free Range Eggs. We will be dealing directly with the farmer (Will and Harley Allgood), there is no middleman for them to pay, so more money for the farmer.

Their farm has a stocking ratio of only 200 hens per hectare, which is way below the CSIRO’s Model Code of Practice, which says there should be a maximum of 1,500 hens per hectare on an outdoor range.

The recently introduced government standard allows producers to pack 10,000 hens into a hectare and still call their eggs “free range”. This “government standard” has no mandate for hens to actually spend time outdoors, just an open door at each end of a very very long shed.

Harley and Will’s “Happy Hens” sleep in specially built mobile sheds (caravans) that are shifted around the pasture on a weekly basis. They even eat leftover cauliflower leaves supplied by Micky Booth.

More photos and videos of the farm on their website, facebook page and instagram page.

Have a great week,

Cheers,

Michael

P.S. Early Bird Discount Code

Just a reminder, if you order online Sunday for a Tuesday or Wednesday delivery, or on a Tuesday for a Thursday or Friday delivery use the weekly coupon code for a 5% discount. This week’s discount code is CC99.

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I’m beginning to get more and more requests from people to reduce the amount of plastic bags that are used in their fruit and veggie order. Compared with the supermarkets, I think it is safe to say, we use less packaging and plastic than they do. The supermarkets love anything with a barcode on it, as it makes it easier for the consumer to use the self-checkout which equates to less labour costs for them, and higher profits. Plastic bags also make it easier to weigh the produce at the checkout, so items such as apples, oranges, bananas, potatoes, onions and so on, end up being placed in a plastic bag, and disposed of, as soon as you get them home.

Our main consideration when using plastic bags, is to keep the produce as fresh as possible between the time it leaves our warehouse, and the time it arrives at your door. Once in your fridge, items such as broccoli, beans, baby spinach and salad mix are going to keep much better in the fridge, if they are in a bag. The alternative is to place the items in reusable bags, or airtight containers.

I am currently considering the possibility of using reusable bags for beans, snow peas and sugar snaps. These items can’t really be placed in the box loose, but don’t really need to be in plastic to stay fresh between the warehouse and your door. I’m very interested in what people think, so please let me know.

Have a great week,

Cheers,

Michael

P.S. Early Bird Discount Code

Just a reminder, if you order online Sunday for a Tuesday or Wednesday delivery, or on a Tuesday for a Thursday or Friday delivery use the weekly coupon code for a 5% discount. This week’s discount code is CC88.

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From now until the end of October, the seasonal fruits are very predictable. The usual winter favourites are apples, bananas, pears, kiwi fruit and CITRUS! Yes, there’s plenty of citrus around: navel oranges, imperial mandarins, ruby grapefruit, lemons and limes are all plentiful at this time of the year, and all reasonably priced.

The other newcomer this week is green kiwifruit. The yellow have been around for a few weeks, but the green variety has only recently begun. There are Aussie green kiwi, but the season is very short, I’m waiting for a grower in Emerald to begin. When he starts picking his, of course I’ll be buying the local variety, until then, they are from New Zealand.

Early Bird Discount Code

Just a reminder, if you order online Sunday for a Tuesday or Wednesday delivery, or on a Tuesday for a Thursday or Friday delivery use the weekly coupon code for a 5% discount. This week’s discount code is CC77.

$20 off your first order

If you haven’t ordered from us before, use the coupon code GR20 for $20 off your first order.

Have a great week,

Cheers Michael

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In this day and age of refrigerated transport, it’s easy to loose sight of where our fruit and veggies are grown, and how far they’ve travelled from the “farm gate to our plate”. At this time of the year, there is a transition between fruits and vegetables grown locally (in Victoria), to produce sourced from further north (New South Wales & Queensland).

Late last week I started corn for the first time in about four weeks. The new season Queensland corn is still a little bit on the “young side” so if you do purchase it this week, just remember, it will get bigger and fuller in the coming weeks.

Same goes for strawberries, they won’t be as sweet as the Victorian ones that I have been supplying recently, but they should have a longer shelf life (although I always recommend eating strawberries within a day or two of purchase).

Beans are also from Queensland, may be a bit thinner than the local ones which have just finished. All our beans are “hand picked”, not “machine picked”. Hand picked beans stay fresher for longer because greater care is taken when they are picked.

There are still plenty of local options around, the following items are sourced from growers in Melbourne’s food bowl; broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, leeks, spring onions, most of the herbs, apples, pears, nashi pears and hydroponic tomatoes.

Have a great week,

Cheers,

Michael

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It’s always nice to know that you are supporting local growers. The Packham Pears we sell are grown by the Apted family in Arthur’s Creek. They have been farmers for five generations, and their orchard is only 35km from the wholesale market, that’s about as local as you can get.

At this time of the year, the summer fruits have finished, now it’s time for those winter staples: apples, oranges, pears, mandarins and kiwi fruit. All are new season, and recently off the tree.

As for vegetables, broccoli and cauliflower are from Werribee; celery, leeks, spring onions, kale, baby cos lettuce and silverbeet are from the Cranbourne/Clyde area; and brussels sprouts are grown in Ferntree Gully.

That’s all pretty local.

Geoff Update

Speaking of local, Geoff’s a local of the Dandenongs, and he’s slowly building up a loyal band of customers in Bayswater, Boronia, Rowville, Wantirna, Ferntree Gully, Tecoma, Belgrave and Upwey. Many have commented that they can really notice a difference in freshness.

Thanks for your support!

Cheers,

Michael

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The Hass variety of avocado returned to the market about three weeks ago, but they are always a bit watery at the start of the season so it’s better to stick with the Sheperd variety until the Hass’s flavour and texture improve. After having had vegemite and avocado on toast this morning, I can now say, “The Hass are ready to buy!”

Australian Navel oranges have just hit the market, still a bit on the sharp side as it is very early in the season, but worth buying one or two just to see how they are. If you need oranges for juicing, then a 3kg bag of the Valencias is the way to go. They are starting to get a bit soft and spongey, but still the best for juicing.

Imperial mandarins are tasting better and better each week. The current batch are from Queensland, and have really improved in taste between the first week and the second week. I’m sure this coming week. they will be even better.

Geoff Update

Geoff is powering along, his third week out delivering was the most he’s done to date. Was a staff member short on Tuesday, so was able to give him an extra half day of work. If you are one of Geoff’s old Aussie farmers customers and haven’t tried a Micky Booth order yet, quote the coupon code GR20 at the checkout for $20 off your first order #gogeoff #freshhomedelivery #mickybooth

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My strawberry grower warned me late last week that due to the colder mornings, they’re not growing as quickly, so there will be a shortage of the larger ones this week. The trade off is that the smaller ones are cheaper, so that’s what I’ll be offering this week.

Thought it was about time that I put Brussells sprouts “back on the menu”. It seems that people either love’em or hate then, not a lot of in between. Also back in season is the locally grown baby parsnips, which taste great roasted.

Last week we started with the new season Pink Lady apples. Sometimes the first batch are not as crisp and crunchy as those that are picked a bit later. The Royal Gala are probably a better option, but if you are prepared to pay a bit extra, then it’s hard to go past the Jazz at the moment.

Geoff Update

Geoff had another successful Wednesday delivery last week, he will be delivering again as usual this Wednesday afternoon (Anzac Day). If you haven’t ordered from Micky Booth before, use the coupon code: GR20 at the checkout to save $20 off your first order. Check out our delivery zone here.

Thanks for your support, have a great week.

Cheers,

Michael

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