Spring -- it's the season to get the garden ready for planting. Towards that end, Brian gets out the 'big guns' -- the rototiller and big Ford tractor. Having the right machinery certainly makes the job easier, and since our organic garden is over an acre in size, we need all the help we can get!
Before the whole garden gets worked up, there's some produce to be harvested. Parsnips are best when left in the ground over winter. Harvest them in the spring, and they are as sweet as candy, absolutely delicious!
Mind you, we didn't quite bargain on the size of them... This single parsnip could probably feed a small African country... You'll never see these in a grocery store, where our produce is expected to come wrapped in plastic and all exactly the same. On the other hand, you'll never taste anything sweeter than these big oddly shaped parsnips either. One summer Carol had some children on a tour in the garden -- they weren't able to identify even a carrot, and when they learned that carrots grew in the ground (as opposed to on a Carrot Tree) they got all upset -- after all, one is never to eat anything that has been on (or in?) the ground. It is a sad commentary really on how far away from the real world we are travelling.
Here at Bondi we still believe it is important to get your hands into the soil, to know where your food comes from, and what goes into its production. Brian found the parsnip that in the dictionary is the picture that defines a "tap root." That's also an educational thing! Our guests very much enjoy the chance to buy super fresh produce from our garden in season, and organic eggs from our chickens.
Once the parsnips were harvested (and yes, we did make an entire meal out of them -- incredibly delicious!!!) then the vintage Cub tractor came out, complete with the same drag on the back that has marked out our garden rows at Bondi since that tractor arrived in the early 1950's. That's because, when something is perfect, there's just no reason to mess with it.
Spring -- it's the season to get the garden ready for planting. Towards that end, Brian gets out the 'big guns' -- the rototiller and big Ford tractor. Having the right machinery certainly makes the job easier, and since our organic garden is over an acre in size, we need all the help we can get!
Before the whole garden gets worked up, there's some produce to be harvested. Parsnips are best when left in the ground over winter. Harvest them in the spring, and they are as sweet as candy, absolutely delicious! 
Mind you, we didn't quite bargain on the size of them... This single parsnip could probably feed a small African country... You'll never see these in a grocery store, where our produce is expected to come wrapped in plastic and all exactly the same. On the other hand, you'll never taste anything sweeter than these big oddly shaped parsnips either. One summer Carol had some children on a tour in the garden -- they weren't able to identify even a carrot, and when they learned that carrots grew in the ground (as opposed to on a Carrot Tree) they got all upset -- after all, one is never to eat anything that has been on (or in?) the ground. It is a sad commentary really on how far away from the real world we are travelling.
Here at Bondi we still believe it is important to get your hands into the soil, to know where your food comes from, and what goes into its production. Brian found the parsnip that in the dictionary is the picture that defines a "tap root." That's also an educational thing! Our guests very much enjoy the chance to buy super fresh produce from our garden in season, and organic eggs from our chickens.
Once the parsnips were harvested (and yes, we did make an entire meal out of them -- incredibly delicious!!!) then the vintage Cub tractor came out, complete with the same drag on the back that has marked out our garden rows at Bondi since that tractor arrived in the early 1950's. That's because, when something is perfect, there's just no reason to mess with it.
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