Autumn is a fantastic time for local growers to harvest some of their expertly grown produce and offer it to the local community.

Buying your produce while it’s in season guarantees freshness and a bountiful supply. It’s also a great way to cut down on food waste and helps the environment because all the produce is grown locally. And it tends to be better value for money, too.

What’s available in autumn around Mount Gambier and the Limestone Coast?

Autumn provides a bountiful harvest of local produce in both fresh fruit and vegetables. Seasonal fruits include apples, blackberries, figs, grapes, citrus fruits, including limes, mandarins and valencia oranges, and different melons, such as watermelon, rockmelon, and honeydew melon.

You have even more options when it comes to vegetables. Seasonal varieties available in autumn include beetroot, broccoli, Asian greens, brussels sprouts, cabbage, capsicum, cauliflower, eggplant, kale and pumpkins.

You can download a full list of seasonal produce available in South Australia here.

Where can you buy fresh local produce around Mount Gambier?

There are two farmers markets around Mount Gambier where you can pick up a delectable array of fresh, locally grown produce.

Mount Gambier Farmers Market is in Cave Gardens and runs every Saturday morning from  9 am until 12 noon.

All produce offered for sale at this country market is grown within 200 kms of Mount Gambier. Some of the popular stall holders include Glenlonny beef with a supply of organic apples, and Amblemead Produce, who grow heirloom seasonal vegetables.

Limestone Coast Food Group Farmers’ Markets is held at the foreshore in Robe on Sunday mornings.

The Limestone Coast Food Group has around 100 enthusiastic members who are passionate about their food businesses. All the produce that you will find at this market has been grown, produced or fabricated by the stall holders themselves. This is a great way to support local buyers and do your weekly shop at the same time.

She’s Apples Market at 7 Compton St, Mount Gambier is a popular fruit and vegetable store that has been in operation since 1989. In addition to a huge range of fresh fruit and vegetables, they also stock eggs, nuts, cheeses, dried fruits, yogurt and pasta.

Get cooking in Mount Gambier

Once you’ve got your ingredients home, you’ll want to know what to do with them. The City of Mount Gambier has put together an excellent recipe finder website called Foodwise that focuses on reducing food waste and using what you have at home to create simple and delicious meals. With their recipe finder, you just select the ingredients that you have on hand and then find recipes to suit. You can also select vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free recipes.

The Taste website also has a huge selection of 50 autumn recipes that you can try.

For those who prefer to cook from a physical recipe book, here’s a selection of cookbooks that have been released recently:

• Brave New Meal featuring original vegan recipes.
• A Year of Sundays by Belinda Jeffery who runs a cooking school on the far north coast of NSW.
• Woodstock: Farm, Food and Family by Jennifer Congdon, who lives on a family farm in the southern riverina in NSW. You’ll find some lovely traditional recipes in this book.

If you visit the Collins bookshop in Mount Gambier, you’re sure to find a wide range of interesting cookbooks that will whet your appetite to get busy in the kitchen.

Do you have a favourite fresh produce farm shop or market? Perhaps you have an autumn recipe that uses some of the ingredients available at this time of the year. Feel free to share with us – we’d love to hear from you.