Adsum Farmhouse
BY RICHARD CORNISH
Musque de Provence, reminiscent of a fairy tale pumpkin, is a heritage French variety and has a beautiful flavour.
On a bend in the road, in the historic village of Glenlyon, is a little block of land that is one of the most productive in the region. Adsum Farmhouse is a 3 acre block on which stands Edward and Fiona Benedict’s 1880s family home, a greenhouse, a pickling kitchen, storage shed and row and rows of rich deep soil. In this they grow their vegetables using organic practices, eschewing fertiliser for compost and pesticide for natural pest control. It is also where some of the most delicious vegetables in the district are grown. Over summer and autumn, we were thrilled to have daily deliveries of leafy green and colourful carrots and the most wonderfully beautiful and tasty French variety of pumpkin called Musque de Provence.
Glenlyon, like Daylesford, is cold climate farming, and in late summer the winter crop goes into the ground and Edward and Fiona tend to their cabbages and other brassicas until the season ends mid-winter. However, they are a resourceful couple and have become known for their preserved vegetables. Over summer, they harvest small cucumbers and jalapeno peppers, and carefully prepare and pickle them for sale over ‘the hungry months’ when nothing is being harvested from the garden. They are beautifully presented pickles, so full of flavour, the taste of the summer safely captured and stored under glass.
During growing season, you will find Edward at the Daylesford Sunday Farmers Market but you can find all of their seasonal produce including their incredible pickles every day at Blake Family Grocers.
Fiona and Edward Benedict, Adsum Farmhouse, Glenlyon
Edward harvesting daily produce.
Known for their mid strength kick of heat, jalapeño peppers (or chillies) are fantastic to cook with. And Adsum Farmhouse are producing some of the best in the country.
RECIPES
