Merry Cherry have their new 1L bottles of cherry juice for sale at the Market. Made from 100% premium hills cherries, the juice is pure and unfiltered, and contains no preservatives, water or sugar.

Both The Food Forest and Willabrand have figs.  Annemarie Brookman from the Food Forest has kindly provided this recipe for the figs she cooked in the Demo Kitchen last Sunday 27 February.

Look out for new seasons apples, available from Otherwood Orchards and Kalangadoo.  We are also excited about the pears at the Market available from McLaren Vale Orchards, Ashbourne Valley Orchards and the Food Forest.

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Hillside Herbs' nursery is located on Sand Road in McLaren Vale.  As well as their 300 varieties of herbs, Hillside also grow around 90 varieties of chillies.  We spoke to Ann and Lorraine from Hillside Herbs about these amazing plants.

"Chillies have a heat range of one to ten and ten plus, with ten being the hottest," said Ann. "There are a huge range of chillies out there due to their ability to cross-pollinate and cross-breed quickly, which leads to hybridisation," she said.

"We have a lot of varieties of chillies.  Let’s start with the milder ones like the Anaheims. They are a two or three heat rating and are good to roast and to use on antipasto plates as they are your larger chillies," said Lorraine.

In the medium-heat range (say a four to five out of ten), Hillside Herbs have the Hungarian Wax and Jalapeno varieties. These can be used to flavour dishes according to your personal preference and heat tolerance. They are also hoping to have some Cayenne chillies available for the Festival. This variety is rated five out of ten.

"We have a slightly hotter Caysan which is about a six and the Rainbow Thai which is about a seven, then we start getting up to the really hot ones, like the Habaneros which are a ten out of ten," said Lorraine. "As well as curries, the hotter ones are good for making sauces with," she said.

For the first time this year, buyers at the Market will be able to purchase a chilli called the ghost or Buht Jalokia, which Lorraine says is "the hottest chilli in the world".

"For the weekly prize on  March 27, we will have a nice big pot with seven different chillis in fruit. These pots will also be available for people to buy at the Market at our Hillside Herbs stall," said Lorraine.

Lorraine gave us some tips on how to care for chilli plants, saying that planting in the ground or a large pot as soon as possible will help a chilli plant bear more fruit. Hillside Herbs fertilise their chillies once a month using a seaweed extract root tonic which allows the plant to develop strong roots and take up nutrients, and they then add an organic liquid feed.

Lorraine said chillies love hot weather but need to be well-watered.
"The rule is that the hotter the season, the hotter the chilli," said Lorraine. "You might try a chilli at the beginning of the season and think it is quite mild but by the end of the season it may have doubled in hotness," she said.

Lorraine said most chilli plants are perennials but she had a tip for those who have a favourite chilli plant that wanted to keep producing.
"Collect the ripest chilli fruit, take out the seeds from the centre, dry them out and keep them in a nice airtight container," she said, "and then sow the seeds in late September or October for a crop the following summer".

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