HARVEST
> Pick silverbeet regularly to encourage more leaves to develop. The large outer leaves can be bitter so use those for soups and stews. Silverbeet is a stalwart of the traditional Kiwi vege garden, deservedly so as it’s highly nutritious and easy to grow. But if your lot are not so keen, consider surreptitiously adding it to pizza, pies and lasagne.
> When preparing freshly picked broccoli, spinach and other green veges it can be easy to miss tiny snails and caterpillars. A good trick to ensure no creepy crawlies invade your dinner plate is to wash your greens in cold, salted water before cooking.
> It’s a shame to see citrus trees laden with unpicked fruit when so many people could benefit from that vitamin C. If you can’t eat all your grapefruit, mandarins and lemons, rather than let them go to waste, think about dropping some off to the local school, rest home, kindergarten or homeless shelter. Your neighbours might also appreciate some.