Introducing Salt Gang – the culinary dream we’ve been obsessed with for over a year now! Inspired by the culinary traditions of China and Japan, Salt Gang makes small batch condiments, ferments, and foraged foods with beautiful Adelaide Hills produce. Read on to hear their unique story and immerse yourself in the passion and heart that goes into each of their products.

Name of your business?
Salt Gang

How long have you been trading at AHFM?
Over one year!

What do you appreciate about farmer’s markets?
We love farmer’s markets for the connection to our food and to our producers. To be able to directly talk to a farmer or artisan about their work is a delight.

There’s a sense of pride and thankfulness that thrives in markets, a sense of community and continuity. At the farmer’s market there is dynamism and seasonality, money within local hands– at the supermarket there’s cold storage offerings on the shelves doing little to stir the imagination, and at the till they’ll ask you to donate to their foundation to offset their tax. Market produce is fresher, tastier, and produced with more care, and offers more to the human spirit.

What does the farmer’s market offer your business?
We find the the market is our best opportunity to chat to our customers. It is extremely gratifying to know how people are using and loving our products, sharing them with friends and family, new ideas for using them. It’s our connection point with them, a way to build community and also a source of deep satisfaction. We love food and talking to people about their cooking, and the farmer’s market is an amazing way of getting our product out there.

How do you prepare your products for market?
Most of our days involve making a batch of something for Salt Gang, or shopping for ingredients, and every day involves the tending of ferments. We shop at the Central Markets for our bulk spices and some special ingredients like young ginger, and for our veggies we shop seasonally from Hills and Riverland growers, farmgate stalls, market gardeners, and also forage some wild ingredients.

We make everything at home in Balhannah, and really enjoy spending our time together cooking and talking up new ideas.

What message would you like to give to the Adelaide Hills community about our market?
You can do the vast majority of your weekly food shop at the market and eat deliciously!

We are so lucky to have magnificent veg, the best pastured chicken in a generous variety of cuts, beautiful bread, tasty fresh meals for an easy dinner…if you do a big shop at the market you’ll be set up with seasonal, nutrient dense, satisfying food.

🌼 Meet the Producer: Geoff from Gooseberry Hill Flowers 🌼

Introducing the face behind the vibrant bouquets and fresh blooms that light up your homes! In this edition of “Know the Producer on Your Plate,” we sat down with Geoff from Gooseberry Hill Farm – the artistic hands behind the floral magic. You’ll find Gooseberry Hill Farm at the Adelaide Hills Farmers Market every Saturday from 8:30am – 12:30pm and can pre-order your fresh flowers by phoning Geoff on 0414 950 645 or email geoff@gooseberryhill.net by Friday 9am.

Why did you become a market stall holder?
We’re Gooseberry Hill Farm, known for our enchanting flowers. While you won’t find us on your plate, our blossoms can certainly brighten your day or someone else’s.

How long have you been trading at AHFM?
We’ve been proudly part of the Adelaide Hills Farmers Market since its very beginning.

What do you appreciate about farmer’s markets?
Farmer’s markets offer us a direct connection to both our customers and fellow producers. We love the chance to share and receive feedback, as well as discover new products we can offer based on your suggestions.

What does the farmer’s market offer your business?
It’s all about connecting directly with you! The market lets us showcase our beautiful blooms and spread the word about our products, thanks to wonderful customers like you who share us with their friends.

How do you prepare your products for market?
Our commitment to sustainability and quality shines through in every bouquet. Our flowers are spray-free, and we even introduce natural predators to tackle any insect issues. We use mushroom compost for fertilization, employ locals for weed control, and nurture our seedlings with heritage, untreated seeds. Frogs play their part in our ecosystem for insect control, even though they might get a bit lazy sometimes!

What message would you like to give to the Adelaide Hills community about our market?
Join us at the Adelaide Hills Farmers Market and experience the difference. Our flowers last longer and our rugged seedlings bloom into robust plants. We’re proud to offer heritage and non-chemical seeds from Eden Seeds, alongside select organic options.

Come visit us and let our vibrant blooms add a touch of nature’s beauty to your life. Together, we’re cultivating something special at the Adelaide Hills Farmers Market. 🌻🍃 

Discover the stories behind the producers at the Adelaide Hills Farmers Market and delve into the world of local food with our series, ‘Know the Producer on Your Plate.’

This month, we proudly present Bald Hills Olive Grove, a business that has been an integral part of AHFM since its inception in 2009. Let’s uncover their journey and the passion they bring to your plate.

Name of your business:
Bald Hills Olive Grove

How long have you been trading at AHFM?
From its beginning in 2009 (I think). We harvested enough fruit for 1000+ litres of oil and panicked! What can we do with it all? It was more than enough for family and friends.

What do you appreciate about farmer’s markets?
Opportunity to share our produce directly with our customers. Their interest in quality healthy food. The flexibility in attending. Links with other producers. The opportunity to learn, create and build business processes.

What does the farmer’s market offer your business?
Immediate connection with customers. The opportunity to trial new/ different products. Exposure to those seeking local and quality goods, who may then buy for their café/ restaurant.

How do you prepare your products for market?
We grow olives and link with other growers. The olives are processed off site. We package e.g. bottle the oil and olives, create marinades and condiments using local and SA products where ever possible. They are then labelled ready for market. The pulses enable us to support green protein – rejuvenating the KI farm soils as well as our guts.

We also reuse flagons to help reduce waste, although it is time consuming to de-label, clean and sterilise them. It is great to share similar values with the customers in the market ethos. We employ locally and use SA businesses for our supplies.

What message would you like to give to the Adelaide Hills community about our market?
It’s friendly, informative and provides food that is good for you, your family and the community – building self reliance.

Welcome to another edition of our series, Know the Producer on Your Plate, where we dive deep into the stories and philosophies of the amazing vendors at the Adelaide Hills Farmers Market.

In this installment, we had the privilege of chatting with DJ’s Citrus, who have been growing citrus for over 6 decades!

Here’s what they had to say about it.

Name of your business:
DJS Garden Fresh Citrus

How long have you been trading at AHFM?
Our DJS Garden Fresh Citrus stall has been a part of AHFM since day 1 on Saturday 12th December 2009. It is over 12 years ago that we set up along with 43 other stallholders in the carpark of the Mount Barker TAFE for our very first farmer’s market.

What do you appreciate about farmer’s markets?
As we are passionate about producing high quality, very flavoursome and juicy citrus fruit on our 60-year old orchard; we find that its at farmer’s markets where the caring customers are looking for and appreciate the quality of our freshly picked fruit.

Also, the friendly atmosphere of farmer’s markets makes for a delightful, enjoyable environment for marketing our citrus produce.

What does the farmer’s market offer your business?
As the farm of DJS Garden Fresh Citrus is quite small, the farmer’s market provides an economical outlet for the marketing of our citrus.

In 1962, our citrus property was planted at Greenways, Nildottie in the Murraylands of South Australia by Joy’s parents as a small local interest venture alongside their wheat/sheep farm. We found that the yield from our orchard (about 1000 trees) was too small to get a sufficient return from the regional bulk fruit packing sheds and be able to cover costs of maintaining the orchard and living expenses.

Therefore in 2009, we began packaging some of our fruit here on the farm and selling it direct to the customers of the farmer’s market. The market has given us the opportunity to trade as part of a community, which has allowed our stall to build a loyal customer base that provides a regular income.

How do you prepare your products for market?
The continual maintenance and irrigation of the orchard is all attended to by dedicated members of our family. Each year the property is fertilised with organic composted poultry manure and multiple applications of tree nutrients directly to the leaf foliage or through the drip irrigation system.

Many hours each week are spent picking, hand sorting and bagging the fruit right here on the farm to be able to supply the produce as fresh as possible to the market. As we bag our own fruit we are able to reuse our packaging recovered at the market or returned by customers.

Our hand-made fresh juice, citrus inspired baking, jams, marmalades and sauces are all prepared with special attention to food hygiene practices with particular consideration for our gluten free products. We encourage customers to be environmentally aware and we have authority from the Mid-Murray Council for the return of all glass jars and glass bottles purchased at our stall for sterilisation and reuse.

What message would you like to give to the Adelaide Hills community about our market?
The AHFM offers a wonderful, friendly food shopping experience to everyone living in the Adelaide Hills. Our committed stallholders offer a great selection of best in class fresh produce, while providing the added bonus of allowing the customer to meet the grower/producer and chat about their food choices.