Patchwork Jungle is an integrated mix of resource conscious products including In Season Vegetables, Herb Seedlings, Spring Vegetable Seedlings, Fairy Floss, Snow Cones, Soft Serve Ice Cream Hot fruit pies, Jams, Cordials, Cakes and Slices. Our patch, set on 3 acres, is a family business encompassing a Market Garden, Commercial Kitchen, Herb and Seedling Nursery, Orchard, and Berry Patch, and now
a cafe offering tea & coffee, a range of cakes and slice and light meals on the Jung Market Saturdays. This integrated mix of business activities is based on a foundation of resource consciousness with chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, turkeys and goats having their own part in the process. By covering a full range of vegetables, rather than a monoculture, we will have seasonal vegetables year round. Using the resource conscious title as a guideline, we have incorporated animals into our business to recycle weeds and plant excess onsite. We collect rainwater and also utilise the town supply for most vegetable production. Using these guidelines we also recycle most of our household and business waste, which we feel is more globally environmentally beneficial, but impedes organic certification. Our produce is priced to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to have fresh and tasty fruit and veg. We strive to offer only high quality produce without using chemical pesticides or herbicides. The expansion to provide seasonal vegetable seedlings offers people the chance to experience the pleasure of growing their own produce. At key times of the year we have vegetable seedlings and seed available. The peak time being the spring/summer crop. This includes tomatoes, capsicums, eggplant and cucurbits such as pumpkins, melons and zucchinis. We feel we offer several important benefits to customers in this area. Primarily as we only sell seedlings of plants we regularly grow ourselves for harvest, we have in-depth knowledge of these varieties. By both being qualified Horticulturalists, we can supply a high level of technical assistance and specific advice. Feedback provided to us by regular customers has been excellent, and as we have been selling seedlings for the past 12 years our repeat customers see our proven record. Diversification to herbs now leads us to offering over 250 varieties of potted herb seedling and a large number as fresh bunches. Our Horticultural knowledge also helps in this sector. Our main focus on herbs is to offer a full range at excellent value for money. Limited availability of herbs this side of Melbourne has led to a large number of requests for us to attend regular regional markets and events. We are now developing mail order supply. Vertical integration for the market garden led to a registered kitchen, allowing for sales of cut herbs and packaged vegetables. Through this we now also offer self pick for fresh berries in season and a range of jams from our own fruit harvest. In our kitchen we now create a range of cakes and slices to entice the taste buds. From traditional favourites of lemon slice and choc balls to a creamy cheesecake, healthy carrot and walnut cake and a decadent lemon marshmallow slice. Easter and Christmas specialties are also catered for. To provide a destination for our customers we brought in two old school portable buildings to keep in the school style as a cafe. Our range changes regularly, so make sure you check in to see what we have to offer. Then, just for pure indulgence, we have 6 flavours of fairy floss we make fresh for the markets. Strawberry flavour is made fresh on a stick at a number of regular and farmers markets in Western Victoria.
