Pumpkins, prickly pears, persimmons, quinces and arborio rice are harvested alongside herbs from their Healing Garden to brew invigorating infusions... and of course, there’s the scent of sweetly spiced hot cross loaves wafting over from the farm bakery – just one of the tempting treats they create in anticipation of Easter weekend.
It’s pumpkin season at Babylonstoren
Babylonstoren is thrilled to host their inaugural Pumpkin Fun weekend from 1-3 March 2024, and it's bound to be a smashing occasion.
The pumpkin celebrations will kick off with an exciting pumpkin treasure hunt for the little ones on Friday, 1 March, discovering the bountiful pumpkin varieties grown in the garden. The celebrations will culminate on Sunday 3 March with pumpkin carving, pumpkin throwing, and pit-spitting competitions. A host of pumpkin-flavoured treats will be served. There will also be a giant cucurbits exhibition and pumpkin scarecrow photo moment set up in the garden.
Easter is hatching
Visit Babylonstoren this Easter to celebrate the season and start gathering some of your favourite things. They won't even hide the treats! The Farm Shop is filled with Easter delights such as chocolate eggs, praline-filled chocolate hens and hot cross loaves, baked fresh every morning.
Far away? Don’t fret! You can have your farm-style feast delivered in time for the holiday season. Dish up succulent lamb, a Dutch Baby filled with trout for breakfast and go all out with a baked Spiced Pumpkin Pavlova. This is the time to gather all your loved ones around the table. Hop in during the long weekend or order your favourites online, with free delivery nationwide.
Persimmons: a sweet autumn treat
The persimmons in the garden’s Delft block are a beautiful autumn sight as they ripen to a deep orange between the leaves, then slowly transform to copper red. Babylonstoren has five non-astringent Japanese varieties of Diospyros kaki: Suruga, Izu, MW Fuyu, NZ Fuyu and Jiro. Known for their sweet, honey-like flavour, these heart-shaped fruits are delicious and packed with vitamins.
Viciously delicious prickly pears
Babylonstoren’s prickly pears are flourishing and bearing their viciously delicious, multicoloured fruit – ranging from green and yellow to orange and red. The gardeners recently replanted the adored prickly pear maze, one of the favourite Instagrammable spots in the garden. Single-leaf cuttings were used to rejuvenate the maze and the vigorous growth of these cacti is quite remarkable. Regular visitors will be able to track their progress with each return and in only a few years stand in their shade again.
Quinces: golden treasures
Dotted in the hedges around Babylonstoren’s vegetable garden beds are golden-orbed quinces, waiting to be harvested and transformed into delicious autumnal treats. These are some of the oldest fruits in the Cape – hardy growers that provide a constant structure by edging the vegetable crops.
Rice rice baby
To successfully cultivate rice – a marsh plant – Babylonstoren’s gardeners transformed a farm dam into a paddy where it can receive plenty of water and grow under ideal conditions. They grow carnaroli, an Italian variety known as the “king of rice”. Thanks to its short grain and high starch content, it makes the creamiest, most delicious risotto for their farm-to-fork restaurants.
To book a spot at Babel Restaurant, click HERE.
Workshops in March
- 1 March – Pampoenpret
- 2 March – Pumpkin Fun
- 6 March – Basic propagation: Grow your own plants from scratch
- 7 March – Pasta from scratch with heirloom tomatoes
- 13 March – Cure your curiosity for charcuterie
- 14 March – Boland classic: Learn to make traditional 'moskonfyt'
- 20 March – Master meat alongside our head butcher
- 26 March – Young artists: Drawing inspiration from the garden
- 27 March – Explore a bug’s life (workshop for kids; 4 - 7 years)
- 27 March – Explore a bug’s life (workshop for kids; 8 - 12 years)
To book your spot at one of our workshops, click HERE.