Producer in Focus – Homeleigh Grove

For those of you who have been visiting the Market since we first began in 2003, you may well remember the friendly faces of Homeleigh Grove from the past 18 years.

Homeleigh Grove is one of our original stallholders, and their almost two decades of Market attendance is a testament to their dedication to providing high quality olive products to the Canberra region.

Homeleigh Grove is located on the ACT/NSW border near Hall a few kilometres north of Canberra. They are a small grove with about 2,000 trees and they produce a wide range of olive products.

One of their products has been creating a buzz at the Market in recent months. In October 2021, their Family Harvest Olive Oil was awarded a silver medal at the Australian International Olive Awards, and Homeleigh Grove were crowned as the ACT Region Champion.

The reason the oil was called ‘Family Harvest’ was that after the harvesting contractor went home there were still about 100 trees he had not picked, so all the extended family – children, grandchildren, cousins, and even their children all pitched in and picked those trees… and of course it made the best oil in the region!

Homeleigh Grove’s vision is building a sustainable grove with minimum irrigation and the use of only organically recognised fertilisers and pesticides.

Most of their olive trees are designated for oil production, but about 150 trees were specifically planted for pickling. These include Manzanilla, Azapa, Sevillano, Koroneiki, Benito and Verdale, and more recently Bouroni, Hardy’s Mammonth, Volos, and Kalamata.

Their table olives are always carefully hand-picked to avoid bruising. Some of the other oil products offered include:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oils,
• Infused Olive Oils,
• Table Olives (including marinaded and dried olives),
• Tapenades and olive pastes,
• Dukkah (including traditional Dukkah and Bush Dukkah),
• Olive Leaf Tea,
• Olive Trees,
• Seasonal Fresh Olives, and
• Vinaigrettes (dressings).