Mr Breiner has lemons, limes, mandarins and oranges growing in his mixed orchard and said a crop would be ready to harvest on Wednesday, ahead of the monthly market.

The optimistic farmer experienced the city’s newest produce market in the new-look Maitland mall in May and was overwhelmed with the interest in his fruit and vegetables.

He hopes his citrus varieties will entice new buyers to come along and thinks it will complement the strong range of seasonal vegetables on offer.

“You can’t beat fresh fruit, it may taste similar to the fruit that’s been in cold storage, but fruit that’s just been picked tastes a lot fresher,” he said.

The Breiner farm has 90 trees in its orchard and an ever-expanding patch of vegetables including grammar pumpkins, kale and silverbeet. 

He already has two acres of vegetables and plans to double the area as soon as he can. 

“I wanted to restore it to its former glory, when I bought the property it was in a desolate state,” he said. 

“When I’m finished it will have been restored to its original capacity as a farm. 

“I do a bit on the farm every day, I like growing things.”

Mr Breiner was raised on a farm and spent 20 years of his life there before leaving the land to pursue a range of careers.

Now semi-retired, Mr Breiner puts most of his spare time into converting his property into a highly-productive fruit and vegetable farm. 

“I think about what the Lower Hunter used to be like – it was one of the most productive regions in the state and now it’s covered with hobby farmers and turf farmers,” he said.

“That is very sad, we used to be such a high producing region.”

Thursday’s market, which will be held outside Millers between 8am and 12 noon, will offer broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, cabbages, salad greens, snow peas and a range of herbs. 

There will also be pumpkins, kale and silverbeet. 

All of the produce has been grown in the Maitland area.

Slow Food Hunter Valley leader Amorelle Dempster urged shoppers to come along and support local farmers.

Shoppers need to bring their own bags to transport their food.