As above so below, only more so
As above so below…only more so About a dozen years ago on a two week intensive soils course in Lismore NSW, Dr Elaine Ingham revealed to a roomful of farmers that in the top few inches of a hectare of healthy soil there existed an interdependent web of nutrient-cycling bacteria, fungi, nematodes, flagellates, protozoa, mites […]
Fresh pistachios – a rare treat indeed
Fresh pistachios – a rare treat indeed Shane O’Dea remembers that when they first started growing pistachios people said Wahring was too far South and the trees wouldn’t bear. But Jenny, Shane’s sister, did her research and discovered during the 1970’s the CSIRO trialled pistachios about 80kms from the O’Dea’s farm, confirming they were viable […]
No time not to use the regular plates / Farm seeks a farmer
No time not to use the regular plates On Friday I went with my sons and several thousand other Victorian children to the steps of the Treasury Museum for the Students Strike For Climate Change. From a respectful (non-embarrassing) distance it was thrilling to watch the crowd of young faces welcoming waves of […]
Jillian Staton's year of the farmer. No box left behind – week two.
This week I got hold of a copy of Love, Sweat and Passion (warning: interesting results when Googling), Jillian Staton’s book was written over a year as she followed the fortunes of seven South Gippsland farming families producing olives, eggs, milk, cheese, wine, venison, lamb and beef. The story starts in Spring 2015 which I […]
Vote One: She'll be apples. New Food Host in town.
Apples are back in season. Over the weekend I was talking to Jason from Hazeldean Forest Farm about the faith involved planting an apple orchard. It takes around five years before a new planting starts to pay back and often the planting doesn’t work out first time. Jason reckons over the last 30 years he […]
This week in mud. Heel and toe, dosey doe.
There’s always a lot of imagery, a lot of Spring imagery, floating about this time of year – there’s the honey eaters darting among the wattle flowers, the bees on the apricot blossoms, there’s lambs frolicking through daffodils and in the city we are skipping to trains and buses and trams singing optimistic show tunes we remember from our parent’s record collections. And […]
