Changes at the Farm Gate

Many of you have made our farm gate a part of your routine, and we're incredibly grateful for your support. When we started the farm, one of the most important things to us was having a farm gate shop so that we could sell directly to customers, to supply vegetables that are freshly picked, with zero supply chain, at farm prices - something that is impossible to get unless you grow your own food. We've fed so many people this way over the last six years, and made many friends along the way. Some people we see every week, some once a year, but all have been appreciated.

But it's time for us to change things up a bit. As much as we love welcoming folks to the farm every Saturday, we need to create more of a work-life balance for ourselves, and focus on parts of the business that are more reliable.

So here's the plan:

• ONLINE ORDERS WILL CONTINUE - nothing will change with order pick ups, in fact the online shop will probably become more versatile, as we'll be able to list single veggie items, not just mixed boxes, and probably bring back home delivery as well.  

• We'll only be open for browsing on select Saturdays throughout the year (such as long weekends). We'll be open as usual until mid-March, then we'll be open again at Easter. But don't worry, we'll let you know when we're going to be open!

• We'll continue to supply the local grocers and restaurants that we do now.

We've put a great deal of thought into this decision, and thankfully everyone we've talked to about it has been very understanding. For many of you we think this will be no big deal as you're already using the ordering system anyway. Ordering offers more reliability for you in terms of knowing exactly what you can get from us; it gives you more flexibility for when you collect your order; and it's a very sustainable way for us to sell our produce, as there is no waste.

Thanks for reading and we look forward to continuing to fill your orders throughout the week. 

Cheers,

Anna & Chris 

Revegetation Update

Our biggest project yet is underway!

Ever since we moved to the farm, one of our major ongoing goals has been to revegetate large chunks of it. For shelter and food for wildlife, shade for our livestock, windbreak, and overall health of the land and waterways. It’s a difficult undertaking though - reveg projects aren’t cheap! We’ve grown and planted hundreds of trees over the years ourselves, but there’s only so many we can manage at one time.

So we’re incredibly excited to be collaborating with Tarwin Landcare Group, who have received funding towards their “We Love the Tarwin” project, to help turn the escarpment on our property into native habitat. This will be stage one of a larger project to create a wildlife corridor that connects the escarpment to the Tarwin River. We hope that this will eventually lead to improvements in the waterways that connect with the river, and keep some wildlife away from the dangers of the road.

It’s no simple project - it requires exclusion fencing to keep livestock off the site (shout out to Carmody Fencing); weed management so the trees don’t get overwhelmed; and of course a massive planting effort that will take place in May this year (all on a hillside no less!). The total planting area is nearly 12 acres. But we are ready for the challenge.

Given that the hillside is visible from the road out of Tarwin Lower, another plus is that everyone will be able to watch the progress of the vegetation growth into the future.

This project also wouldn’t be possible without the volunteers at Wonthaggi Seed Bank who are growing all of the tubestock.