A no till market garden has come through its first major weather experience relatively unscathed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The March flood event, that caused so much devastation on the Mid North Coast and dumped 250mm of rain over a week at Maitland, caused no disruption for the Good Growers - Harriet Bell and Jo Lynch.
Their market garden located at Lorn on the Hunter River floodplain remained productive with Jo saying they were able to get straight back among the vegetables the day after the deluge ceased.
We were like our neighbouring turf farms back to work the next day, planting and harvesting," he said.
The couple put their good fortune down to their no till farming methods. Without tillage the ground is less prone to water erosion, as the soil structure is left intact to allow for slow and steady water infiltration.
Growing mixed seasonal vegetables at the Lorn Rose Farm was the result of their search to become food producers that would provide not just an income but a lifestyle that was rewarding and challenging.
Jo grew up on a beef cattle property at Krambach near Taree before heading to Newcastle as he said he wasn't that interested at that time in a career in agriculture.
He and Harriet would eventually return to work on his family's farm and from there they started to seriously think about becoming farmers themselves.
An internship at pig farm in Victoria where the animals were pasture reared was their next move. The intensive production of a high quality product showed them what can be done on a smaller scale than traditional farming practices.
"The owners of the farm shared with us their financial results for seven years and we realised you could operate a great small farming business. This got us thinking about what we could do for ourselves," he said.
From there they would arrive at the Lorn Rose Farm where they manage the 900 roses and operate their quarter of an acre market garden alongside.
When they started they had a bare paddock, that was as hard as cement. Today it has been transformed. They started with an initial rotary hoe and then a deep rip, followed by an addition of 40 tonnes of compost from the Lake Macquarie FOGO facility and wood chips.
After the ground was worked/tilled it was covered with a tarp for a month to kill off the grasses and weeds.
All the compost and the inter-row wood chips were applied by wheelbarrows - lots of hard work.
But the process left the soil pretty weed free and perfect for growing vegetables.
So now, 12 months later, the bare paddock is a hive of activity producing a variety of vegetables.
"We have learnt so much, like which crops are better than others as far as production goes, what customers want and how to market the produce you grow," said Harriet.
Two crops they are not keen on trying again are brussel sprouts and eggplants.
"The brussel sprouts took nine months grow and were very disappointing and the eggplants produced nothing - so we will give them a miss for now," she said.
"Carrots, beetroot, radishes and salad greens, they grew well and found a ready market so they are big winners for us.
"Tomatoes have been great this season producing a crop for six months."
Whilst they fine tune which vegetables suit their market clientele and style of farming, the couple plan to continue with the no till approach, which at the moment involves top dressing their garden beds with compost after each crop finishes to continually suppress weeds and add further microbial activity to their soils.
Their produce is sold via their online website with weekly pickups at Maitland and fortnightly pickups at Newcastle. They also attend the weekly Maitland Growers Market on Sunday at Tenambit.
Looking ahead and planning for the future, the couple are now keen to expand their growing season through the use of a poly tunnel or greenhouse.