ABOUT THE FARM

Clarence River Farm is nestled on the banks of the Clarence River in the beautiful Grafton hinterland, boasting ideal growing conditions for various fruits and vegetables. I originally chose the farm for its location, land and opportunities!

After having the soil tested and receiving recommendations from the lab, I started preparing the land and selecting my crops. In my case I also needed to decide whether I wanted my crops to have organic certification, a three-year process of no poisons or chemicals anywhere for anything. In my case, the soil is a sandy river loam, much depleted of its nutrients and humous by leaching. On the plus side it had not been under agriculture for at least twenty years under the previous owner thus no toxic herbicide had been used such as Roundup.

Given the soil analysis results and the agronomist’s advice, the next step was to buy the necessary equipment to prepare the soil. From here I bought a chisel plow to break up old, compacted soil and cut through the grass mat and roots, then a rotary hoe to chop it all up to begin forming the humous. In the case of Clarence River Farm, it needed Biochar (500kg/ha), Dolomite (2000 kg/ha), Gypsum (400 kg/ha), Organic Booster (pelletised chook manure) (2000 kg/ha), plus Endo Fight 3 in 1 (20l/ha). This last is a biological cocktail for promoting the growth of bacteria and the other microbiome of the soil. With the exception of the Endo Fight (Novum Lifesciences) all this can all be applied with a contractor’s spreader truck. A much better option that buying a spreader in the short term. The Endo Fight needs to be applied pre-emergent by either spraying or via a “fertigation” system. On CRF we have set up a fertigation system that is used for both fertilizing and irrigating the crop through hi-tech drip tapes, laid over the plantings and under the mulch.

ABOUT THE FARMER

Why does a retired accountant, ex bookshop owner and ex Sydney “bon vivant” start growing garlic on the Clarence River? Is it the beginnings of dementia, a form of insanity, or another adventure in life? 

I chose to think that it is the last of these.

One has choices and it is each of those “either/or” moments that sets the path for the foreseeable future. So, for me it was to live in Sydney, my home town, where I went to school and university, and so spend the foreseeable future in the social whirl, not achieving very much at all. That was the default position… until COVID.

At that point, March 2020, everything changed. The chances of catching the virus was extremely high, and at my age, the chances of surviving it ware extremely low. I had already been casually looking for a waterfrontage farm for some months and had a short list, so it was a great time to consider my options. After narrowing down my shortlist I contacted the agent which led me on the long drive to Grafton to check out the property, and instantly fell in love with the area, the land and the possibilities it could bring! From here I signed the contract and moved my life to the Northern Rivers. 

I have loved farm life ever since I can remember. My earliest recollections of my life as a child, were growing up on the family farm in Bowral, 45 acres of lush dairy country with an active dairy, an orchard, a vegetable garden, some sheep, pigs, chickens and horses. So a farm it was. My previous experience had been growing cattle and horses in Queensland in the 70’s. But 10 acres was too small for livestock, so I chose horticulture. After speaking with a local agronomist and getting the land tested I chose to kickstart the farm with garlic and ginger, both perfect for the land.