Majority of the garlic sold in Australia is imported from countries like China, Spain and Mexico, 1000’s of kilometres from ‘farm to plate’, impacting it’s freshness and quality. Not only that, all imported garlic is fumigated with a toxic and ozone depleting methyl bromide gas for quarantine purposes and also garlic often gets bleached.
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Cameron, an engineer turned full-time organic farmer is a dear friend of Miss Spelt’s and has been providing us with organic garlic varieties for the last 2 years. His garlic is grown on a small family-run farm in Badger Creek in the Yarra Valley. Production is focused on heirloom varieties with 8 cultivars under production, all of which are not available in supermarkets.
Our small farm is located in Badger Creek, Victoria. We have 20-acres of land that is in its infancy of development to function as a small-scale productive regenerative farm. We don’t currently have a name for the farm, that is work in progress.
Said Cameron with his usual humble smile on his face.
“I spent my childhood years on the land with a passion for horticulture and I have now traded in the professional career to become a full-time farmer. My wife’s career focuses on the natural health space and we both believe that local, nutritious and chemical-free produce forms a critical part of a healthy lifestyle. We are a young family with two girls in pre/primary school so we understand how important it is to provide our girls with the best nutrition there is. Also as the last few years have highlighted, food security and the local supply are also crucial for supporting a more resilient food system. ”
Cameron is inspired by the holism and interconnectedness of the biodynamic philosophy and with this as a guide, he is adopting regenerative and holistic farm management practices.
We believe in improving the biodiversity both above and below the ground and that this will improve the soil, which will ultimately result in stronger and more nutritious plants as well as a more resilient ecosystem. We are achieving this through use of on-site compositing, animal systems and inoculants such as worm juice and fermented kelp products.
Currently, all inputs for the farm are organic with no use of chemical fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides.
This enables Cam to produce premium, fresh and nutritious products that preferably have minimal distance from farm to plate.
Cam also added “We are currently producing local garlic which is available for purchase exclusively through Miss Spelts in Healesville. A number of new enterprises are planned for the farm over the coming years including pastured chicken eggs and seasonal fruit and vegetable produce. There are also plans to open an on-farm stall in the future to provide an additional avenue for sale and to build a closer relationship between customers and our farm. Whilst we are currently small, we believe that great things can grow from our farming venture and look forward to sharing more as things evolve.”
We wish Cameron & family all the very best with their future endeavours. We only hope to see a thriving organic farm with multiple successful enterprises supporting our local community with the best organic produce Yarra Valley has to offer. If you wish to support Cameron and give him your best wishes you can comment on this blog post and purchase organic garlic from the link below.
