How we grow our produce

We grow our vegetables and fruits with care, patience and close attention to the land.

Below, we share the practical methods we use to protect soil health, manage weeds, and prevent pests and disease, without relying on chemical solutions.

Fertilisation

The farm had a great head start as it was used for decades as a grazing field.

Managing soil fertility is of outmost importance. We carry out regular soil analysis to understand the characteristics of our soil (pH, level of organic matter, phosphorus, potassium and other secondary nutrients). We preserve the soil structure and ecology by minimising soil inversion methods (use of ploughs and rotovators) and opting instead for a power harrow.

We use great quality compost from certified producers, employ crop rotation and grow green manure as “break crop” which is then incorporated into the soil.

Weed control

Our primary and most effective means of weed control is mulching, specifically we apply opaque polyethylene tarps to cover the soil and create conditions where weeds germinate and subsequently killed by the lack of sunlight.

We grow vegetables densely to reduce available space for weeds to grow and use garden tools and flame torches when needed.

Pest control

We use physical barriers such as nets and row covers to prevent unwanted insects and invertebrates coming into contact with our plants

Disease control

We focus on selecting vegetable/fruit varieties that are known for great disease resistance. In the unfortunate scenario that signs of disease are observed on plants during our daily inspections we remove the affected plants rather than apply any chemical solutions.

Where possible, we plan consecutive sowings to ensure that even if an entire bed is lost due to plants succumbing to a pest or a disease, a replacement will be coming soon.