Recent Blog Post

Jul 7, 2007

Seed Saving

Saving seed and using open pollenating plants is an aspect of organic growing.
Read Phillip Richards's Blog

I am a teacher and am passionate about organic gardening and farming. I believe in using permaculture principles of sustainability through design where possible and appropriate.

With my family, I moved onto a 100-acre block of gray, sandy, exhausted soil in the middle of Queensland. There was a good reason for choosing this block – it was cheap and almost worthless and covered with a dense wattle regrowth. Here we built a straw bale house and became almost self-sufficient.

We used only organic principles on this farm which we developed to see whether organic farming could pay. It did, but not a fortune.

In preparation for this adventure, I studied rural subjects at a Technical College.

Our farm Scrubby Bend became certified with the Biological Farmers of Australia and as crops came in, we started selling certified organic products though an agent in the Brisbane markets. We grew and sold a range of fruit and vegetables including chilies, patty-pan squash, pumpkin, lemons and peppers and zucchini.

We are now on a smaller place but still grow all our own fruit and vegetables