OUR GROWING TECHNIQUES
We pride ourselves on our determination to grow the healthiest trees possible.
Some of Our Innovative Methods
It is all in the growing.
Our aim is for naturally grown, nutrient dense, health giving, great tasting fruit.
We grow without the need for fungicide and insecticide cover sprays. Insect and fungal problems are controlled by maintaining tree health instead of sprays.
As leaders in the adoption of Industry Best Practice Regenerative and Biological growing methods, we use the natural biology we create in the soil to feed the trees and maintain their health.
The main ways we are doing this include:
Composting
We design and produce our own compost to complement our soil requirements. We do not rely on fast acting, artificial water soluble fertilisers. Our composts take many months to produce, before they are in the best possible state to apply to our soils. These composts contain a plethora of nutrients and the beneficial soil biology to supply nutrient to the trees, as and when they require it.
Anaerobic Fertiliser Production
As well as the compost, we produce our own plant friendly mineral and biology mixes for use as foliar sprays or are applied into the soil through the irrigation.
Our best success has come from using a technology brought to Australia from South America by RegenAG. This technology uses biology from the natural environment to transform minerals, in an anaerobic fermentation process, into a highly effective plant friendly form. This biology can either come from the rumen or manure of ruminant animals such as cattle, or from native microbes that we collect and breed up from the natural bushland around the orchard.
These anaerobic fertilisers are made on farm and have a huge number of different minerals, all required by the plants, in an easily plant accessible amino acid chelated form.
Native Microbes & Carbon Storage
Also, on farm, we use the native microbes to extract the polyphenols, anti-oxidants and other health giving properties from the plums, and other plant products, to spray back onto the trees. This gives the trees a big burst so they then produce more of these health giving properties making the fruit even better for everyone.
Another part of the process involves the production of lots of beneficial bacteria and fungi to do jobs, such as helping the plant roots with the transformation of atmospheric nitrogen into plant available nitrogen, or making phosphorous available, suppress disease, or break down organic matter into plant available nutrients.
This work, and these processes are having a very positive effect on our soil and the fruit we produce. The soil carbon levels have doubled over that last eight years and the fruit is much more nutrient dense.