Rod kindly agreed to let me visit his family farm a few weeks ago when I was in Blampied. I had texted him excitedly saying that I had done a bike ride from my new house in Eganstown to his family property 6km away, a test ride to see if I could purchase my weekly vegetables from him using my bike. I wanted to come and visit the farm, to see it, learn from it and to get to know my new neighbours. The bike ride had gone well so I was really, really euphoric to confirm that my eventual move to the country would not mean the end of my bike riding days. To have an organic vegetable farm only a short distance away from us was a dream come true. When I arrived at Captains Creek I could hear Rod working with his tractor in a nearby paddock. As I tried to work out how to get to him, Graham, his right hand man came driving in with a small white van filled with what looked like WWOOFers or local workers. Graham kindly offered to let me join them as he and the others were preparing themselves to harvest vegetables for the weekly vegie box run. Perfect I thought, just what i had hoped for. The little van ride to the vegetable paddocks with the others reminded me of my WWOOFing days. I was taken straight back in time to a property in the Bega Valley I had visited in my twenties called Cowsnest, where a team of us  from all over Australia and overseas, worked together amid a very beautiful and very productive property. I was all smiles that morning, all excitement. When I met up with Rod, I joined him as he checked his irrigation system, his apple orchards and showed me one of his propagation houses. I asked a few questions about soil, and water management and wanted to ask sooooo much more before my parenting duties whisked me off back home. I hope to visit again soon and to document a little more.

On the way to collecting vegetables for the weekly vegie boxes at Captains Creek.

A beautiful view, of rows of vegetables.

Cavolo nero: Black kale or a a similar variety.

Above soil sprinkler used here while in other paddocks an on ground dripper system is used.

Squash.

Trees inter-planted among vegetable paddocks.

Chestnuts in their prickly housing.

Graham on the look out for the next vegetable to harvest.

Potato rows.

The little white van.

The apple orchard.

They were delicious.

Reaching and stretching while gardening always makes me think of Peter Cundall’s comment about there being no need for yoga if you are a food grower.

Propagation house.

Rod overseas the onion sorting.

The very best gift.