Visit Sandfly Jennie and Russell 2024

 Visit Sandfly Jennie and Russell 2024

The December visit of the Food Garden group to Jennie and Russell in Sandfly was one for the self-sufficiency enthusiasts! What a lot of inspiration and delight we all got from this charming and very productive garden.

'Enkidu' is the name of the 40 acre farm where Jennie and Russell have been producing food for the past 40 years. Their house and garden are situated in a little valley at about 280 metres above sea level. The Cooke Rivulet runs through their property and after some juicy overnight rain it was burbling merrily as we arrived. 

The paddocks looked very lush with buttercups flowering close to the Rivulet and happy Dorper sheep grazing in the distance. These paddocks are protected from native animals by wallaby proof fencing. The steeper parts of the property have been re-vegetated in patches over the years. They are protected under the Land for Wildlife scheme and support a variety of native species.

A small herd of Murray Grey cattle graze in these paddocks as well. Both the sheep and the cattle are for ethically raised meat production. Unfortunately, in recent times, this very commendable practice has been made almost impossible by large industry players like JBS, who have bought up local abattoirs and butchers Australia-wide and have closed these down to maintain their market monopoly. This leaves the mobile butcher as the only option for small ethical producers, and he is often booked out 12 months in advance. You can find out more about the situation in the meat industry in this ABC article.

The stable and milking shed nearer the house is home to chickens and a Jersey cow. They graze in the paddocks during the day.

Here is Jennie and Russell (in the striped shirt) talking to the group in their lovely cottage garden. This part of the garden is not only a delight for the senses, but it also attracts beneficial insects to help with pollination and pest control.

For maximum food production, the garden has several elements. For growing tomatoes, basil and corn there is a glass house needed in this microclimate. Note the stone heat bank to retain some extra warmth in the evenings.

To protect the produce from wildlife Russell and Jennie added this large four-tiered cage about 6 years ago. This has made a lot of difference in the amount of food they get to harvest.

Outside the cage, there are some very productive rows of espaliered fruit trees.

And finally, there is yet another, smaller cage, which contains citrus trees, raspberries and more!

A fairly recent addition is the outdoor kitchen area, which is used for cheese making, and storage of all that lovely produce.

Many beds of berries, artichokes, etc etc complement the picture of this very productive plot. How envious we all were!

The four-tiered vegie cage is great and holds many raised beds for growing vegetables without having to worry about native animals sharing in the produce. Note the paved paths, so no worries about weeds either!

It was very enjoyable to explore this garden and discuss various garden related topics, such as how to bring the soil pH back to neutral after it has become too alkaline from years of using aged animal manure as a fertiliser. 

Then it was time for morning tea on the veranda overlooking that gorgeous cottage garden. 

Bees and bumble bees happily foraging together in the poppies.

 Among other goodies there was delicious labneh cheese from the Jersey cow. Yum!

The produce table was also well visited, as per usual. Many of us took a treasure home with us. 

A big thank you to Jennie and Russell for opening their piece of paradise to us, we went home inspired! And as always, many thanks to Max and Gaye for organising, and to Max for arranging the magnificent weather yet again! :-)