Visit Oyster Cove Bruce and Karen 2026

 Visit Oyster Cove Bruce and Karen 2026

A gloriously warm early summer's day saw the Food Garden Group visit Bruce and Karen's garden in Oyster Cove. Bruce and Karen took on this five acre property around five years ago. In that time they transformed it from a weed infested and overgrown block into a delightful hobby farm.

Here are Max and Bruce introducing the group to 'Sunny Banks' and discussing its various areas.

The main vegetable growing area is run on permaculture principles. It has been fenced off by cleverly recycling wooden pallets. They provide a boundary around the area as well as sheltered sections for permanent fruiting shrubs, storage for mulches, feng shui directions

compost etc.

A happy young fig

A thriving Cape gooseberry

Also in this area we find a bee hive. Bruce and Karen have noticed a distinct improvement in fruit set since getting the bees.

 Next to it is the chook palace. The chickens are enjoying a netted enclosure and deep litter system. All kitchen scraps and weeding greens go directly into the chook pen, where the chickens eat, scratch and poo and in doing so make fertile compost, as a side hustle to egg production.

The vegetable beds are arranged in a mandala circle, and run on permaculture principles. Feng shui directions also played a role in the design. The general design looks a bit like this, with the centre containing herbs and perennials like lavender, and the wedges towards the outside of the circle being used for vegetable crops in a no-dig crop rotation system.

Karen has designed her garden to have eight wedges, separated by mulched paths. 

One of the wedges contains two raised hügelkultur beds. Strawberries in one, the other still to be decided.

Looking after and improving their sandy soil is very important and Bruce has many ways to add goodness to his beds. For a start, nothing is ever wasted or just burned off. Every bit of pruning wood, leaves, small branches from fallen trees etc. gets chipped instead. This provides a surprising amount of good mulch for paths and beds.

Anaerobic composting also known as BAM composting  can make a very good compost, and Bruce has used some old farm plastic and special nitrogen-fixing bacteria to exclude oxygen and make a pile of very healthy looking compost.

Then there are worm farms for worm tea as well as bins for making compost, with rat exclusion wire netting underneath. Bruce uses his battery operated drill with an auger attached to turn the compost. He reckons it is the only way to use these bins, and aerate the material without any hassle. It might be a good idea to have a drill with a auxiliary side handle or secondary grip for torque control and safety.

The next thing is biochar. When dealing with fallen branches and the like, Bruce takes all suitable smallish wood and cuts it into pieces that fit lengthwise into an oil drum. He has cut a drum open along the side to make a fire pit to burn these timber pieces. By not allowing them to burn into ash, but adding more timber as they become charcoal, he makes a good load of charcoal each time. This is the basis for making biochar. The highly porous carbon is the scaffolding for holding minerals, biota and nutrients. The charcoal is then soaked in seaweed solution, or added to compost with manure. It then becomes activated biochar, which is a great soil improver. You can read more about this subject on our blog about biochar. And here is another post about beneficial biochar.

To restore the overgrown and weed infested land Bruce and Karen have done a mammoth job dividing their land into neatly fenced areas with grass pasture and orchards. They use sheep to help with staying on top of the weeds (currently on another property for their summer grazing). They have tried turkeys, but these became too destructive on the soft sandy soil. The turkeys have been replaced by a small flock of geese. These keep most of the grass in the orchards down.

 

There are several orchard areas, containing old and new fruit and nut trees. This will provide a healthy amount of produce in the future! In accordance with permaculture principles, the orchards are further away from the house, and the vegetable and herb garden closer in.

Then there are the future projects, already well underway. On the lowest, wettest piece of the large orchard, Bruce has built the frames for two large polytunnels with raised beds to prevent water logging in a wet winter. Once they are covered, they will hold rows of sweet potatoes and other warmth loving things.

Next to the shed there is now a brand new lean-to hot house. This is meant to be hot indeed (up to 35 degrees C) and will be used to grow pineapples and perhaps other subtropical things. It is also very useful in sprouting grains for the chickens in the cold time of year as well as raising seedlings in early spring.

We were all amazed at the amount of work Bruce and Karen have lovingly put into this property. It is a credit to them, and will no doubt be a very productive piece of land long into the future. Many thanks to them for opening their 'Sunny Banks' for our visit. It was a delight and many of us came away inspired with ideas for our own patches.

The produce table was soon raided as well as the morning tea table. What a great way to spend a sunny morning among friends.