Who is Morningswood Farm?
In 2014 Morningswood Farm made the (very easy) decision to move from the bustling metropolis of Geelong and head to the green hills of the Hepburn Region.
After six months of living in Dayelsford we were in love with area and started to look for somewhere to permanently call home, eventually landing on 25 acres in Eganstown.
Pete is an accountant with experience in manufacturing and operations, while Claire has an environmental science degree. With these skills sets and a bit of determination we have built the farm up from pretty scrappy water repellent soil to what it is today.
After many years of learning we are now ready to open up the farm for everyone to come and enjoy.
How We Farm
We are not certified organic, however we strive to implement organic, regenerative practices through the vast majority of our processes
No fungi, herbi or pesti-cides have been used by us at our farm and we don’t plan to start anytime soon. We use a range of manures and liquid fertilisers (worm wee, fish emulsion, seaweed) to nourish our soil plus blood and bone and certified organic rock dust to balance it.
Most of the farm (some 15-20 acres) has been left to native regeneration, with long term plans of grandeur and short term weed management with goats and the flail mower.
What we have done so far
LOTS of organic matter has been spread onto the farm, mostly by hand
A sprinkling of rock minerals to feed the plants and try to correct the pH
And most importantly love, heaps and heaps of love
Future Projects
Soil improvement will be a never ending, but hugely rewarding, journey.
We would like to start to correct the water cycle on the property with the installation of swales.
Getting good coverage on the soil to protect it from the elements.
Planting strategic wind breaks around the berry patches so as to protect the plants, provide shelter for wildlife and cool the property.
Organic Practices
Farming Our Way
Here at Morningswood Farm, whilst not certified organic, we are committed to increasing our productivity from the soil up. We have started by increasing the biology and nutritional value of our soil through green crops, mineral applications and sheep, cow and chicken manures.
We aim to be certified organic in the future but until then we will rely on wholesome organic farm practices to achieve the best quality products we can offer for our consumers.
Due to being organic we have employed the help of four (so far) sure footed goats to help in controlling our two main pest weeds, Gorse and Blackberry. After they have moved through an area we bring in our trusty tractor and flail mower to finish the job and apply corrective rock minerals, organic matter in the form of manures and seeds for cover crops that we then ‘chop and drop’ to help build up soil life.
Box Brothers Partnership
Our commitment to sustainability took on a new form in 2018 when we partnered with Box Brothers.
Box Brothers create punnets from wood veneer that is otherwise destined for landfill thus providing and eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastic packaging.
These punnets were trialed and tested in the summer of 2018/19 and were an huge success.
They hark back to the old fashioned way that fruit was transported and also bring a bit of art to the farm.
We look forward to the continuation of this partnership in the future.
To find out more about Box Brothers and peruse their product range click here
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