Host Profile
My Property
Business Type
Farming methods
Short Property Description
Koala Hill Flower Farm is situated near Toowoomba (40 km N) with beautiful soil but nature is our best asset! A small portion of our property of 100 acres is devoted to growing dahlias and native foliage for florists. We do not use nasty chemicals and try to work with nature to provide a high quality product. Our little piece of paradise is home to koalas, wallabies, bandicoots and over 100 species of birds. We have a secluded remnant rainforest, spring fed creek and beautiful eucalypts that tower above the palms. We would welcome an individual or a couple into our home and treat them like family. There are local national parks nearby and we are just a bus trip from western Queensland and the outback to explore using our home as a good base. We are flexible and would consider a study and stay person but you would benefit greatly to have your own transport although public transport is nearby. My husband and I would welcome someone that wants to learn some of the skills we have learnt and we can learn of you too. Wake up in the morning to the sounds of beautiful birds and go to sleep at night to the sound of owls hooting and frogs calling. We have one spare room so we can host one or two people. We would prefer people to be able to communicate in English and prefer non smokers. Please feel free to call or arrange a zoom to ask questions and discuss how we can help make your stay in Australia memorable!
Organic/Biological methods we use
For our dahlias we use shade cloth hoop house to prevent a lot of insect damage. We also have a great service in Toowoomba called Bugs for Bugs so we use predatory mites and lady birds to control aphids and powdery mildew. We use an organic fungicide to aid in the control of powdery mildew. One of the arts of farming is to understand the soil so we get soil tests annually so we are providing amendments that are needed, not just adding fertiliser for the sake of it. We make our own LAB (lactobacillus) that keeps the plants healthy. We have a small family company that makes beautiful organic compost and this year we started making biochar, still in the early adaptation phase. We have a great range of organic products available to use and envisage our guests will help us develop the compost, biochar and natural amendments that are needed. Our longer term goal is to move to zero till. Each year we have to lift and sell our excess dahlia tubers. These tubers and the whole dahlia plant is edible (including the flowers) so developing organic food is a future goal. There is so much room for learning from nature. We hope to share our values, ideas and experience.
My Details
The Stay
Why I became a WWOOF Host
We became hosts because we are friendly flower farmers with a lot of knowledge gained over the years. We love our small property and want to share our little piece of paradise and our knowledge with you. If you are here for a short time or a longer time we will do our best to share ideas and provide a safe and friendly place to live. We are also learning more about farming without chemicals and to protect all of our native wildlife.
