Host Profile
My Property
Business Type
Farming methods
Short Property Description
June- August. Winter is settling in and we desperately need rain still. Luckily we have a good water supply and much of our time is still spent ensuring that the plants can keep growing although the cooler weather and shorter days means longer intervals between waterings. The grapes have been harvested and the wine made. Now the leaves are fallen and we need to prune the vines. Planting, watering, bottling wine, mulching, weeding, tool maintenance, greenhouse care, firewood collection.
10 acres/4 hectares on granite-derived soil, the NE facing land sloping towards a fenced and treed creek. A non commercial ‘hobby farm’ with no livestock. Vegetable garden beds, reticulated irrigation system, winegrape vines, mature River Red Gum and Yellow Box trees, new plantings of mixed native trees and understorey, sowing and establishment of native grasses. Accommodation in our home which offers guest bedrooms and bathroom in separate part of the house to our living area. Learn vine maintenance, wine making (activity depends on timing), propagation, plant protection. Help with general horticultural maintenance.
Organic/Biological methods we use
I am a retired soil scientist and believe that soil management is the key to successful farming. We are not fully organic to the degree that we could be certified as some intractable weeds here can only be practically controlled by strategic use of herbicide chemicals. This is targetted and minimal with vegetation replacement to prevent further incursion of weeds. Principally this has been to remove exotic perennial grasses and replace them with native Australian species. In the vegetable garden I use a range of organically based fertilizers. I do not use insecticides, accepting that some losses will be inevitable and that beneficial insects will thrive if no sprays are used. Mulching and composting are routine.
My Details
The Stay
Can Accommodate
Preferred length of Stay
1-2 weeks, Longer stays by negotiation
Accommodation
Other options
Non-Smoking, No Smoking Inside, Children allowed by arrangement, Pets allowed by arrangement
Meal Procedures
Eat together, Share most meals
Diets we cater for
Mixed meals, some meat, some vegetarian, Meat based meals, Vegetarian meals
Work and Study Remotely here
Work and Study Remotely here by arrangement
Why I became a WWOOF Host
Ayesha and I have been together for more than fifty years. We are now retired from our jobs in childcare (Ayesha) and soil and land management (Richard) and have increased the range of projects on our property where we have lived for 21 years. We spent our first fifteen years together helping to set up and run the Beshara School of Esoteric Education at Chisholme House in the Scottish Borders then came to Australia with our five children in 1988. We used to be airbnb hosts until COVID lockdowns put a stop to that and to our travels. We did enjoy our time as hosts for travellers and really enjoyed meeting and interacting with our guests. Meals are a social occasion for us, a time to appreciate food (and wine) and share conversation. We also host folk music concerts in our garden, in particular oldtime American stringband music and welcome any wwoofers who play an instrument. I play 5-string banjo, harmonica and some fiddle.
In the last three years we have embarked on ecological enhancement of our property through native plantings and grasses, this is an ongoing mission. This is in addition to our large garden, fruit and vegetable growing, vines and wine-making. So now we have signed up as WWOOFER hosts for some mutual benefit. We believe we can offer you a good experience here and we could benefit from some help with our projects. I have an honours degree in Ecology and post graduate degree in Soil Science and a career in research, land management and university lecturing so I have knowledge to share. We are not a backpacker accommodation hack but hope that we will be able to host folk with a passion for the land, a real interest in gardening and that we will gain help in creating an ecologically enhanced property here. We can pick you up from our nearest railway station, Kangaroo Flat on the Bendigo line.
