Organic Farm

The whole 115 acres at Nether Hill Farm is being run organically. Most of the land is being grazed by cattle and smaller areas are being developed for intensive horticulture.

Why Do We Garden Organically?

In his inspirational 1979 book, Adelaide author and teacher Peter Bennett defined organic gardening as follows.

“Organic gardening is a collection of skills, tempered with the ecological wisdom born of experience and observation which, when applied, enhance and encourage the laws and rhythms of nature and so produce food of the highest quality upon which both animals and man may depend for a vigorous and healthy life cycle”.

This definition mentions two important aspects:

1. Organic growing involves working with natural systems, so the methods are environmentally safe.
2. Organic growing produces products of the highest quality.

Environmental Considerations

Organic methods are an attempt to achieve sustainability in land use. That is, by using methods which generally mimic natural processes, cleared land is actually improved by human activity.

“We cannot take on Nature and thrash her into submission by technology; she has 500 million years of experience behind her and her ways are proven. Our dependence upon her is total and our only chance of survival in the long term is in harmonious partnership”.                

Peter Bennett

Organic growing does not use tillage methods that will destroy soil structure and soil life or poison the land with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides or other biocides. There is a limit to the amount and potency of the poison which can be safely released into the environment, and organic methods do not contribute to reaching that limit. Organic gardeners believe it is necessary to work with nature to maintain the balance which is the key to all the biological systems, which make up the complex web of life. To garden with poisons or over cultivate is to destroy links in this web and upset the biological balance.

In the quest for sustainable agriculture we humans must re-awaken some of the wisdom of our ancestors. This is not a question of going backwards, but of discovering where we made the wrong turn towards modern “factory farming” and then going forward in the right direction.

Quality Considerations

Organic methods involve growing plants in a natural environment. If the clean and healthy environment is upset the plants will lack important components and vitality. If natural methods are used to maintain the soil and pests and diseases are kept in balance by natural forces or biological methods, the benefits that are sought from plants will be realized to their fullest extent.

“Tests were done in the 1940’s and 1950’s on Lady Eve Balfours’ Haughley Experimental Farm in south-eastern England. They were conducted by a soil scientist name Schuppman. The farm was divided into two halves, one half run organically and the other conventionally. The same programme of cropping, meat and milk production was used on both halves, and the produce of each was tested once a month for fifteen years. The output from each half was roughly the same, but the difference was in the composition of the products. Those which came from the conventional half were found to be 28% down in all minerals and vitamins compared with those of the organic half”.

 Pat Coleby

Healthy Land for Healthy Cattle

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Growing systems which use chemical fertilizers involve feeding the plants directly with soluble fertilizers, which causes unbalanced growth that lacks the vitality of organically grown plants.

Organic growing systems use fertilizing methods which provide the soil with raw materials like organic matter and minerals, which natural processes use to create balanced plant food in healthy soil. The nutrients are held in the soil for the long-term health of the soil and plant community.

Quality is important. Good growers take pride in producing a wholesome quality product. Grown in healthy soil, healthy plants contribute to healthy food and healthy people and animals.