The secret ingredient
THEY say the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and when you taste Bevan McLeod’s deliciously sweet and juicy pineapples, you know there has to be a secret ingredient - and that’s his own brand of organic fertiliser and soil conditioner.
Formulated to include composted cow, pig and poultry manure, rock phosphate, kelp, humate, zeolite and microbes, these magical products are the result of 17 years’ of research and use.
Lucky for us, Bevan is prepared to share, selling his products under the name McLeod’s Agriculture as a bulk product.
A liquid version is also made for Bevan by Organics Australia Pty. Ltd.
A charming retired farmer of indeterminable age, Bevan’s story begins on a Queensland dairy farm and continues through a rich history of Queensland agricultural experience, including cane cutting and his own dairy farm.
A decade of experience
Bevan’s strong wiry looks probably belie a decade of experience that becomes apparent when you get talking, and conversation is certainly one of his strong points. In other words, when you start chatting, make sure you have some time up your sleeve because Bevan has many stories to relate.
If possible, meet him as I did, when he is making vegetable deliveries to your local organic shop, because he has some of the best pineapples (and other produce) you will ever see.
This is largely thanks to Bevan’s organic fertiliser and soil conditioner. The mineral basis of the fertiliser is a crushed basalt rock that Bevan calls ‘vulcanite’. The
microbes include specially selected strains of Aspergillus. The wrong strains of Aspergillus can cause nasty skin infections, but many people will know the friendly strains as the fermenting agent in Japanese Sake, or possibly as the source of commercial production of citric acid.
In the production of organic fertiliser, the fermenting power of microbial inoculants such as Aspergillus is important for many uses.
Certain strains of Aspergillus, for instance, can break down keratin in poultry feathers into simple sugars to feed microbes which in turn solubilise the phosphorus from the crushed basalt.
Improves soil aeration and water penetration
The zeolite functions to absorb any unpleasant smells and to hold onto plant nutrients, protecting them against leaching caused by intense subtropical rainfall until plant roots can assimilate them.
Bevan claims that his soil conditioner improves soil aeration and water penetration, provides nutrients in a non-leaching form and helps to regulate soil pH, all critical goals for Queensland agricultural soil management. He says that secondary effects from these soil condition improvements mean larger root systems, less need for fertiliser input, better plant health and quality of the final product and reduced time to harvest.
The pineapples Bevan was delivering when he met with Acres Australia are an excellent promotional tool for his fertiliser. They were large, succulent and without blemish.
He says that whilst pineapples will not sweeten much, if at all, after picking, they will soften. To encourage any starch remaining in the pineapple to convert to sugar, Bevan suggests storing the pineapple upside down. To make this easier, he removes the tops.
Further evidence for the efficacy of McLeod’s Soil Conditioner is that it is only available directly from Bevan.
In other words, most sales of the products are repeat orders from pre-existing customers, or by farmers and gardeners who seek out Bevan based on the testimonials and recommendations from existing customers.
In a marketplace that is crowded with choice, this is a very good indication of value. ☐