Living the good life
A productive family farm in Victoria thrives on a joyful daily routine
Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula is home to many keen gardeners, including Marcelle Nankervis, a working horticulturist and writer. On this small hobby farm 55km out of Melbourne, she and her family grow their own fruit and vegies, harvest honey, catch fish and raise livestock. To see her lifestyle in action, we visited Marcelle as she rolled out of bed at dawn... and asked her to take us through her family’s daily routine
Before I had children, I didn’t really think about where my food came from or how it was produced. It seems funny to me now how I just accepted what was on offer at the supermarket without question. Packaging wasn’t a concern and I would buy produce from around the world without even thinking of food miles and seasonality. It’s not that I didn’t care for the environment, it just wasn’t part of the consciousness of my day-to-day decisions.
That lifestyle seems like a lifetime ago now, but I wouldn’t change a thing because it brought me to Ellendale Farm, an 8ha hobby farm that has evolved over 10 years to assist in my family’s food production based on our values and needs.
When my husband, Carl, and I reflect on this lifestyle we’ve created, and our mindset change, we both agree that it’s been quite a journey. The essence of the experience is inspiration, perspiration, persistence, commitment, satisfaction and joy.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but it’s so much more than just a tree change. Any failures are real learning opportunities and, as we regularly say, “every day is a school day”.
We have happily found our rhythm – our balance of home, work and play that enriches and nourishes us. The morning is composed of a set of routines, but for me it forms part of my morning active meditation and is in no way considered a list of chores or jobs. But maybe I should let you decide…
A NATURAL RHYTHM
We wake to the crowing of our rooster, Roger. Sometimes he starts at 3am, but it’s usually 5.30am. We don’t get up until six.
A cup of coffee while we catch up on the news, then it’s time to gather ingredients for breakfast. Pulling on my boots over bare feet and PJ bottoms, I head through the vegie patch to the chooks. It’s here that I formulate our menu for breakfast and lunch. I collect eggs and let our harem of chickens, as well as Pippa the duck, out to free-range in the neighbouring paddock, where they forage most of the day, coming home sporadically to rest, and eventually returning at night to roost.
the vegetable garden
Raised vegetable beds were constructed using no-dig principles: a virtual lasagne of compost, manure and newspaper. They are topped up with compost and manure from the property to keep them nutrient rich.
Designed to look attractive, the vegie patch is also incredibly practical. Raised beds are easier to plant, harvest and maintain as we age gracefully. They make weeding a breeze and offer a seat if required.
The direction of sunlight is always a consideration when planting vegie crops, and in this patch, crops are sown from north to south to maximise sunlight exposure. Tall crops are located on the western side of the beds to prevent shading, unless it is required. A simple map helps us keep track of crop rotation.
Irrigation lines are permanently set up in matching rows to ensure efficient water distribution throughout the beds. Vegie nets help to protect the crops, when needed, and are interchangeable from bed to bed.
meat production
One of the principles of self-sufficiency on this property is to take responsibility for the production of meat for the family. Livestock is raised ethically and organically, and everyone appreciates the sacrifice required to put food on the table. This is not a decision taken lightly.
Chickens, sheep, cattle and pigs are all part of our day-to-day life. Regenerative agricultural principles are applied in all the fields, with grazing based on a quick rotation to ensure healthy pastures for all. The chickens also free-range in the paddocks during the day, roaming between cattle and sheep as they choose. Kerry, the alpaca, keeps a watchful eye for any foxes or threats, as well as being an excellent babysitter to new lambs.
After a quick scan of the paddocks to check the sheep, cattle and our alpaca, Kerry, I head back to the vegie garden to find additional ingredients for breakfast. The soil is damp from the automatic irrigation system that starts at 5.30am – oh, I see a coincidence here… (note to set it later and see if Roger sleeps in!). Fresh tomatoes, berries, asparagus or spinach? I add a few herbs from outside the kitchen window, and breakfast comes together, but not before Carl and I do a lap of the garden.
Placing the fresh ingredients on our outside table, it’s down to the greenhouse, a new addition since the first COVID-19 lockdown, to check and water plants we have elected to grow in this controlled environment. I can’t explain the overwhelming sense of pride I feel each time a new seedling emerges from the soil or propagation tray. I check for pests and harvest
irrigation & watering
Until this year, most of the farm was watered by rainfall, with the vegie garden being the only exception, and this was tank water only. This year the old dam was excavated and refreshed, and now the farm has enough water to irrigate beds as required. Timers are used to automate watering, and subsequent watering with a hose and wand is also done when required. This individual watering is a critical part of patch maintenance because this is when any deficiencies, weeds or pests are usually discovered.
any additional produce, such as lettuce and tomatoes for our lunchtime salad sandwiches or spinach for morning gozleme.
Back up to the house with a basketful of produce and it’s all in when it comes to food preparation. Everyone prepares, cooks and cleans up (well, only sometimes with that last one), but the flourish of excitement as everyone chooses their ingredients and menu is one of the most rewarding parts of the day. It’s a smoothie for our eldest, Brodee (15), a smoothie bowl for our youngest, April (11), and fresh fruit and yoghurt for Oscar (13). Carl and I usually stick to eggs and greens. Today it’s asparagus.
As we jump in the car and prepare to start our days at work and school, we wait for the automatic gate to open. On the left, I see heirloom apple trees laden with ripening fruit, and on the right, I take a quick look at the beehives, confirming their busy flight paths have started for the day and all is as it should be before we leave the farm gate.
After work and school, the day unfolds according to what the garden and farm reveal. We wear a different lens to that of a guest. We scan for inconsistencies and abnormalities, as these highlight issues that need remedying quickly. It may be a weed here, some wilting there. We may need to tie up a wayward tomato, or guide our new grapevine up towards the top of the pergola. The bees may have formed a swarm on the cedar tree and need to be rehomed, or the cattle may be calling for a new bale of hay. It’s always different, and always interesting.
Carl jumps on the lawnmower and listens to a podcast, while I spend a little time in the garden and our children play with the animals, especially our dog, Jerry. Before you know it, it’s time for dinner so we do another trip around the vegie patch to gather the ingredients for our final meal of the day… if you don’t count dessert. Jerry is forced inside the house for a few hours to allow time for the guinea fowl to roost in our trees, and the animals are fed before we all sit down to dinner together.
As night falls, it’s back out to the chicken coop to close the door for the night, to keep the chooks safe from foxes. Then, with a quick glance upward toward the sky and the moon, we wonder what joy and excitement tomorrow will bring. GA
We’ll hear more from Marcelle throughout the year about managing different aspects of the farm and garden.
maintenance
No one likes chores, and with so many moving parts to this garden, a few simple tricks keep maintenance to a minimum.
Doing small jobs frequently usually helps us avoid long days of maintenance. Buckets are dotted among the plants to hold weeds pulled by passers-by. As the bucket fills it goes to the chickens for processing in their continual composting system.
Lawns are mowed weekly or fortnightly during summer, and monthly in winter using a ride-on mower – undeniably more fun than a push mower. Gluts of summer produce, such as tomatoes, are bottled and preserved in batches as they’re collected. A vintage Fowlers Vacola preserving unit sits on the stovetop from January to April, slowly replenishing the pantry with jars of home-grown goodness. The fruit trees are pruned in summer after fruiting, and cane berries are pruned to the ground in winter, in preparation for next season’s crop.