5. Good Organic Gardening - September-October 2016 AvxHome.in

GARDENING FOLK | Emma Carlos & Mark Simm
Amazingly, Emma is new to growing plants
glass house
green house
A sailor sought a sea change but opted for a tree
change — and so Blackwattle Farm was born
Words Carrol Baker
Photos Carrol Baker & Emma Carlos
After 15 years as a seafarer, when
Emma Carlos decided to jump
ship she very quickly learned
to enjoy a landlubber’s life. She
and partner Mark Simm bought an 18.5-acre
(7.5 ha) property in Beerwah, a town tucked
behind the Glass House Mountains in the lush
subtropical Sunshine Coast hinterland.
Blackwattle Farm is a B&B and farmstay
offering a memorable berth for tourists. But
the organic farming duo had a much bigger
vision for their slice of rural paradise.
“We wanted to aim to be as self-sufficient
as possible,” says Emma. “We have a small
herd of Dexter cows — the steers for meat
and cows for milking — as well as chickens
for eggs and some meat pigs, too. Plus, of
course, our beautiful vegie patch.”
The 30m×30m vegetable garden is rich
in its diversity: broccoli, silverbeet, corn,
tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, ginger, turmeric,
celery, sunflowers, eggplant, cucumber,
zucchini and sweet potato. Then there’s
fruit including passionfruit, rosella, mangoes,
mulberry and finger lime and, to spice
things up a little, basil, chilli, kale, parsley,
thyme, oregano, mint, lemongrass, tarragon,
rosemary, lemon balm, sage and coriander.
It has been a steep learning curve for
Emma, having spent most of her adult life at
sea and never grown anything before, but one
she has embraced wholeheartedly. It’s hard to
believe that only months ago the vegetable
patch was a bare, scrubby paddock.
The fledgling farmers have achieved an
enormous amount in a short space of time and
Emma is quick to point out they didn’t go it
alone. “Gary Hands from Kookaburra Organics
has given us incredible guidance and support,”
she says. “He is my mentor and elder; without
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