food*
Local story stephen smith pictures supplied
F
oodies of Upper Highway, prepare to be excited! Dale Grobler, well-known local organic farmer from Farm to Forks in Monteseel, and Stoneford Country Estate have a big new collaborative project on the go, and it’s going to be a cracker. For a few years now, Dale has been growing world-class organic veg for some of the country’s best restaurants, just up the road from Hillcrest. He is passionate about what he does, which is no doubt why he achieves the results he does, and he conveys that passion in everything he says and does. With KZN’s riots in July, food security was brought into sharp focus, as were the advantages of eating locally produced food. And, to be honest, the ridiculousness of how much food is trucked around the country. For Dale, these revelations were nothing new – he has been a fierce proponent of locally grown organic produce for years – but it has increased demand for produce such as his. Enter Stoneford Country Estate. The property developer has long dreamt of establishing a working organic farm at Stoneford Country Estate. In reconsidering what Phase 2 of the estate should be, he started thinking about what would make a real positive difference to the way we live, and how could the Stoneford homeowner enjoy a better quality life – living in a country environment, with all that should come with that, on the urban edge. The result: The Farm Stoneford, with Dale at the helm. The project is already underway, with over 14 000m² of land cleared and levelled for the farm. Dale has got plant stock growing on his farm, ready to make the move to Stoneford, so things are happening fast.
32
GOODNESS BIG THINGS ARE HAPPENING FOR DALE GROBLER AND UPPER HIGHWAY FOODIES …
D “We should have produce ready for harvesting by December,” Dale says. “But that’s only the beginning. We are putting in such exciting plants: there will be 4 000m² of fruit, from berries to coffee, citrus and cacao, and even indigenous edibles like Kei apples and monkey oranges. The fruit will obviously take longer to get established. And there
will be spices, herbs, medicinal plants – just about anything that can be grown and used. “And everything is being done as responsibly as we can – the water will be from the farm and will be pumped using solar power, we will chip as much organic matter from the farm as we can to make compost, and we will be 100% organic and
w w w . t h e c r e s t o n l i n e . c o . z a
E
