Published since 1986
FEBRUARY, 2021
Kangaroos on the menu
www.farmernews.com.au
Overseas citrus success
Bull Sales
PAGE 4
PAGE 8
PAGES 11-14
Making market garden profits By EMMA OLIVER “GROWING plants out with the aim of actually selling them as a commercial quality crop is the best test of seed,” said Ben Cohen of Birdland Seeds. “If you can grow them in a market garden as an organic competitor to a supermarket item then you know the seed is incredibly worthwhile. “You quickly become aware of what’s rubbish and what is viable, and one of the principal goals at Birdland Seeds is to ensure we only stock seeds that are particularly suited to production and have a commercial value.” This dedication to the production of high quality, locally suited seed sees Ben growing a huge 70 per cent of all the seed lines that Birdland Seeds offer. With the remaining lines sourced from a select group of certified organic growers, all seeds are subject to the stringent criteria that defines the Birdland guarantee of organic, non-
MARKET GARDEN: From high school age, Ben Cohen had exposure to working on his mother’s organic blueberry farm, but had never envisaged going into farming himself until he started collecting seeds.
Intensive testing guarantees Birdland Seeds will flourish hybrid, non genetically modified, pesticide and herbicide free seeds. With this guarantee also comes the commitment to only selling lines that produce delicious produce. “At the start I didn’t really test the vegetables to determine which cultivars I would propagate for seeds, and I soon realised that was very foolish,” Ben said. “I had no idea what I was getting into at the beginning, and when it’s such an involved and labour-intensive process, to get to the end of it all and be disappointed with the results is a bit devastating.” Ben grows everything out first now to determine if it’s even worth progressing with a line, and is currently in the process of doing radish trials to determine which ones to persevere with. When deciding on a carrot cultivar, Ben grew a staggering 2000 carrots,
harvesting the whole lot and then subjecting the harvest to rigorous assessment, taste-testing and core testing the lot to decide on a top 100 to transplant as the seed growing crop. Though carrot tops won’t form a new carrot, they will flower and produce seeds, and as long as they aren’t hybrids they will produce true-to-type seed. “I believe that if you take that much trouble, I think you can really improve on the lines and though of course this is not viable with a large scale enterprise I’m in the fortunate position where I can really control the quality,” Ben said. With all the preliminary work undertaken through extensive trial and error, Ben is assured that all seeds he sells are not only organic, but high producing, taste delicious and are the perfect cultivar for his region. ■ Continued page 2
For more information
Protect your investment
Ph: 1300 551 099 Mob. 0417 563 955
Stop heat and prevent corrosion
www.thermoshield.com.au
Saves you money
PO Box 16, Silvan, VIC 3795 gavin@thermoshield.com.au
BYPY TRANSMISSIONS
BONDIOLI & PAVESI and BIMA, PTO Shafts and Gearboxes
For all your agricultural power transmission requirements Call us for all your PTO Shafts, Gearboxes and Spare Parts
farming community since 1950
1800 932 113
Call Toll Free Fact 3, 16-20 Dingley Ave, Dandenong 3175 bypy@bypy.com.au www.bypy.com.au
37d07301/3219
Proudly supporting the