Small Farms Count Field Day: Gollion Farm / Tender Ground Garden - Canberra Region
Event description
Canberra Region Field Day – Gollion Farm & Tender Ground Garden
Come and join Young Farmers Connect network for a field day on Friday 12 December. This field day will be at Gollion Farm just north of Canberra and includes a tour and explanation of regenerative cattle farming practice by farmer and writer Sam Vincent, and a hands-on-workshop with Sophie Mico of Tender Ground Garden, who co-farms on the site.
This will also be a great opportunity to meet and network with other farmers and allies in the Canberra region! Hope to see you there.
Date: Friday 12 December, 8.30 am to 4.30 pm
Cost: $20
Food: This farm tour will be catered by local food legend Ruth Gaha Morris of Scrumper’s Kitchen
RSVP: Booking for this event is essential and ticket sales will close on Tuesday 9 December..
Country: Ngunnawal/Ngambri Country
Getting there : If driving from North Canberra take Mulligans Flat Road, and turn left onto Tallagandra Lane. After 4 km turn left onto Westmead Lane. The entrance to Gollion Farm is on your left after around 850 m. Note that some roads are unsealed, but suitable for 2wd.
Social Media Handles: @tenderground.garden @bysamvincent
This event is funded through a Small Grant by the Australian Governments National Heritage Trusts Climate Smart Agriculture Program.
Who’s welcome: All are welcome! This includes new, young, aspiring farmers, seasoned farmers, to agricurious allies! This event is family friendly – children are welcome but must be strictly supervised for safety.
Please wear good shoes and sun protection and remember we will be visiting a working farm – consider your own safety at all times.
Kitchen : This is a PLASTIC FREE event, so please bring along your own water bottle/cup, plate, cutlery and mug. Please tell us when booking if you have any dietary requirements/allergies.
Event Overview:
8:30am – 9:30am Acknowledgement of Country and Introductions with morning tea
9:30am – 11:30 am Gollion Farm tour by Sam including paddocks, orchards and conversation about farm sharing arrangements
11:30 am – 12:30 pm Lunch provided by Scrumper’s Kitchen
12:30 pm - 2:30pm Workshop - Breaking Ground: setting up new garden beds for success
2:30pm - 3pm afternoon tea
3pm - 4.30pm Workshop part 2 (trellising tomatoes using Florida method, if time)
5pm Finish.
Meet our hosts :
Sam Vincent is a writer, farmer and the author of My Father and Other Animals: How I took on the Family Farm. He lives and farms on Gollion Farm. Gollion is a 650-acre farm in the Yass Valley that has been owned by the Vincent family since 1983. Run according to the principles of regenerative agriculture, its Angus cattle are moved as one mob through a series of paddocks at a pace commensurate with the rate of pasture growth; its two orchards, containing around 200 fruit trees, of which half are figs, are managed organically. Other features of the farm include an example of a rehydrated creekscape, achieved through 'natural sequence farming', and Derrawa Dhaura, a pre-colonisation ochre quarry, whose cultural significance to the Ngambri and Ngunnawal communities saw it protected as an 'Aboriginal Place' in 2019 under NSW heritage legislation.
Since 2021 the farm has been managed by Sam Vincent, who lives there with his partner Lauren, daughter Orlando, and their friend Sophie.
Sophie Mico became interested in horticulture and food production after years working in restaurants in Canberra and Melbourne. She has worked in various market gardens in Melbourne, including the beloved Collingwood Children’s Farm, and has a Master of Urban Horticulture from the University of Melbourne. She moved back to Canberra in late 2024 to live at Gollion Farm where she established Tender Ground Garden.
Sophie will be running a workshop in the afternoon: Breaking Ground: Setting up new garden beds for success.
In this workshop, participants will be guided through the processes of turning a patch of grass/pasture into a productive garden. We will work step by step through the bed preparation process, discussing site selection, tarping, cultivating, forming beds, amending, irrigating, and mulching. Participants will have the opportunity to perform basic soil testing methods, as well as use different tools useful in small scale production; including a rototiller and broad-fork. At the end of the workshop, participants will have the satisfaction of having established an entire new garden bed from scratch together, and feel confident implementing these techniques in their own production contexts.
This workshop will be best suited to people at the start of their market gardening journey, or those interested in learning more about some of the practical aspects of starting in small scale, minimal tillage, chemical free vegetable or flower production. If time permits, Sophie will also lead participants in learning the Florida Weave trellising system for tomatoes.
Partnering with Southern Harvest NSW Cooperative:
Southern NSW Harvest is a farmer led, member co-operative focused on growing local and regional food communities in the ACT and South East NSW. The Purpose of the Co-operative is "to foster the sustainable growth and availability of local produce within the Southern NSW Harvest region" through market opportunities, education, networking and advocacy.
https://southernharvest.org.au/
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
