Small Farms Count Field Day: Wattle Gully Flower Farm - Victoria Field Day

Victoria Field Day >>

Regenerative Soil Health and Preparation for Summer Flower Market Farming

Date: Sunday 11th Oct, 8:30am - 3:00pm

Address: 60 Clarks Road Upper Plenty Vic, 3756.

Parking: Limited parking at the farm. Car parks may be available at local primary school (500m)

Country: Wurundjeri and Taugurang Country

Cost: $15

DETAILS

Come and join the Young Farmers Connect for a field day on Sunday 11th Oct, hosted at Wattle Gully Flower Farm in Upper Plenty, with guest speaker and agronomist Ian Mot. 

This event is funded through a Small Grant by the Australian Government’s National Heritage Trust’s Climate Smart Agriculture Program.

About Us

Wattle Gully Flower Farm is a cut flower farm in Upper Plenty, VIC, on Wurundjeri Country. Established in 2020, the farm is tended by Thanisa, a first-generation farmer.
@wattlegullyflowerfarm

Thanisa's path into growing started with reading about food sovereignty and organic farming. She completed a master’s in agriculture, majoring in sustainable food systems, in 2018, and has since worked in school food gardens, community projects, and market gardens across Victoria. She's especially passionate about supporting the next generation of aspiring farmers.

Ian Mot @vital_soils_services is an Agronomist specialising in soil health and plant nutrition and runs Vital Soils Services. His journey into agronomy began in his family's garden, where years spent wrestling with poor soil sparked a Bachelor's and Master's in Agricultural Science at the University of Melbourne. Since then, Ian has assessed hundreds of soil profiles across Australia, working from a simple guiding question: "What does the soil need?" He now works with everyone from backyard gardeners to broadacre farmers, always starting with listening to what the land, and the grower, actually needs.

Workshop Outline: Prepping Soil for Summer Planting

What Folks will learn & engage with during the event:

• Soil structure and soil profile basics: what's happening below the surface and why it matters.

• How to read and manage soil health for stronger, more resilient crops

• A live demonstration of how we prep beds at Wattle Gully, from bare bed to planting ready

• How flower selection supports pollinators and broader biodiversity on a working farm

• Practical, low input techniques attendees can take home to their own patch, no matter the scale
  

The day will also be a great opportunity to meet and network with other farmers and growers from across the Melbourne (Naarm) region. We hope to see you there!

Who’s welcome: All are welcome! This includes new, young, aspiring farmers, seasoned farmers, to agricurious allies! Please wear good shoes and sun protection and remember we will be visiting a working farm – consider your own safety at all times.

Food: Potluck and Bring a Plate. There will be light refreshments and snacks for morning and afternoon tea. 

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.

RSVP: Booking for this event is essential and ticket sales will close on Friday 9th October.

Event Overview:

8:30am - 9:00: Welcome, acknowledgement of Country, brief farm history with Morning Tea

9:00 - 10:00: Soil health walk and talk with Ian (existing beds, soil profile examples)

10:00 - 11:00: Live bed prep demonstration

11:00 - 12:00: Lunch 

12:00 - 1:00: Flower selection & biodiversity walk with Thanisa (early spring blooms, planned summer beds)

1:00 - 2:00: Visit Ian’s workshop for fertiliser blending demonstration.

2:00 - 3:00pm: Wrap up Q&A and informal chat (Afternoon Tea)

Accessibility considerations

• This is a working farm. Pets are not permitted and we recommend wearing closed toe shoes and dressing for the weather.

• Workshop content will be delivered both verbally and with visual aids (soil samples) so people can engage without needing to kneel or get into garden beds

• Limited seats will be available for those who'd prefer to sit

• Paths between activity stations are quite uneven due to the nature of the farm but will be kept clear and reasonably flat where possible; There will be a short walk up the hill for Ian’s workshop. Let us know ahead of time if you need us to plan a more accessible route.

• Activities are designed so people can watch and learn without needing to physically participate (e.g. no one needs to dig to get value from the demo)

• We will have a couple of marquees and some undercover areas. In the event of extreme weather, attendees will be notified if we need to cancel/postpone.