Rod May’s farm is in one of those fertile pockets of central Victoria (Australia) thanks to relatively recent intense volcanic activity. Chocolate red soils there just about made my mouth water, when I visited recently. I was keen to learn more of his pioneering work on plant polycultures, and see plants being ‘good neighbours’ to one another. Rod has been very successful with his long term experiments in mixing perennial deciduous tree crops with vegetable production.
Rod manages 100 acres of the May family farm with his father, while his brother manages an organic vineyard on the property. As well, he is an organic certification officer for the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture in Australia. I found Rod at work with the potato washing machine in a large two storey shed, that he has recently built, incorporating a lot of salvaged cypress timber from a roadside tree. We viewed the nearby vineyard and distant ex-volcanoes, from upstairs in the WWOOFer (willing workers on organic farms) apartment.
The pinot noir grapes are grown by brother Doug for his ‘Captain’s Flat Organic Farm’ enterprise and Rod’s sheep graze the vineyard each winter. They fertilise the ground and keep weeds down; and Rod is able to sell off surplus lambs. Not just any sheep, the scruffy tufts of wool hanging from many were not a result of some punk shearer, but the annual moult of these fairly rare Wiltshire Horns. They’re an ancient breed that doesn’t require shearing, is very low maintenance and often produces twins. Just the thing for a busy organic farmer.
Rod’s organic spuds – Sebago, Kifler, Nicola, Bison and exotic Purple Congos – plus other small crops are sold to the markets in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and nearby Ballarat. Some of them were being kept in storage under massive old cypress trees. “Those trees are good companions, because it’s always cool under them in summer” he explained.
We went to see the small cropping areas, passing orchards of leafless nut and apple trees, where sheep were lambing in the shelter of native trees. The sheep were not a problem for the orchard trees, and kept windbreak rows of evergreen tagasastes (‘tree lucerne’) nicely trimmed. “That’s good for airflow and visibility” said Rod. I asked if the tagasastes were becoming a weed at all, as they are in some districts. “No, not with all the livestock everywhere.” In the vineyard the sheep are brought in when vines drop leaves and are removed at bud burst.
Companion trees
In Rod’s orchards the interrow spaces between trees alternate between pasture (for 3-5 years) and small crops (for 2 years). The nut trees are very resilient in the wake of tractoring and other disturbance. The apples have not been quite as successful and require more maintenance, as he has to use copper and sulphur sprays for black spot. Rod observed that pesty Bent Grass had nearly taken over the apple orchard pasture, blown in from elsewhere and not good sheep tucker. It was time to plant small crops there again, which would remove the bent grass, he announced.
We looked at the rows of chestnut trees interspersed with potatoes, where both are cropping well. The chestnuts shade the soil from harsh summer sun, but get regular heavy pruning. They’re very tough rooted, with spuds growing a mere 20cm from trunks. The trees, spaced 15m apart, have dried out the soil profile in summer, enhancing tractor accessibility, and reduced the water leakage, which is usually rife in potato cropping.
There were rows of closely spaced apples and one of young oaks on a north-south axis. The oaks will one day provide timber and acorns for the sheep to eat and maybe even truffles! Several rows of gum trees, oriented on the east-west axis, temper winds coming from the north and south. “Eucalypts would have to be the generic companion planting model” he reckons.
In the small cropping areas without companion trees Rod still uses polycultural techniques, mostly based on traditional methods. Different vegetables are produced in different rows. Cover crops protect the soil around veges and leave little room for weeds. Carrots were nestling in amongst sub-clover, which had largely died down now in mid winter.
Pest and Weed Strategies
“For pest control I like to grow crops that have small flowers at different times of the year – such as coriander, carrot and parsnip” he said. “They provide nectar to the beneficial parasitic wasps which predate the insect pests. This gives me probably 90% control of the caterpillars of the potato, cabbage, diamond back and heliothis moth.”
We looked at newly planted pasture, put in early in the hope of beating the red legged earth mite, which can munch it out. Beneath a nurse crop of oats you could see red, white and subterranean clover sprouting, as well as chicory and lucerne. “The oats and whatever weeds that come up will push up quickly to the light. Before they seed I’ll take a first cut of hay. Then the clovers can shoot up for a second cut – so it’s a very productive system.”
Rod showed off his state-of-the-art tractor driven gas flame weeders. One of these can burn off weeds while leaving vege rows unharmed. Another is not so selective. Used in the vineyard it can get close up to vines. Larger vines can handle the flames, younger ones were being protected with milk cartons placed around them. “You just have to be careful on hot days, because the cartons can burst into flames!” Another tractor gadget manually munches weeds between vege rows. This ‘Weed Fix’ is locally designed and produced, with computerised controls and if it ever needs fixing itself, he only needs go search in the local pub for expert help. So Rod is able to deal with 95% of the weeds very efficiently, while the rest are hand weeded.
Like the traditional mixed farms of times past the May family farm is the epitome of harmony of cooperation between plants, insects, livestock and people. With modern machinery to take out the back breaking element, it shows us the way for a sustainable future in farming.