The Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail

Langdale Farm

Number 56 Map 4 Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail maps

On 50 acres of land in Oakdale, about an hour outside of Sydney, Avril and her partner David grow olives from around 1200 olive trees and raise alpacas, sheep and cattle.  Originally Avril and David were going to settle on a much larger property in Grafton and raise cattle, Avril having studied animal husbandry. However family kept them closer to Sydney and Avril's interest in animal husbandry is satisfied by tending to her various animals. 

Both Avril and David grew up near farms in England - David would work on nearby farms in his holidays and Avril could see them from her bedroom window.  She thinks it is these childhood memories that led both her and David to owning their own property.

At the property you can wander around a beautiful rose garden and see the olives and animals.  You can also purchase jams , honey and of course olive oil.  The olives are picked by a willing band of helpers around Easter time each year and pressed off site. The Farm Shop is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10.00am until 4.00pm and tour groups are welcome, although bookings are essential.

For more information go to www.langdalefarm.com.au

Langdale Farm

1366 Barkers Lodge Road 

Oakdale

ph 02 4680 9001

Please visit the Hawkesbury Harvest website

Ambrosia Olive Farm

Number 55 Map 4 Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail Maps

Olives, apples, figs, quince, lemons, grapes, cherries, almonds, macadamias, mulberries, plums, cashew nuts and assorted vegetables.  Deer, chickens and emus.  Bees.

15 years ago this incredibly productive farm of 40 or so acres was bush.  That was until Steve Skarmoutsos and his wife moved here having run a restaurant for 25 years. The first olives were planted as "a bit of fun " - and now there are over 4000 trees.  In fact most things growing here were planted as a bit of fun but with 5 dams and plenty of fertiliser the crops are rich and varied and have become a serious venture now.

It means that visitors to the property can buy olives, olive oil, skin products (including soaps) and honey.  The olives are cold pressed each April on gleaming machinery imported from Greece and Italy and the oil produced is also bottled on the farm.

I also saw buckets of fresh eggs and lemons - perhaps Steve could be talked into selling those too if you asked him nicely.

The farm is open to visitors seven days a week from 9.00am to 5.00pm although bookings are essential.

For further information please go to www.ambrosiaolivefarm.com.au

Ambrosia Olive Farm

100 Eltons Road

Silverdale NSW 2752

Please visit the Hawkesbury Harvest website.

 

Mowbray Park Produce

Number 60 Map 40 Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail maps

For produce freshly harvested from the owner's own farm, together with fruit and vegetables and other products sourced locally please visit

Mowbray Park Produce

1/29 Oaks Street 

Thirlmere 2572

02 46830440

Please visit the Hawkesbury Harvest website.

Cedar Creek Orchard

Number 61 Map 4 Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail maps

 

Signs written by visitors to the orchards

A sense of humour is imperative if you are a farmer

Apple blossom

Mark Silm

View from the back verandah of the house Mark's grandfather built

In a picturesque setting just outside Picton, Mark Silm, a third generation farmer, and his wife Lynelle run Cedar Creek Orchards.  Here you will find, in season, apples (4500 trees), stone fruit (18000 peach and nectarine tree) and persimmons (7000 trees).

Mark tells me that his grandfather bought the property (in the early 1940s), his father built it up and Mark is working very hard to hang on to it.  By diversifying over the years into stone fruit and more recently persimmons, the Silms have found new markets.  Rising costs of labour, packaging, freight and rates means that the Silms must be always thinking about new ideas to market their produce.  One way has been to produce 14000 litres  a week of the most delicious apple juice (cloudy and clear) and apple/blackcurrant juice. We are shown the up to the minute technology Mark has invested in to produce his pastuerised juice.

The orchard itself is impeccably maintained, with large areas netted and water supplied from two large dams. Mark is assisted in this by his 83 year old father and seven full time workers. 

As if they are not busy enough, the Silms also run tours of the property and are especially busy during persimmon season when large groups visit to pick their own fruit.

Please see the orchard's website for details of shed sales and other information.

www.cedarcreekorchards.com.au

 

Cedar Creek Orchard

269 Mulhollands Road

Thirlmere

02 4681 8457

Please visit the Hawkesbury Harvest website.

 

 

 

 

Common Ground Bakery, Café - Razorback

Number 65 Map 4 Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail maps

On the old Hume Highway, near Picton, is the Common Ground Bakery and Café.  It is located on the site of the historic Razorback Inn, with wonderful courtyard spaces and a cosy, welcoming interior.  Locals and travellers alike can avail themselves of lovely food and drink, much of it sourced either from the café's own farm - Peppercorn Creek Farm - just up the road or from local producers.

Rocket allowed to flower and go to seed to attract bees and other beneficial insects.

 A WWOOFER from France using a Finnish Pottiputki planter to plant seedlings

10 000 garlic bulbs have been planted at the farm

A German volunteer from WWOOF - who happily told me she had loved her stay at the farm and that she had been eating "the best food ever!"

Alan Eagle from Hawkesbury Harvest and I visited the 21 acre farm (just two kilometres up the road) where we were warmly greeted by Scott Bazley.  He cheerfully tells us that he came for dinner at the farm nine years ago and never left. He showed us over the farm (visitors are always welcome) which uses organic methods to grow a variety of vegetables.  Water comes from the local creek.

Spelt sourdough bread

Buckwheat (and gluten free) sourdough

Purpose built oven

Scott takes us back to the cafe and out to the bakery where the wonderful scent of freshly baked bread assails us.  We watch as the bakers shape loaves or prepare fruit (which had been soaked in alcohol - it smelt like Christmas!) for other loaves.  The massive oven is used for baking but also for woodfired pizzas which are served in the café. Coffee, smoothies, fresh salads , soup and other delicious food are also on the menu.

Common Ground Bakery and Café

1580 Remembrance Drive

(Old Hume Hwy) 

Picton 2571

ph. 0246 770 600

 

Please visit the Hawkesbury Harvest website

 

 

 

Cornwallis House

Number 26 Map 1 Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail Map

Right on the banks of the Hawkesbury River and only three minutes drive from Windsor ( an hour or so from Sydney) is the most wonderful self catering accommodation built in the style of an old Queenslander, known as Cornwallis House.

I am greeted warmly by Angelo and Alannah Santangelo and as it turns out this greeting is extended to anyone who stays here, as Angelo or Alannah always meet visitors to the house to welcome them there.

Situated in the middle of an orange orchard, in farmland which had been cultivated by Angelo's father since before World War Two, the house is filled with light and is incredibly spacious and beautifully decorated.

So spacious is the house and its verandahs that the couple tell the  lovely story of a Chinese family staying there and the elderly grandmother opening up her arms and twirling around the verandah, so delighted was she with the space and the views.

There are four big bedrooms, all with their own bathrooms and a wonderfully equipped modern kitchen.  The Santangelos are happy to arrange and tailor weekends to suit individual tastes but are most often told by their guests that once they get there, they do not want to leave.  Indeed it seems most guests spend most of their time on the verandah, resting in the hammock, soaking in the spa or simply gazing at the lovely river views.

When oranges are in season guests are also welcome to pick the fruit from the trees.

 

I have a feeling I will be returning to this very special accommodation again - not to document this time but to stay!

Cornwallis House

45 Cordner Lane

Windsor NSW 2756

02 4577 6535

Please visit the Hawkesbury Harvest website.

The Hawkesbury Vegetable Farm

Number 27 Map 1 Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail Map

 

I meet Joe and Vicki Sultana and their daughter Antoinette on a sunny winter's day in Wilberforce.  I knew from Antoinette that Joe and Vicki had only just returned from holidays so I asked Joe how it had gone.

"We went to LA," he said "and studied how farmers near there produce their crops."

It is typical for this hardworking couple that even on holiday they are still thinking about their farm!

The farm comprises 8 hectares of land situated at Wilberforce near Windsor. Winter crops are thriving and include cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, leeks, celery and daikon radishes.

 

 
Also growing are broadbeans, fennel,kohlrabi and lettuces. Pumpkins are grown too although now are at the end of their season and in summer the Sultanas grow capsicum, eggplant, gherkins and melons.

The Sultanas have six children ranging in age from nineteen to seven years of age and have owned their farm for 17 years.  Their parents on both sides were also farmers. Like other producers I have met on the Farm Gate Trail they are encouraging their kids to do work outside the farm so that if they choose to come back to the farm they are truly keen to be there.  The hours are of course very long - in winter the couple work from 6.00 am to 8 or 9.00pm daily and in summer the days are even longer -often finishing at midnight.  

The farm is open to the public on Saturdays from 9.00am to 3.00pm and at other times by appointment. Not only can people purchase incredibly fresh vegetables but they can also have a cup of tea or coffee and a light meal at the Cafe on the farm.

The Hawkesbury Vegetable Farm

135 Carrs Road

Wilberforce NSW 2756

02 4576 3529

Please visit the Hawkesbury Harvest website.

M & R Vella Fresh Vegies

Up above the Hawkesbury River, at Freemans Reach, lies 13 acres of lush farmland.  Row upon neat row of vegetables stretches out before your eyes, green and vigourous with good health.

The Vellas bought this property around 16 years ago and had the foresight to apply for permission to run a pipe from the river to the property for those times when the dam is empty. They live on the property with their three children, all of whom have been encouraged to pursue trades outside the farm.  The Vellas believe that by learning skills other than farming and interacting with the community, their children are then very well equipped, particularly in regard to their communication skills, to come back to the farm if they want to.

At the farm rows of zucchini, cabbages, Chinese cabbage, cauliflowers, lettuces, parsley and beetroot are growing strongly and evidence remains of the corn and strawberries that were grown over the summer.  

 

Bees are kept on the property to help with the pollination of zucchinis and strawberries

Much of the produce grown here is destined for the markets at Flemington or for Coles but there is a fridge at the front gate of the farm which is filled with wonderfully fresh, inexpensive vegetables for sale.

M & R Fresh Vegies

613 Terrace Road

Freemans Reach

0419 631 725

Pine Crest Orchard - in photos

Number 5, Map 1 Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail Maps

Apple picking season is underway!

Pine Crest Orchard

2549 Bells Line of Road Bilpin 

02 4567 1143

www.pinecrestorchard.com

Please visit the Hawkesbury Harvest website

Urban Graze

It is the time of year when thoughts start to wander towards Christmas, summer holidays and the New Year. New Year resolutions are not for everyone but if  you had been thinking that you would like to improve your cooking skills, then one of the most beautiful places to do a cooking class would have to be Millthorpe, west of the Blue Mountains.

The historic town of Millthorpe is located between Bathurst and Orange and chefs Joel Owen and Tarrah Laidman of Urban Graze came across it when conducting their truffle tours.  

Joel and Tarrah have run highly successful cooking classes in Sydney's Hills District for four years and when the opportunity arose to open a cooking school in Millthorpe they jumped at it, opening the school around four months ago.  

Using the freshest ingredients possible, the classes are designed to be accessible to all (including children's classes in the holidays) and in no way intimidating.  There are upcoming classes on seafood, tex- mex, Thai, pasta and wood fired pizza cooking just to name a few.  The purpose built kitchen is stunning but again is deliberately built to resemble a home, rather than a commercial, kitchen.

It would seem that running the cooking school here is not enough for this energetic couple, for they have also taken over the lease of the Commercial Hotel and opened a restaurant called Basalt.  At the back of the hotel is a wonderful kitchen garden in the making.  Joel and Tarrah have taken many lessons from the providore business they ran in Canada and are growing their own unusual coloured/heirloom/baby vegetables and fruit.  Joel takes delivery of a beehive very shortly and bees and vegetables are to be joined by 6 or 7 chickens.  All this fresh produce will be used in the kitchen at Basalt and in the cooking school.

Predicting the future is not a talent of mine.  However I can predict with certainty that a cooking class and a meal at Basalt is in my future and sooner rather than later!

For more information please see www.urbangraze.com.au

26 Victoria Street
Millthorpe NSW 2798

0263663888

Please visit the Hawkesbury Harvest website