Waitchie grower’s vegie patch pays dividends on-farm

For Waitchie farmer Carol Fitzpatrick, an organic vegie garden has created benefits for her broader cropping program. Here’s how.

For Waitchie farmer Carol Fitzpatrick, an organic vegie garden has created benefits for her broader cropping program.

“We’re doing things here in an area where a lot of people aren’t doing regenerative things yet,” she said.

Waitchie farmer Carol Fitzpatrick with her Kelpie Jess, amid the start of the 2024 harvest. Picture: Rachel Simmonds

Carol had a long-term career as a surveyor after her university studies and worked in Dromana, and overseas, before returning to the farm in Waitchie.

She is at the start of harvest this year with barley, wheat, lentils and peas.

“I feel like I’m just starting, I’ve only been a farmer for three years whereas [my husband] Brian has been a farmer his whole life,” Carol said.

“I’ve always been into organic growing … I always sent Brian podcasts and things he should do, and he said we couldn’t do it without me being on the farm to facilitate it.”

Carol said they brewed their own fertilisers, and had enough for their sowing program at full rate for the first time this year.

“It’s more efficient in terms of nutrient availability and I would say cost-saving,” she said.

“We’re providing more than just phosphorous, but I wouldn’t say we’ve dialled it in. We’re still learning.”

Carol also makes compost and compost extract, to use at sowing time in their liquid inject. She said they would use it in the next program on the seed as a seed dressing.

Her work to find new on-farm benefits led to her recent recruitment to the VicNoTill board.

“Hopefully because I have a different background I will bring something different to the table, because I didn’t come from agriculture.”

She said farming and surveying could communicate with each other on the land, but “only if you want it to”.

“I am trying to use some of my surveying background in mapping to look at the different things that come in, like the yield maps or NDVIs to see how we’re doing well,” she said.

“It’s certainly something fun for me to do.”