Wildwood Organics: Vegie grower Ben Dunn says customer connection drives business

An organic vegetable operation is delivering strong returns for this former beekeeper, who believes everyone should know their farmer.

Beekeeper-turned-vegie grower Ben Dunn knows how to keep his plants and customers happy.

The secret, he says, is maintaining a close connection to both.

“I have decided to focus mainly on farmers’ markets because that way of distributing my produce to the public gives me a lot of positive feedback,” Ben said.

“I really love the fact I have a close connection to my customers. They know me by first name, and I know them.”

Vegetable grower Ben Dunn from Wildwood Organics at Clarkefield. Picture: Zoe Phillips

The young farmer will have a mountain of fresh, colourful produce available at farmers’ markets in January, having finetuned his sowing schedule over the past two seasons to cater for what his buyers love. But he also plants only what thrives on the 2ha leased plot at Clarkefield where he runs Wildwood Organics, with at least 25 lines at any one time, a split between heirloom and commercial varieties.

“I do try to focus on things that are not too obscure, but maybe haven’t been seen in a while,” he said.

Ben started the business two years ago with wholesale and restaurant sales before settling on farmers’ markets. Business has picked up steadily, with strong returns allowing Ben to employ two full-time workers.

His summer harvest includes heirloom zucchinis, squash, cucumbers, beets, kale, rainbow chard and eight varieties of tomatoes.

“I got interested in vegetables because I could see how it was possible to get into farming at a small scale without a huge amount of investment initially,” Ben said.

“The product is picked the day before … the supply chain is as short as it can get. People do appreciate that.”

As a certified organic grower, he doesn’t use any chemicals, manages weeds and soil health with cover crops, and follows minimum-till and regenerative principles.

“I always make sure there are some bee-friendly plants in there, too,” he said. “The overall benefit is that (bees) boost your local ecosystem and plant health.”