Captains Creek Organics
BY RICHARD CORNISH
Josh Williams, Captains Creek Organics harvesting sweet corn.
Autumn is here, and the lettuces have flowered. So have dandelions and plantains. The vegetable beds at Captains Creek Organics appear chaotic. But they are full of life. Bees, beetles, lizards. Grower Josh Williams encourages this chaos. “It is all about letting the natural processes go about their course,” he says. He grew up in Smythesdale, exploring the bush, then left Australia to discover the world.
The call of the land was strong, and he returned with a mission to find some land to farm. Buying fertile land so close to built-up areas was financially out of the question. Serendipity led him to a parcel of land at Blampied that was once home to the late great pioneer of regenerative farmer Rod May. At the end of the season, Josh will pull up the irrigation and move the vegetable beds to a new patch of soil that has been lying fallow for years. The old beds will be turned over to sheep. They will manure the soil while the bugs and fungus under the earth will help build up fertility.
Josh has supplied Blakes Family Grocer with simply superb vegetables over summer, from zucchini to greens, and we look forward to his winter crop of cabbages and caulis. In the meantime, we are simply loving his super tasty and beautiful-looking heritage beetroot. Roast them for just under an hour, serve with a creamy dressing or peel, and finely slice them, and serve with a vinaigrette.
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