Bellellen near Lake Fyans is not traditional horticulture country. And with poor to non-existent internet and phone coverage, it is not an ideal location to operate a business.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But Meg and Rod Blake are thriving living their life off the land at Bellellen Grampians Organics.
The hard-working couple pioneered certified organic vegetables more than 25 years ago.
They’re now capitalising on a thriving market as one of the only certified organic farms in the region, selling their produce at farmer’s markets in Melbourne and providing local boxes to customers in Horsham, Stawell, Pomonal, Halls Gap and Ararat.
“The certified organic industry is growing exponentially,” Mrs Blake said.
“When we first started growing organically people thought we had gone loopy 25 years ago. They had always done traditional farming – spray, kill and poison.”
The Blake’s grew organic medicinal herbs before transforming their business to organic vegetables.
After Mrs Blake was diagnosed with breast cancer the pair began growing a small amount of organic vegetables on the farm.
“I was passionate about minimising the amount of chemicals I was eating,” she said.
“Since then, more and more people have got to know us and our vegetables.
Some can’t believe what we are doing.
- Meg Blake, Bellellen Grampians Organics
“Nobody is doing horticulture anywhere near us. The closest is in Horsham.
“The soil is very marginal. We’re between the Black Ranges and the Grampians, so it is a cross between sandstone and granite sand. It is nothing like down around Daylesford where you can grow carrots that can weigh a kilogram.”
The solution, Mrs Blake said, is research and trial.
“We have just done a trial of sweet potato. They’re tropical things. You wouldn’t think you could grow sweet potato in the Grampians, but you can,” she said.
Mrs Blake, 74 and her husband work between 70 and 80 hours a week, between hands on work on the farm, creating products like basil pesto and selling at farmer’s markets in Melbourne and Geelong. But they love the work.
“If we were younger we would expand and we would have a fabulous business going here. We could double what we are doing and still sell it. But we’re not up for it. We get frustrated because we can’t do as much as we would like to do,” Mrs Blake said.
“In a way no internet and poor phone reception has been a saving grace because it has crippled us from being able to build our business. Do I really want to? I’m pretty happy where I am.”
Contact Meg Blake on 0417 581 421 for more information or to order produce.