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Warrah Biodynamic Farm

Warrah Biodynamic Farm was established in 1965 by a small group of founding families, who cultivated a biodynamic vegetable garden to provide practical life and organic farming skills for young people with disability.

Many of Warrah’s founding members are still involved in the Warrah community, and the original garden grew into the thriving Warrah Biodynamic Farm we have today.  Certified organic and biodynamic since 1994, the farm still continues to meet its original purpose, with adults and children with disability engaging in meaningful work and volunteering on the farm.

The Biodynamic Approach

Biodynamic agriculture is a forward-thinking holistic approach to horticulture and agriculture. Dr Rudolf Steiner developed the biodynamic methodology in 1924. The biodynamic approach recognises that the wider cosmos, earth, nutrition and human beings are entirely intertwined. Farming is done naturally, without the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or fertilisers.

As a member of the biodynamic community, Warrah Biodynamic Farm is committed to the following:

Producing high-quality nutrient-dense food in an ecologically sound manner

Maintaining and enhancing the landscape and its natural and cultural potential

Upskilling people in areas that are meaningful and which serve the community

Nurturing a culture of empowerment and personal development through activities on the farm

Taking part in research work for the further development of biodynamic agriculture that is attuned to the natural world.

How we Farm

We grow a range of seasonal produce on around 1.5 acres at any given time. The farm is maintained using a variety of small scale farming tools and machinery, which is continuously being reviewed and adapted to our needs and capacities.

When farming on a smaller scale, there is some freedom to decide how the land will be managed. At Warrah Biodynamic Farm, we endeavour to minimise our (human) impact on the soil and surrounding environment. This is important as agriculture generally exposes and exploits natural systems and resources to produce food and fibre so we can live a comfortable and healthy life.

To reduce our impacts on the landscape at Warrah Farm, we use minimal-till methods. Meaning, we avoid disturbing the soil too much in general farming activities such as weeding, planting and cultivating. In addition, as the farm is certified organic, we use no chemical or synthetic ‘cides’ or fertiliser. Only naturally derived and eco-friendly products are used in our production system, to maximise biodiversity above and below the soil.

The inclusion of volunteers and clients on the farm aids the social and therapeutic benefits of agriculture, where humans have always worked together, with nature, to produce all our foodstuff. At Warrah Farm we are proud and rewarded every day to include this aspect in our production system.

Biodynamic methods at Warrah Farm are also integral for our soil’s health, for producing exceptional quality produce. Biodynamics is also fantastic for the social and therapeutic inclusion of the space, where volunteers and clients are presented with holistic approaches to land management, first introduced in the 1920s by Austrian philosopher and scientist Rudolf Steiner.

Warrah has two cows on the farm – Elke and Frangipani. Cows with horns like theirs are a common sight on biodynamic properties. Everyone probably knows that cows play an important role in providing nutrient rich manure as they graze the fallow paddocks. However, cow horns are also extremely important in the biodynamic approach to organic farming. They are used in the preparation of Horn Manure (500). This preparation is produced during the winter months to use in spring as a fertilising spray. Fresh biodynamic cow manure is pushed into old cow horns and buried in rich topsoil for 4-6 months over the winter. Come spring, the horns are dug up and this beautifully fermented, nutrient dense compost is collected and used to enhance and rejuvenate the soil.

Biodynamic Resources

Books

  • Grasp The Nettle – Peter Proctor (available in the Farm Shop)
  • Principles of Biodynamic Spray Preparations – Manfred Klett
  • Gardening For Life – Maria Thun (available in the Farm Shop)

Seasonal Growing Guide

The chart below shows the produce that we grow seasonally and gives an indication of when each becomes available depending on each season’s particular growing conditions.