Sallydale Organic Farm @ Down to Earth Gardening Expo

27 years ago we bought a derelict 40 acre farm in Marshall's Lane with 4 trees on it.....oh and a derelict pise house built in 1840. We had jobs in Bathurst at CSU and 2 gorgeous kids one of whom had quadriplegic cerebral palsy....and we had a dream !!

We had done some permaculture training and shared a love of history.So, our dream was to establish a traditional self sufficient mixed farm based around a heritage apple orchard with a small flock of sheep, poultry, a great vegetable garden and native corridors to support birds and native wild life. And in 2017 we have achieved almost all of it...the kids are grown up, one works at CSU uses four languages and several Masters Degrees and the other is an artist and has had four exhibitions of her work. There are 5,000 plus trees on the farm, about 100 varieties of apples, nuts, pears, plums, medlars and pine nuts.

Self sufficiency is still a way off, but we are making progress. Our kids have left home but return most weekends and are very involved in the farm. We have returned to Uni to learn more about sustainable farming and have just achieved our 20th year of organic certification.

Looking forward to sharing our experience and hearing about yours.

Sally and Dale Salter