The Hungry Gardener

In this episode of The Hungry Gardener we speak to Morgan Koegel from 3000 acres.

3000 acres is an organisation that has been set up to help empower communities with the skills and knowledge to grow fresh healthy food. Essentially 3000 acres wants to see more people, grow more food, in more places. We spoke to Morgan the general manager in the garden at their office at the Melbourne Food hub. They have been working on some great projects, including a community oil press. Hope you enjoy this episode.

On this episode of The Hungry Gardener we spoke to Julie Bennett, a favourite gardener of mine, with my dream job. Julie is the kitchen gardener for Montalto Estate on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

The estate is over 50 acres, with 30 acres under vine, and 3 acres of produce gardens. It has a fabulous restaurant and an incredible amount of open space, trees, gardens and artworks spread over the beautiful property. We recorded on the fly during a slow roving tour of the grounds, so expect some wildlife interruptions, wind gusts, tractors, and gravelly footsteps throughout, hopefully it adds some spice to the ‘in the moment' energy of our warm and wide ranging conversation.

In this episode we interview Matt Donovan co-founder and director of Food for Change, a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to alleviate food insecurity in Australia. According to stats on the website, 1 in 10 Australians seek food relief annually and over ¼ of these are turned away. Food for change grows fresh food, rescues small scale food not currently catered for, and supports established local relief agencies to deliver more food to those in need.

EP 22 THE HUNGRY GARDENER

This is the second podcast we recorded on our road trip to Ballarat in Central Victoria. We met and spoke with Lou Ridsdale the founder of the FOOD IS FREE not fo profit initiative in Ballarat. We spoke to her in the laneway beside her house which is the official hub for local and community engagement.

It’s such a simple and fantastic idea...People can leave excess food for others to share, anyone can pick up seeds to use to grow food, people can drop off compost to be managed and shared. It is a really interesting idea with community at its heart.

Lou has also been instrumental in setting up further community garden initiatives as well. We discussed what motivates her and how the FOOD IS FREE idea came to be.

For more information go to foodisfree.com.au or visit the hungrygardener.com.au

Enjoy the conversation.

On this episode, we speak to Bec Djordjevic of Munash Organics.

We visited the family business based in Pootilla, about 10 minutes outside of Ballarat.

The company is on 150 acres of certified organic farmland, and specialise in rock mineral, natural fertilisers, using a holistic approach to soil health.

It was great to finally meet Bec in person and to chat about her journey. Hope you enjoy the conversation.

On this episode, I share with you a talk that I recorded that I was going to present at a local library. Hopefully, this will give you an insight into me and my background. This is my story thus far... Stay Hungry.

Today we talk to Morgan Ranieri of yourgrocer.com.au about the business of home food delivery, and some of the advantages and challenges the company faces competing with the big supermarkets.

It’s a fantastic idea that supports a wide range of small retail, and local businesses.

Today we talk to Morgan Raneiri of yourgrocer.com.au about the business of home food delivery, and some of the advantages and challenges the company faces competing with the big supermarkets.

It’s a fantastic idea that supports a wide range of small retail, and local businesses.

In the latest Episode of The Hungry Gardener Podcast I met with Head Chef, Blayne Bertoncello of OMY Restaurant in Beaconsfield, Victoria.

Together with his brother Chase, they have built an incredible reputation for creative, inspired and truly seasonal fare that has to be experienced to be believed.

They operate with a sustainable and minimal waste philosophy, and grow almost all of the restaurant produce on a nearby property, including hops for home-made beer and honey from their own bees.

I visited the farm and spoke to Blayne as he took me on a tour of the incredible operation that requires a team of dedicated employees and service staff to manage. It is a truly amazing, 7 days a week undertaking, with the restaurant receiving high accolades across the industry including a prestigious Two Hat's for culinary excellence by the Good Food Guide.

We are in awe of the dedication, passion and long-term vision that it takes to run a restaurant like this.

Please enjoy this episode with Blayne Bertoncello of OMY

On this episode we speak to Andrew Monk, Chairman of Australian Organic Limited, a not for profit industry services group in Australia.

It has members from the organic farming and food sectors and helps to evolve and improve organic standards.

We have a fantastic chat about his career and also go right into some of the technical and practical aspects to organic certification.

Also included on this episode I answer the next listener question about home-grown garlic.