When we were contemplating moving up to Thora, the big question was, how will you earn a living? Dan is a printer and has been since he went to work for his Dad at 15 years old. Dan will be 50 this year, and it was time for a change. Before we had children we thought about growing Garlic in Ballarat, but with children on their way, and a printing business to run, there was never enough time.
The little farm we bought is Certified Organic, and our wish is to deepen that and go Bio-dynamic. And do you know the best crop grown around here? Yes, yes, Garlic, the big Russian Garlic.
It's been a family affair, every afternoon, separating the garlic bulbs for planting. The children would come and go, come and tell their Dad about their day at school. They came, sometimes all, sometimes one, sing a song or verse they have learnt, Often the violin or recorder made an appearance.
Stacked and ready to plant. 450 kilo's of garlic. Whoa!!
The weather was kind to us, lovely sunny days, and so peaceful in the paddocks, tucked away.
Lot's of surprise's too!, We found a Muma Red-belly black snake and her little one under the straw.
The old adage is true, Make hay when the sun shines, it was an exhausting two weeks for Dan, every night, he would collapse into bed. But he loved working with the soil, learning about Garlic, and the land up here.
So now we can call him Farmer Dan....
