Can I visit your farm?
Of course we’d love to say yes to everything. We can’t manage occasional visits to the farm. Please email us at [email protected] if you want to discuss visiting.
Can I compost your boxes?
Of course, there’s nothing toxic about our boxes.
Are you going to stand as a candidate in this year’s election?
No. And I am no longer a member of Climate Change Coalition.
Do you use chemicals managing your bee hives?
Definitely not. Our hives are not certified organic because I prefer to keep them close to the house where I can visit them more often. This means the hives are close to our boundary, hence the inability to certify them organic. We never us any chemicals at all. We only rob the hives for honey when there is a big honey flow on. This means we never really know when we’ll have some to sell.
FAQs – OLIVES
I get asked all sorts of questions about olive oil.
That’s why I wrote the book Tree to Table. But here’s some of the more frequently asked questions.
What is LITE oil?
LITE is the biggest con of all. There are not less kilojules in LITE. It’s processed and tasteless.
What is POMACE oil?
POMACE oil is made out of the leftover mush from extra virgin olive oil production. When I first saw this made in Spain I couldn’t believe it met food quality standards. Imagine black muck, put through an industrial process to convert it to an oil, add a bit of green and you have pomace oil.
Do Chooks like Olives? (not really frequently asked!)
Yes. Ours do. After harvest I give them the left over’s and they are always enthusiastic and I love their eggs even more.
What is the GST on the olive oil purchase?
The GST is for the postage
FAQ’s – GARLIC
Can I get a postage reduction?
If you’d like to buy a larger volume of garlic in small boxes and have them all sent to the ONE address. Please email Roger at [email protected] and he can organise a cheaper postage rate. It will all depend on the volume ordered.
Why didn’t you tape my two boxes of garlic together? One came on Tuesday and the other two days later?
We usually do tape boxes together now, precisely because we don’t want one to go astray.
The delivery of the garlic to your home is dependent on the efficiency of the contractor at your local post office.
How long will my bulbs last?
Purle Glamour Garlic will definitely last well until Autumn but we now know some people in Queensland have advised that their garlic has sprouted at the end of summer. If you live in a warm/sub tropical place our garlic won’t last as long as a cold place.
Your Glamour bulbs of garlic, if kept dry, will keep to perfection for 5 months from their November harvest. Simply keep them somewhere dry and to help this, well ventilated. Your kitchen counter is probably ideal. After May, any remaining bulbs should begin to harmlessly and naturally wish to start sprouting. They are still very usable and the garlic itself is still very tasty and superior to other offerings.
Purple Prelude is the longest lasting garlic we sell.
Please remember Australian Garlic is an annual crop.
How much Garlic can I buy?
1) A Half Kilo gift box of 6 to 8 bulbs of Premium Purple Glamour
2) 1kg box of our premium bulbs. The number of bulbs vary per box depending on weight. 11 to 13 Bulbs
3) 3kg box of garlic
4) 5kg box for the garlic obsessive, or the very generous. 50 – 70 bulbs
When we start selling garlic in Spring/Summer, please visit our on line store page on the web site for more details.
Where should I store my garlic?
No rocket science is involved.
Definitely NOT THE FRIDGE please. Unless you’ve peeled a bulb and will use it within the week.
Short term storage in the fridge only please! Otherwise the bulbs think winter has happened and may start to sprout when you take them out.
Simply keep your bulbs somewhere DRY, preferably not in direct sun light, and most importantly in a well ventilated place. Humidity is the enemy of garlic. A bench top or in an open basket in the kitchen is ideal.
Tropical Storage
Here’s what Rhonda (Qld) had to say : “Thank you for the delicious garlic. I’ve never had garlic like it. Recently you discussed or asked about storage. It’s been a very humid wet summer here in Bundaberg. I’ve never found the fridge very good for storing my garlic…. nor the pantry. so I’ve left it packed in its box with the little nests around it. I’ve positioned it in my open plan living room which gets lots of fresh air and the breezes that drift by all the time and so far it is lasting very well. I’ve shut the lid but not tightly. Lots of other things have gone mouldy here and the pantry door warped for a while with the humidity but the garlic has stayed impervious to the weather in its little nests. I can’t wait for you to have some olive oil as qld olive oil is not that wonderful. I did grow my own garlic last year and got three teeny weeny cloves on each bulb but the garlic was lovely and meant I didn’t have to buy the chinese garlic while I was waiting for yours.”
Can I plant your garlic?
Yes, you need to keep it whole until you’re ready to plant it – usually in March or April. Plant the clove BEFORE it has started to sprout. Break them into cloves just before you plant and and have the pointy end sticking upwards, just out of the ground. Water well. Weed well!
How do you harvest garlic?
Every single bulb used to be hand-harvested. We’d lay them on the ground for about half an hour before we’d bunch them and hang them in the shed. It’s very important we don’t bruise the bulbs.
Now we use an ERME harvester that bundles them together.
Can I eat garlic once it has sprouted?
Yes, but the flavour is not as potent as when fresh. Some chefs say, slice the clove lengthways and remove the green shoot as it is slightly bitter. However some use the sprout as well. I do.
Is your garlic an Italian variety?
It’s commonly called Italian, because Italians have made it famous. But it probably originally came from what is often referred to as the “Great Garlic Crescent”. An area from Mongolia, across China, Afghanistan, Iran to Turkey. So NO it’s provenance is not Italian . It belongs to the Turban Group of garlics and we call it GLAMOUR.
FAQ’s – Elmswood Farm
Where is Elmswood Farm?
At the head of the Hunter Valley Catchment. It’s a four hour drive north of Sydney. The farm is on the Pages River which is a tributary of the Hunter River.
What is Biodynamics?
It’s a type of organic agricultural practise first devised by Rudolf Steiner in Europe in the 1920’s. It aims to redeem exhausted soils and make farms viable without the use of water-soluble fertilisers and chemicals. Each farm is different and requires different techniques to keep it healthy. We don’t rely on commercial formulations but rather use bio dynamic preparations that help make the soil healthy. The plants growing on our biodynamic farm have been ‘fed naturally.
What does Agriculture mean?
Agri = soil. Biodynamic farmers undertake to understand the ‘culture’ of the soil.