SERIES 35 | Episode 07
Hannah is on Bruny Island to visit a market gardener who has created a thriving productive patch despite her home’s challenging conditions.
Featured Garden Owner:Jo SmithLocation:Bruny IslandClimate Zone:Cool temperateGarden Established:2012Style:Productive market garden Key Features:Densely planted vegie beds with fruit trees and vines throughout.
Bruny Island is effectively two islands joined by a narrow isthmus – they both have a cool temperate climate, but the south gets more rain than the north island. High winds are also a challenge.
Jo Smith was new to gardening and didn’t realise this when she moved to North Bruny 12 years ago. She has taught herself how to grow food over the years, connecting to the seasons and the climate. Even this far south, they are almost self-sufficient in food all year round.
When they first moved to the land, it was a compacted, empty paddock, growing only capeweed. They followed a no-dig approach, laying cardboard, straw, many and compost. They were able to plant directly into the beds straight away.
She started selling and donating vegie boxes to the rest of the island now also supplies restaurants and chefs, including Simon Ford, who whips up lunch for Hannah and Jo. Her children happily explore the garden and eat straight from the beds.
To help shelter the garden from wind, she has erected windbreaks of shade cloth, planted trees, and created microclimates within the garden with other plants or corrugated iron walls. Dams on the property help supplement low rainfall.
Another challenge for Jo along the way was post-natal depression, but for this the garden was a nurturing place and helped her get through some dark times. “I come out here and I don’t have to think – I can let go of the world,” she says.
“It’s been really hard work, but it’s been worth it.”
Featured PlantSUNFLOWERHelianthus annuus cv.
Filmed on North Bruny | Tas
