The Bryant family way

Off Old Cape Schanck Road is a little farm where every single piece of fruit and every single vegetable grown on the property is sold through the farm gate.

For almost 30 years, the Bryant family has gone to great lengths to grow fresh, organic produce to sell to local families. Bryant family matriarch, Rosemary Bryant, is immensely proud of the tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, herbs, leafy greens, onions, silver beet, corn, and pumpkin raised and ripened on the 7-hectare Boneo farm.

“We wanted local people to have access to healthy seasonal produce that ripens naturally and hasn’t travelled hundreds of miles to sit in a cool room for days,” says Rosemary.

“Healthy food means healthy people, and we believe that’s what we provide here at our farm gate.”

The farm is nestled amongst the undulating sandy loam country on the banks of Drum Drum Allock Creek near the base of Arthurs Seat. Rosemary and her husband, Graham, bought the old dairy farm in 1974. They initially cultivated Chinese broccoli for sale at markets in Melbourne. Always thinking outside the square, they adopted organic farming techniques in the 1980s. Frustrated by market price fluctuations, they opted to sell directly to the public. They initially attended farmers markets but in the mid-1990s acquired a former army building from the Balcombe army camp at Mount Martha. This was to become the farm gate.

In 2020, their son Andrew, a licensed plumber, took over the farming reins from his father. An advocate of sustainable farming, he diligently maintains soil fertility in the sandy loam using strictly organic, and some biodynamic methods. At the heart of this method is compost. This is made with harvested green crops such as pea, oat, barley, lupin, buckwheat, peas, and fava beans. This mixture is carefully composted with other organic materials such as spent coffee grounds and manure collected from the small herd of cattle. This is blended with rock dust to create a nutrient-rich mix essential for cultivating healthy plants with high yields.

The crops are grown in the free-draining soil outside as well as in hothouses. In winter, leafy greens and vegetables thrive in the mild climate of the southern Peninsula under the protection of the houses. A handful of fruit trees provide a bounty of figs and apples in late summer and autumn. If there is any excess fruit or veg this is cooked up into old style farm preserves. Any vegetable waste is fed to the cattle – who in turn create the manure for the compost.

Andrew shares his parents’ creativity. He is also an accomplished sculptor, crafting large-scale pieces that adorn the farm landscape. Some sculptures incorporate environmental elements, casting unique shadows depending on the solar calendar or swaying in the breeze. Andrew’s wife, Rachael, is also an artist, using spent grapevines to weave rustic sculptures and practical baskets which she sells at her boutique onsite.

The farm gate is a bustling and sociable space where visitors shop and converse. In addition to the farm’s own range, shoppers can find a selection of organic produce from other local farmers, offering a broader variety.