Farmgate fostering family values

SINCE early last year, the Turner family has been enjoying the fruits, vegetables and produce of its younger members’ labour.

With the encouragement of parents Corey and Hayley, their Batesford property has been a seeding ground, cultivated by their children Paxton, Laike, Kit and Reid.

The family’s efforts have led to the creation of their On the Rocks Farmgate, but Hayley said the venture provides a more important service than making a profit.

“It’s genuinely about the kids learning. It’s teaching them about the value of hard work and the food chain and where their food actually comes from,” she said.

“It didn’t start as a business where we were going to sell stuff. We were just teaching them how to grow their own food and we had excess.

“That led us to wanting to teach them about money and commerce and caring for the environment as well so it’s covering all that.”

Hayley said the initiative began during the children’s lockdown home-schooling and sparked from their interest in a gardening hub created at the back of their property.

The hub is being constructed using upcycled materials, which Corey and Paxton also used in building their driveway hut from which the family sells their produce.

Alongside the completion of the food hub, the family aims to include eggs in their output with the introduction of six chickens, one for each member.

Paxton recently attended Golden Plains Shire’s Edible Gardens online program and said starting the farmgate has nurtured an enthusiasm in sustainable cultivation.

“You can give me most veggies and I can tell you things like the season they’re meant to grow in and how much water they need a week,” he said.

“This shop has taught me so much. It’s been a big benefit and quite fun. Even my maths has gotten better too through this, just through comparing the cost of the things we sell with stuff in the shops.