An unassuming business situated north of Gingin is combining the very latest in scientific technology with one of nature’s most basic chemical processes to create products benefiting the environment in a number of ways.
Drawing on waste products from local farms Garden Organics, a subsidiary of the Brunnings group, mixes and processes composts, manures and mulches for domestic and horticultural use. The operation at the 540 hectare site is surprisingly grand scale – they currently sell around 500,000 bags of organically certified garden products per year via large chain stores such as Coles, Kmart, Bunnings and Masters. A process General Manager Donovan Farrell refers to as ‘putting the Gingin gold into Perth metro’.
Mr Farrell invested in the Australia-wide company when he immigrated to Perth from South Africa, and although compost production is just one aspect of the company’s business, it’s one which he has become passionate about.
“We are blessed with some great growing conditions here in Gingin, an abundance of underground water and a warm climate – the gutless sand is a good medium, but it doesn’t hold on to water. A well-composted product that is blended into the soil will hold on to water and nutrients – making them available to plants so they are not washing into the water table,” he says.
He is equally passionate about helping local farmers sustainably manage their waste products. “The stable fly issue is a big one here. We are saying to farmers – we can get the waste off your land and process for you”.
Garden Organics is currently utilising chicken manure from local poultry farms, cattle manure from the Muchea stockyards and olive pressings from Tanners olive farm. They have long-term plans to grow their own carbon The science of compost matter to complete the mix.
The process of composting occurs naturally in the environment as nature’s way of recycling nutrients. Essentially organic waste is broken down by micro-organisms into simpler substances which are then consumed by invertebrates (such as earthworms). The resulting nutrients are returned to the soil to support plant growth. The process is aerobic (requiring oxygen) and can take months in a outdoor environment.
To accelerate this process, Garden Organics has built a state-of-the-art drying shed which mimics the natural environment – with a few improvements. Up to 700 cubic ton of raw material can be fully pasturised in just four weeks inside the massive shed which conceals a web of underground tubing blowing hot air up through the floor. Moisture is added from boom sprayers above. The closed system also minimises odour and risks from pathogens during the decomposition.
This progressive company has also invested heavily in a machine at the top of the technology ladder – an ‘automated bagging system’ which is essentially a larger than-life robot. This machine is capable of working day and night carefully picking up the sealed bags from a conveyer belt and stacking them neatly on pallets, vastly increasing productivity and efficiency in the warehouse.
As part of the Gingin Science Festival, Garden Organics will open the doors to their operation at Aurich Rd, Gingin on Thursday 27 August and 3 September from 10.00 – 12.00. Interested members of the public are invited to come along and see the robot in action, as well as learn about the science of compost.
