Vegetable grower Warren Trundle wants more people to know where their food comes from – and what it takes to grow it!
Over the past 20 years Warren has produced literally tonnes of hydroponically-grown vegetables from commercial greenhouses on his Gingin property, which he originally purchased as a going concern set up for tomatoes.
Quickly discovering that the cherry tomato market was too labour intensive to be viable, Warren experimented with different crops and ended up finding a niche growing paprika and quality baby eggplant.
“I prefer paprika to capsicum, it’s sweet like eating an apple, but it weighs light and consumers expect it to grow absolutely straight – which is doesn’t do naturally!” he explains. “I really struggle with the amount of fruit and veg which doesn’t make first grade due to bends or marks – it tastes the same and it’s fresh!”
Warren switched to farming full-time after juggling his four-day-a-week trucking job with his horticulture business for years – but with the high cost of production fruit and veg has proven to be a tough game and like all farmers, vegetable growers are price-takers in a fickle market driven by supply and demand.
Noticing a consumer interest to buy direct from farmers during COVID, Warren had a go at a farm gate – with some success. He advertised mangoes for sale at his farm gate, and people loved it.
“I had church groups buying 30 boxes at a time! We also sold them paprika and local honey from my neighbour.”
“Everyone was so interested in what I was doing – I ended up showing them around the greenhouses, and explaining what I do,” says Warren. “These days people don’t get an opportunity to see where their food comes from and the costs involved. Years ago, everyone had a cousin or an aunt or uncle who had a farm, now we have fewer people who have any knowledge or attachment to a farm. We’ve ended up with so many people who have no idea how food is grown.”
Keen to share his passion for provenance, Warren also welcomed guests from Hipcamp – an app which links campers looking for unique outdoor stays with people willing to share a part of their property for a few nights.
“They thought it was wonderful and loved the experience of staying on a real farm instead of a campground!” Unfortunately, a letter from the shire indicating that hosting campers was illegal without a caravan park license put a stop to hosting future guests.
With a commitment to being as sustainable as he can, Warren uses low spray techniques and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to control bugs in his greenhouses. He explains that growing organically is difficult in a hothouse environment, as there are no organic fertilisers suitable for hydroponics. However, he minimises synthetic sprays choosing ‘chemicals’ with an organic base such as citrus oil, which makes the plant surface acidic.
“I do what I can to promote the good insects – because they do occur. That’s why I’m not going in with horrible old organo-phosphate chemicals that kill everything on touch.”
“A lot of what we call chemicals in IPM simply make the bug feel unwell, and stops it going out, finding a mate and laying eggs, which stops the cycle.”
Warren is currently planting for the coming season and plans to diversify his range to offer a wider range of fruit and veg including passionfruit, oxheart tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and possibly garlic and ginger. He’s also going to have a go at growing some watermelons and rock melons on a patch of land he has been organically improving using the spent coconut husk used in the greenhouse. Collaborating with neighbours to save on delivery costs and manage supply is also part of the plan.
“Ideally, I’d like to sell direct to a few local grocers like the Locavore Store. That way local people can enjoy good quality locally grown produce without paying too much,” says Warren. “It’s better for the grower too.”
You can buy Warren’s paprika and eggplant at the Northern Valleys Locavore Store in Bindoon, along with other food and produce grown in the region.
