Victor Harbor Farmers' Market

Every Saturday Morning
8am to 12.30pm
Grosvenor Gardens, Victor Harbor

Brent's Blog

(posted July 2010)

7 to 1, now that’s a bad ratio:

Did you know that it takes 7 calories of energy to produce 1 calorie of food. The 7 calories of energy includes the power it takes to operate the farm machinery, produce the fertiliser/herbicide etc, transport the food to the food processor, run the machinery that turns it into the things we buy and then transport it to us.

Think about it...we need thousands of calories just to stay alive. I checked out a tin of soup in my pantry ...apparently I would need 2 of those a day, just to maintain my body weight (85 kgs) and that’s providing I don’t do anything physical.

As many of you would know, I grow vegetables in my limited spare time. In theory, working on the above ratio, I would be mal-nourished to the point of death within a fortnight but I feel fine. I plant a seed and sprinkle some sheep manure around it, nature waters it. I watch it grow, remove the occasional weed and hey presto, a few months later, I harvest it, wash it in rainwater and bring it to the market for you guys.

I look at my friend Francesco Virgara (he does the same thing as me) and he looks fine as well. In fact he is the picture of health.

So how can this be, this ratio of 7 : 1. Clearly it isn’t sustainable. We and the planet are living on borrowed time and now we have to turn the clock back. Do you remember when Adelaide was full of market gardens in places like Fulham, Campbelltown and Sturt. When the Hills produced all of our fruit.

I can remember as a young boy eating cherries at Christmas time, watermelon and grapes in summer, apples and pears in autumn and oranges in winter. I’m not sure what happened in spring ... I probably got scurvy. New potatoes only appeared at a certain time of year as did celery, tomatoes and cucumbers. My mum and I used to cut up apricots to make jam or we would bottle them in her Vacola preserving kit. We lived in the hills and we used to spend the summer picking strawberries, mulberries and blackberries to make jam. I can still smell the aroma of freshly baked blackberry pie, served with fresh cream, that came from the ‘milky’ dispensed into a billy can in the wee small hours...gosh I’m old!

You can see my point ... seasonality and regionality. We ate by the season and the food was produced locally and the ratio of 7 : 1 becomes 1 : 7. If we return to those ‘good old days’ we will continue to survive for countless millennium.

I had the pleasure of hosting a friend and her daughter at my veggie patch the other week and I showed the daughter how to pull carrots. The squeal of delight when she pulled the perfect carrot made my day. We washed the carrot and ate it...it was as crisp as crisp can be and as sweet as nature would allow without a health warning.

See you at the market ...Brent
Brent Tamblyn, VHFM Manager
0439 849 824 |

Brent's Blog

(posted June 2010)

Telly Chef’s:

Masterchef, Jaimie Oliver, Nigella, Gordon Ramsey, Poh, Maggie and Simon... love them or hate them, they’re everywhere. You cannot turn on without being bombarded by cooking shows. Last year’s Masterchef was the surprise ratings winner with the more viewers tuning in for the final than for the AFL grand final! 5 million Australians stayed home to see who would win. Terms such as ‘plate up’, ‘service’ and ‘covers’ suddenly entered everyday conversation.

Whether our interest in food attracted the media’s attention or was it the other way round doesn’t really matter. The bottom line is that our fascination with what we eat has never been greater and this is a good thing. We are prepared to experiment. Taste different and unusual things. The humble meat and 3 (boiled) veg are now ‘old school’ and regular families are making risotto, sushi and tagines. People are enquiring about preserved lemons, wild mushrooms and exotic spices.

This is a wonderful transition, experimenting with food promotes healthy eating and diversification. Europe and Asia have been fascinated by food for a long time and it is very much a part of everyday culture. Hopefully Australia will follow suit and good food will become part of our lives. After all, we produce some of the best quality produce in the world.

What’s new...

When I began writing this piece 18 months ago, I proudly announced that there were 80 farmers’ markets in Australia...there are now 150. Now that’s what I call growth!

If you get the chance, catch a new movie called Food Inc, hopefully our local cinema will give it a screening. It lifts the lid on the food industry in the USA and things aren’t that different here.

Fond Farewell...

Goodbye to Lyn Pointer and ‘Posh Pies & Charcuterie.’ Lyn was the market’s first chairperson and a prime mover in getting the market established. She was a passionate advocate for the market and always gave 100%. Lyn is moving on to further pursue her love for fine food. Bon voyage Lyn and we look forward to seeing you every Saturday.

See you at the market ...Brent
Brent Tamblyn, VHFM Manager
0439 849 824 |

Brent's Blog

(posted May 2010)

O*B*E*C*T in the U*S*A!

(As a preface to this piece, I would like to say that the Americans I have met and know are perfectly charming people. My website manager Sandra is from Kansas and I call her Dorothy...’Do you really Toto?’)

Obesity is the scourge of the western world. We’ve invented penicillin, heart, liver and kidney transplants. We’ve eradicated many diseases but we keep finding ways to make us unhealthy.

Food is our fuel, without we die but too much of it or the wrong type and we die prematurely.

American’s are large, we know that. If you have had the pleasure of travelling to the USA, you like me would have been staggered at the portion sizes and the plethora of fast food outlets. Open 24/7, drive through (to save you the exercise) Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bell, Burger King, Little Caesar’s and so on. Soft drinks from the service station come in buckets...and that’s just the regular size.

A walk down the aisle at an American supermarket and things get worse. Hamburger buns in packets of 24, over 160 varieties of cookies and a whole aisle (both sides and a mile long) devoted to sugar encrusted breakfast cereal.

School cafeterias are no different. Enormous pizza slices, cheese burgers...why not have both and do you want fries with that? While you’re at it, order a couple of litres of soft drink...oh and make it a ‘light’, I’m trying to watch my weight. School hallways are littered with vending machines and guess what...the school receives a retainer from the major food and drink companies that stock the machines.

Jaimie Oliver visited Huntingdon, West Virginia, where 45% of the adult population are obese and 50% have had all of their teeth removed. There are more pizza outlets in this city of 50,000 than there are health clubs in the entire state. The prognosis for some children, as young as 12, is that they will be lucky to reach the age of 30.

Oliver’s campaign to improve the food in Britain’s schools has had a dramatic effect. Children on Oliver’s diet were performing better academically and sick days have reduced by 15% according to a study by Britain’s Royal Economic Society.

Things aren’t that different here. I was in my local supermarket the other day and spent some time peering into other people’s trolleys and the result of my voyeurism was not good. The poorer and more overweight people had filled their trolleys with expensive, processed rubbish.

It’s ironical because you can eat well and reduce your food bill at the same time. Things like pasta, rice and fresh (in season) fruit and vegetables are much cheaper than frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets. Not only will you save money but you will be healthier.

After completing my survey at the supermarket, I followed it up with an inspection of the average farmers’ market customer and it was like chalk and cheese. Obviously their bags were full of healthy fresh produce but it was the demeanour of the customer that heartened me. Healthy, active people who were prepared to try different things and cook something new.

America’s battle with obesity has bottomed out (excuse the pun) and things are on the improve. Michelle Obama has launched , ‘Let’s Move,’ a program whose aim is to end childhood obesity within a generation. The First Lady has an organic garden on the grounds of the White House and she managed to score (US) $50,000,000 from her husband to support farmers’ markets in the US and there are now 8,000 markets dotted throughout the country.

Diet is a generational thing. Kids who are brought up on take-away and processed rubbish know no different and they in turn will introduce their children to the same or worse eating habits.

It’s up to us, the growers, producers and consumers of real food to promote the cause. Spread the word, tell your friends, do anything you can think of because for once, let’s not follow an American trend.

As a footnote to this blog the local supermarket adjacent to our little farmers’ market is now offering a sizeable fuel discount to shoppers who purchase fruit and vegetables on Saturday morning. Guess what, that’s when we are open. It’s nice to know that our activities are upsetting the largest food retailer in Australasia. Don’t get me wrong, the more people eat fruit and vegetables, the healthier they become. My suggestion is that all fruit and veg be date stamped to let customers know when and where it was harvested...and they call themselves, ‘the fresh food people.’

Brent Tamblyn, VHFM Manager
0439 849 824 |

Brent's Blog

(posted April 2010)

Last week you might have read or heard that the market is investing $3,000 in the establishment of a children’s food garden at Investigator College but it is not just the market that is involved. It is the stallholders, the members, the parents and the teachers. Local business will also be included, Mt. Compass Sand Mine has promised 60 ton of loam and a machine to move it. The other week I had the pleasure to speak to a wonderful group at Encounter Centre and they have all volunteered to help with the project.

Now there is a name for this and it is called...’The Neighbourhood Economy.’ Basically it means people helping people within their local community and everybody wins. The kids learn new skills and hopefully begin a lifestyle of healthy eating. The teachers, parents and volunteers get that wonderful feeling of satisfaction that comes from imparting knowledge. Local business becomes involved with a good cause and gets to promote their product. As for the market...well let’s just say it makes all those wet, cold and windy mornings seem worthwhile.

Nowadays we tend to lead busy lifestyles and one of the casualties of modern life is our sense and place within the community. Chats with the neighbour over the back fence don’t happen like they used to and as a result, we as a community suffer.

There is another modern term called networking and believe me when I say that it is one of our most precious assets. As market manager I have had to quickly learn this forgotten skill. So many people have helped me and the market over the past 16 months and in return, I try to return the favour. Networking, neighbourhood economy, a sense of community, whatever you choose to call it, if you get involved you gain so much. Community spirit is the golden thread that binds the tapestry of society together.

Brent Tamblyn, VHFM Manager
0439 849 824 |

Brent's Blog

(posted March 2010)

First we had the decade of economic rationalism...remember if it wasn’t profitable, it had to go. So long ETSA, the E&WS, Qantas etc. Then we had the decade of globalisation...hello China, the internet and the global financial crisis... that was fun. But now we are beginning the decade of sustainability.

The difference is that sustainability is foolproof, providing we give it a go. In a way, we are now paying for the excess’ of the past. When I learnt to drive petrol was 40 cents a gallon, that’s 9 cent a litre for you young-uns. Oil was never going to run out and I imagined that by the year 2000, I would be living like the ‘Jetsons.’ Alas, it didn’t happen...oil is running out and I am going to have to shelve my lycra jumpsuit.

The human species is remarkably adaptable and innovative. People are installing rain-water tanks, drip irrigation systems and solar panels. We are driving more fuel efficient cars and using energy efficient light bulbs and appliances.

The farmers’ market is a case in point. Take Charlotte Morley from Illawong Texel Lamb. Charlottes property is at Parawa, 30 kilometres west of Victor. The meat is processed at Normanville and then sold at the market and retail outlets on the south coast. She looks after her land and wastes nothing...now that’s sustainable.

Neil and Deb Hosking are another good example. Neil fishes local waters, employs local people, spends thousands of dollars locally buying fuel and ice for each trip, processes his catch on his property just outside Victor and sells locally.

The food miles for these two producers are negligible. They both work incredibly hard feeding the people of the south coast.

Food security is the latest buzz-word. Councils are now employing food security officers and their job is to get people planting food crops. Whether it be individually or with community gardens and allotments. Food is about to become a scarce commodity. There are 6 billion mouths to feed and 2 billion of those people are becoming increasingly more affluent...I’m referring to China and India. We saw it happen many years ago with crayfish. Crays used to be an affordable treat but now the bulk of the commercial catch is exported live to the markets and restaurants of Asia.

The moral to this blog is to think sustainable. Shop locally, support our local producers and ask where does this produce come from.

Brent Tamblyn, VHFM Manager
0439 849 824 |

Brent's Blog

(Feb 2010)

Brent's Blog

(Jan 2010)