Welcome to Kalangadoo Organic Orchard
ABOUT
Kalangadoo Organic is a small family business located in the Limestone Coast of South Australia.
Chris and Michelle McColl have a background in Agricultural Science and around 30 years experience in horticulture from Central Australia to the Middle East to South Eastern Australia.
Our four children have helped plant, prune, thin, pick, pack, deliver and sell the fruit and juice. We are also indebted to the numerous friends and Wwoofers who have helped us with such good grace and made our lives a little richer.
We propagate our own trees, grow the fruit, make juice and dry fruit at our orchard. We deliver to local shops and sell direct at Farmers’ Markets and at the “farm gate”.
Our aim is to :
1. grow the tastiest most nutritious fruit for the local community.
2. show that small scale mixed farming is the way of the future
Chris and Michelle at Mil Lel hall helping to celebrate the declaration of another Gasfield Free area in the Limestone Coast. February 2015
Why we grow organic food for our local community
We began growing apples “conventionally” eighteen years ago, selling through a wholesaler to the major supermarkets.
Two things became obvious to us : firstly, the more orchardists sprayed chemicals, the more they had to spray. And secondly, growers faced all the risks, and yet received only about 10% of the retail value of fruit sold through the supermarkets.
It seems to us that too many growers are on a treadmill, with the chemical companies and major supermarkets in control, with both growers and consumers losing out. So in 2002 we jumped off the treadmill by converting to “organic” and by marketing direct at Farmers Markets and supplying independently owned retailers.
And over the years we have come to appreciate that a holistic approach with biodiversity at every level of the orchard ecosystem is the way to build a resilient farm and business. see "In the Orchard"
Why are we certified organic?
certification no. 5202
We believe that certification is the only way at present that customers can be sure that the food they buy has been grown according to definite standards. In Australia anyone can legally use the word “organic” regardless of how they are growing food. But once they are “certified organic”, there are strict guidelines and rules that must be adhered to in order to obtain certification.
Why a frog on the apple?
The Brown Tree Frog (Litoria ewingi) depicted in our logo is common in the Kalangadoo district, breeding in the swamps in late winter and spring. These frogs are frequently found hiding amongst the foliage and clusters of fruit in our orchard during summer and autumn. Frogs are recognised indicators of environmental health, and their presence confirms the health of the ecosystem in our orchard.
An ABC interview looking at the different approaches taken at our orchard compared with those used at a neighbours conventional orchard.