Maree and Kenrick at Wiccawood supply certified organic vegetables, edible flowers and stunningly beautiful herb curry packs to the Mullumbimby markets. They enjoy creating a shared conversation around growing your own garden and have the customers’ best interests at heart.

Kenrick grew up as an outback kid on a Queensland sheep station. He started out as a cadet journalist where he met his wife Maree and went on to spend 10 years as a rural advisor for the Queensland Government.

The couple always made big veggie gardens in every house they lived, feeding themselves and sharing food with neighbours and workmates. Maree read up on organic gardening and they set about learning the principles and putting them into practice at home.

Back in 1993 they bought a degraded dairy farm at Georgica in the Northern Rivers to finally grow food for a living. Maree taught sculpture at Southern Cross University while Kenrick commuted back to work in Brisbane, built a farmhouse and learnt how to plough a paddock.

They began selling mulch from their recovering pasture paddocks and over-time their business evolved with the introduction of ‘foodies’ interested in the subtropical crops they were experimenting with.  They now supply 70 herbs and vegetables over the seasons.

Faced with the challenges of climate change the couple seek ways to protect their produce and adapt. “Some of our hardy annual herbs, like lemon sorrel, we now have to cover with temporary shade cloth during the hotter months – something we’ve never had to do before.”

As a way of giving back some of the knowledge that was passed onto him, Kenrick is always happy to hand out advice encouraging customers to grow their own. “Every gardener should save their own seeds. Choose a couple of the healthiest plants, let them go to seed, and collect them for next year’s crop. This constant genetic improvement will help develop plants that can adapt to a changing climate.”

Enjoying the social aspect of the markets Kenrick loves to chat. “Most farmers are just big gardeners at heart!” He smiles.