A lack of traditional heat waves, and a long growing rotation has meant that organic green bean grower Cafresco’s crops are doing very well this year, according to owner Maurie Cafra. “Beans are very susceptible, but they can benefit the soil. We have a long rotation to minimise the chance of any disease,” he says. “We’ve been picking the beans for about six weeks, and only just finished planting them.
The fact that there has been so much to pick has also meant increased labour costs for Cafresco. That is because green beans are best picked by hand, and can easily bruise or become damaged if allowed to be picked by machine. “Beans can do ok on poorer ground, but they are very slow and expensive to pick,” adds Mr Cafra.
Planting corn close to the beans can protect them from the wind, but they are frost sensitive to grow, so overly cold or overly hot weather will seriously impact the harvest.
As for demand for his organic beans, Mr Cafra says it is holding steady, but expressed his disappointment at the fact that only about 3-4% of Australian fresh produce is grown and produced organically.
Cafresco farm has been certified organic since 1997, and also supplies an array of other fruits and vegetables to local farmers’ markets.
For more information:
Maurie Cafra
Maurie Cafra
Cafresco Organics
Phone: +61439971509
E-mail: cafresco@bigpond.com