Rocky Top Farm – Introduction
Rocky Top Farm is a certified organic producer of high quality heirloom vegetables at Penna in Tasmania’s south in between Richmond and Penna. The farm takes advantage of rich clay soils derived from the Jurassic dolerite which is widespread in central Tasmania. Approximately 2 hectares are given over to vegetable production.
The Rocky Top farm is owned by Tony Scherer and Joyce Johnston. Tony has had a long involvement in organic agriculture since he first became associated with the farmers market in Santa Cruz over forty years ago.
We especially love the fabulous garlic produced here which the farm is famous for. Tony favours a Creole variety called Rojo and a larger variety which we particularly like called Blush. However, we also love the other vegetables such as pink eye potatoes, eggplants, cabbages, pumpkins of various varieties, Delicata squash, radishes and Japanese turnips to name but a few.
The following photos show the quality of the vegetables produced by Tony from his dolerite soils that receive very little rain.
Tony supplies some of the top restaurants in Hobart including Dier Makr. He also is very generous with his time and mentors younger farmers who are also trying to grow vegetables without the use of damaging chemical inputs.
People reading this web site may wonder why we are so single-minded about organic fruit and vegetables and why we are constantly promoting farmers who grow organic produce. Well, the evidence is overwhelming that many of the chemical sprays used by farmers are damaging to the health of those who eat these products regularly because it is impossible to rid the fruit and vegetables of these sprays by washing them as most of the sprays now used in agriculture are now systemic sprays which enter the plants and move into the inside of the fruit or vegetable and cannot be washed off.
Tony is not only a promoter of spray free agriculture, he is also very good at explaining the relationship between the weather, the soil, the effect of animals and bacteria on the soil and many other things that are vital to creating great produce without the use of chemicals.
Tony has also had a great influence over the organisation called Sprout (which you can find more about below through the link provided) which has played a vital role at encouraging young farmers to take up organic agriculture throlughout Tasmania to the great benefit of all those seeking organic products in their diet.
The following brief summary about Tony is taken from the Sprout website:
Tony’s passion for growing has seen him grow both vegetables and fruit crops commercially and start an organic wholesale and delivery business. He is a guru on composting, and an all round nice guy. Tony was co-founder of Frogmore Creek Vineyard, began the business Renew Biological Fertilizers and is now Patron of Sprout Tasmania.
Additional information
Town/Suburb: Penna, 7171
You can read some more about Rocky Top Farm on the Sprout site, a group that Tony helped set up to encourage and assist people to take up organic agriculture.
One of the vegetables that Tony has long promoted and grown is delicata squash which you can see in the photo below:
These are a beautiful vegetable that can be served baked whole or cut in slices or many other ways. We like to cut them into small pieces and then heat up some oil, add some chopped onions and then later some garlic and then fry some freshly ground curry spices. Then add the pieces of delicata and cook until they are soft and have taken up all the flavours from the base that you prepared.
