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Welcome to

Black Barn Farm

A biodiverse orchard, nursery & learning space.
Join us on the journey of regerenative orcharding, living simply,
following the seasons & beating to the drum of our small town.

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workshops & events

Come hang with us in our patch, paddock, packing shed, orchard and poly tunnel for one of our events or workshops.
Join us as we work towards building a community of skills rich human beings who are connected
to the natural world and the seasonal pull of the annum.

view our workshops & events

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Futuresteading

Written by Jade Miles from Black Barn Farm, Futuresteading is a practical and inspirational guide to living in a way that values tomorrow:
a slower, simpler, steadier existence that is healthier for you, your home, and the environment.

Click Here To Purchase the book

Hello and Welcome to

Black Barn Farm!

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Black Barn Farm

A Quick Introduction

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Black Barn Farm Updates

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G'day! I'm Jade. I'm 8 years into what I term my

G'day! I'm Jade. I'm 8 years into what I term my farming 40s... (although technically we started when we were 38) this ride has been one heck of a physical, challenging, expensive and illuminating experience, mainly because every time I decide I might not be cut out for it something happens, usually something slow, contemplative and unexpectedly beautiful. Catching me off guard and refuelling me for the next inevitable challenge hurtling in my direction.
I'm lucky enough to be doing this life with my husband Charlie and 3 kiddos who from Jan till June can all be found at our farm gate... the boys making fresh apple cider doughnuts, minnie making berry ice cream and apple pies and Charlie contemplating biological solutions for pest management.

Most people don't realise that i also have an off farm job that has me seated at this desk in front of a computer for far too many hours each week. At the moment this is heightened because I'm writing my second book before work each morning. By 6pm I can't get my shoes off and into the paddock fast enough. I'm fuelled by wild places, sun on my skin and dusky nights outside so I can't possibly stay inside another second.

I drink more cups of tea than I probably should and I chose a different cup for every one I have. This little number just arrived from @little_cottage_creative actually they were for the farm gate but I couldn't help but snaffle one.

Anyway, if you're new here... thanks for joining us on this higgledy-piggledy regen farming journey, not linear or easy by any stretch but lovely in a very real kinda way. Hope we get to meet at the farm irl one of these days. X

In just 2 Saturdays time we will indeed welcome yo

In just 2 Saturdays time we will indeed welcome you to the orchard...sooooooo much to do before then but heck, who doesn't love a deadline. So grab your texta and mark Saturday the 16th of December in as our official opening date for pick your own this year. Those raspberries they are a ripening!!
Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention, that very same Saturday we will also have all our potted heritage apple trees for sale at 50% off. Over 50 varieties available. Most are over 2 metres tall and lots with fruit on them. All just $25 as a Christmas special.
Sing out if you'd like us to pop a specific variety aside for you. It'll be a one day sale only.

Rising with the moon to get this book written. Be

Rising with the moon to get this book written.
Being greeted by white gums reflecting out the window as I wait for the kettle to boil with the muffled sound of sheep and goats waking up in the paddock right at the back door all reminds me I'm at home.
It's comfortable, safe, warm and I'm so bloody grateful.
My shoulder is frozen, my body is tired, my uncle is dying, my dad is ill but I'm here, right now, revelling in a life where I'm free to make decisions, live simply but we'll, in community and with agency.

So. Bloody. Grateful

Miss Sunday the toggenberg milking goat is back to

Miss Sunday the toggenberg milking goat is back to her daily delivery of 2+litres and at the end of the week we still have more than we can get through. SO into the pot it all goes for a quick Saturday ricotta.

Today I used 6 litres of milk, slowly bought it to 92 degrees and tipped in some apple cider vinegar (about 2 desert spoons) and gave it a quick stir (to help separate the curds from the whey). I drained it for 30 minutes before adding salt n pepper, rolled it in fresh herbs and garlic then poured over some olive oil.

On sourdough toast its a perfect rainy Saturday lunch.

Day one of advent is always 'collect the tree'. W

Day one of advent is always 'collect the tree'.
With teenage chillins, the appeal of advent is definitly waning and it took some coaxing but it was pretty special to hear their opinions as we made the selection...too tall, too hollow in the middle, too spindly....

As always, it took longer than expected before the 'perfect' shaped wilding, was chosen and shoved on the roof.

Day two is also always the same 'decorate the tree'. So I'm up early getting their 3 baskets of baubles ready to go. Each year we gift them a new decoration so when they leave home they'll have their own box of baubles to take with them. It's a funny but much loved ritual that even the most reticent teenager can't resist.

I should be writing my book. But the goat is aski

I should be writing my book. But the goat is asking to be milked with a bleat on repeat and the sun has just showed her face after a week of grey skies. So instead of being in front of the computer I've dashed outside in bare feet, squishing mud between my toes, to milk and turn the drying tea herbs on their tracks in the barn.

Although a little dishevelled and water logged, I feel like I just saw the barn garden as a fully fledged space for the first time. Not a newly planted garden or one with a very long to do list still to happen. All of these plants were taken from cutting 3 years ago and have been in the ground now for two years.

It's still a young garden but it has all now settled into itself and is a beautiful area on our property that makes me feel calm to be here.

Much more cup filling than a computer screen.

A candle in honour of lifetimes ending. All livin

A candle in honour of lifetimes ending.

All living things come to an end. It's part of the eternal cycle of life. Inevitable.
Acceptance is grief filled and wracking but beautiful and necessary even when we can't make sense of it.

Enjoy the small moments and go gently.

X

Garlic. Out they come and up they go. This is t

Garlic.
Out they come and up they go.

This is the earliest we've harvested before and I just might have jumped the gun a tad early but all signs were shouting 'let's go' so we're up and away with cucumbers and bail already planned into the newly empty bed.

A week to cure and into the cellar.

So Charlie comes in from his early morning whipper

So Charlie comes in from his early morning whipper snipping and says 'those sandfords are nearly ready you know'... they're our earliest season raspberry and his words were like a bomb.

We have a bucket load to do before we throw our doors open again... finish the kitchen, make the apple pies, restock the farm gate, print all the labels, dehydrate and mix the tea blends and weeding.... so much weeding!

But it's close and that's so darned exciting I just needed to share.

The season is almost upon us.

Silent sunrise! Filling my cup alongside beautiful

Silent sunrise!
Filling my cup alongside beautiful women with open hearts.

Can you feel it? The abundant life, the verdant gr

Can you feel it? The abundant life, the verdant green, the bursting energy around us. Having been away from the farm for the better part of the last month, I've returned to a garden that has woken up and life has vibrantly upped its pace.

ALIVE.. strap in as you tap dance your way through this jaunty season, grabbing it with both hands and squeezing it for all it offers anyone open to inspiration.

Seasons flip quickly at this time of year from one gentle sun kissed spring day to scorching skin burning heat and sometimes in a blink. Providing water is abundant the green leaves don’t seem to mind and in one quick step, everything suddenly feels ALIVE.

New life abounds and with it a sense of hope. The days are longer, the earth is warmer and the buds on every tree that slept through Winter are now competitively tumbling new leaves outward, offering shade in spades. New fruit is setting and the spring hunger gap is now behind us in the veggie patch where we see an inkling of the abundance soon to come.

The summer solstice on the 21st will stamp the crescendo of the season alongside festivities which push into your psyche, building momentum behind your ‘making, baking and growing’ gift efforts, which need to begin in earnest.

Hang on for the ride this season! Enjoy the pace, the outdoor thrumming and the forthcoming summer days.

Thanks Lutruita/Tasmania! I had imagined you'd be

Thanks Lutruita/Tasmania!

I had imagined you'd be first stop on my @futuresteading tour but it turns out you were last and it couldn't have been more intimate, nourishing and beautiful.
After chatting at the @huonshow with Sadie from @fat_pig_farm I was lucky enough to be hosted by Michelle and Leo @thebowmont

The most delicious cakes I've ever eaten, a space to make even the most travelled talkers feel comfortable and an upstairs b and b that cuddles you in a way that feels like home.

I missed a few gorgeous humans who had hoped to make it but things were hopping this weekend in the Huon and it was a really special year to hug a few I've 'known' for years via these squares...

Despite the conversation i promise im not curating a cult. 😂

It's been a huge couple of weeks on the road and I'm so very grateful but now it's very much time to go home.

Xx

Morning sun... the second last day before our fina

New life. Hope. Just. So. Darned. Cute

New life.
Hope.
Just. So. Darned. Cute

Small and mighty - Sacred symbolism! These small

Small and mighty - Sacred symbolism!

These small stones were found when sitting quietly by a river having just dipped naked in the freezing mountain water. It's like they jumped from the millions of other pebbles to share a message. A simple message.... keep the fire burning but not to the detriment of balance.

In my mind, one of these is a fire stick to keep the coals alight even in times of distress and uncertainty and one is to ensure that equal parts calm contemplation and action are both embodied.

To everyone else they are just two small pebbles but to me they remind me of the paradox of our existence and my role in actively navigating this in everyday life.

I'm about to be away from my place of stability for the next few weeks and to keep me awake to my tendency to push too hard, I'm packing these small but mighty stones as physical symbols to prompt thought often simply by feeling their weight in my pocket.

Do you have something similar?

Spring twilight! I wait 11 months of the year for

Spring twilight!
I wait 11 months of the year for this month in the garden. The air is sweet, still and warm. The colours jump out of their contrasting greens and every cell in my body is giddy with pure delight.

The torture of this November is that I'm about to get on the road for a 2 week work stint. Instead of reveling in this hard earned place of sensorial stimulation, I'll be in conference halls and airports.

I looked over my squares last night after a weekend in the bush and the ache of yearning I had to be here... and only here... was so strong it made my throat kick and my eyes sting.

Why is adulting so determined to lock us into being endlessly responsible.

Before I get too caught up in my own very temporary reality, lets do a perspective check... At least I CAN come home to this place of peace. Peoples entire worlds are being smashed apart right now and the horizon is bleak beyond words. If I could send some of our privledge over the oceans, I'd pack shovels full into boxes and will it to arrive. That's not possible though but what is, is my ability to write to my local member and advocate for a cease fire...continue to interview those doing bloody incredible things in their own world to build and hold community and to stay close and open hearted to my own people who in so very lucky to have.

Go gently and with love xx

Oh BEE-HAVE! One of the most critical players in

Oh BEE-HAVE!

One of the most critical players in our orchard ecosystem... especially at this time of year... are our pollinators.

We used to keep our hives near the house under the birch trees but we were pretty lax apiarists (setting up an orchard and berry grove while working off farm at the same time has kept us pretty stretched for the last 8 years) and last spring our bees got Jack of being ignored and they moved on... without us even noticing.

By the time we realised they'd moved out, swarming season was gone and it forced us to consider our ability to do right by our winged tenants.

Rather than attempting again we put the call out for a bee keeper to set up at black barn farm and the most perfect human answered with " I'd love to but I'm really keen to teach others too... would that be possible". Music to our ears!!! What a dream response. And what a dream human. Slowly over the entirety of spring she has relocated a hive at a time and is due to harvest shortly... just in time for us to stock the barn farm gate when we open for berry picking season in December.

AND... this is the best bit. There will be a few bee keeping workshops in the new year for families to learn together. Cool huh! Details to come.

Here's to the humble bumble (before you write and tell me they're not related to the bumble bee - I know, I just couldn't resist the rhyme)

And here's to community collectivism. We don't all have to do all the things. There's magic in many!!

Short on kale but keen to keep the greens up? For

Short on kale but keen to keep the greens up? Forage and flavour.

I've taken to filing baskets with clover, plantain, wild radish and a little dandeluon (which is bitter so go easy) and choosing them in a marinade mix before dehydrating them. (We forage in our paddocks but anyone could do this, even if you're in the city. Find little used places where feet haven't been and is less likely to have attracted dog pee)

Flavour bomb.
1 cup pre soaked cashews
1/4cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves
4 full chillies
Juice of 4 lemons
Tblsp nutritional yeast
Tblsp apple cider vinegar
Water to make it thickly runny

Blend all together until runny enough to easily coat your greens. Toss through green and lay them flat on dehydration trays...dry until crisp

Morning light! What's on for you today? It's a ne

Morning light!

What's on for you today? It's a new day and the night washed away yesterday's troubles, leaving us to start afresh.

The heady scent of damask roses filled the high wa

The heady scent of damask roses filled the high walled barn yesterday making every one of us a little giddy. @samariarosefarm picked a hessian bag full of these powdery pink petals at dawn, before the oils evaporated, and as we ran our fingers through the petals and filled the still, we learnt the ancient art of distillation.

A farm tour, arvo tea tart, and goat patting made the afternoon complete.

If I could just play with petals for the rest of my life I'd be a happy gal.

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