Karen and Neil of Spinlea farm

Tell us a little about yourself!

My husband and I both grew up in Cape Town, but we both spent time in the Eastern Cape at school and university. I (Karen) came from a farming family on both sides, and we have both always loved space and outdoors.

We moved from Cape Town in 2014 when I was 7 months pregnant with our second daughter, leaving the rat race of the city and our careers (myself as a physio and Neil from property management).

We started out by buying a own flock of angora goats to join my father's flock, on his farm near Greyton. From there, we slowly built up the flock and angora stud.

How did you start doing what you are doing now? 

We wanted to move out of the city and give our kids a wholesome childhood.

We renovated the original old farmhouse on the farm with its thick old mudbrick walls. It took us a year before we could move in. We were presented with a blank canvas in the garden- there were no existing trees or plants. So we researched and planted from scratch. We needed wind tolerant; frost tolerant and drought tolerant plants. As Neil raised the goat flock, I got more involved with the plants and establishing the garden. I found it a respite and a new passion where I could learn as much as I could in between bringing up our girls, school lifts and physio in Greyton.

We saved and imported 300 peony roots because someone said we couldn't do it! And then the flower bug bit and we wanted flowers that flowered not only one month of the year.

Beauty, who is our right hand lady on the farm, applied for the Floret online workshop and was so lucky to receive a scholarship for this. This set us up for flower growing success. From there, we learnt how to build our soil and plan our growing season.

It took time and lots of trial and error to work out what sells; what grows well and which pests destroy which crops. It was a huge learning curv

In 2020 we took a chance and planted a huge crop for essential oil distillation. We also took on beekeepers who manage the hives on the farm which feed on our crops and fynbos.

We utilise all the manure from the goats to enrich our soil together with mulch from the silage bales and the botanical waste from our essential oil production, to cover and enrich the soil. We started using a regime of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) products and foliar feed our plants and our soil regularly. Every season we notice changes. We also use pherolure traps to trap boll worm etc - and have amazing consultants who have passionately steared us in the right direction.

Since then, we've started our own brand of farm products including socks; blankets; soap, etc and believe in only using organic or farm inputs.

What are you most proud of in this process? 

We're proud that we put more in than we get out. It’s not always easy, but knowing that we are one little part in creating a better world helps us sleep better at night.

What is the most helpful piece of advice you received when you were just starting out? 

Neil was learning angora farming from my dad; but the flowers and growing was all new. My dad had said 'if you've got a passion you've got a risk - they don't come separately '. And Erin from Floret (the small-scale flower farming workshop) said 'Nature will always find out' .

Having a belief helped us stick to a path. I see people taking short cuts and sometimes I think gosh that would be so much easier and why do we have such high values! Life would certainly be easier. But we know that we wouldn't sleep well!

What advice would you like to give to others who are younger/earlier on their journey? 

Keep at it. Try new things. Read read read.

You never know what will work in your environment.

You'll find 'your people' and you all will share different ideas.

Try and use what you already have.

What do you have and what do you need - and can you grow or make something from what you already have?

There is so much on the internet about Korean natural farming and making LAB and calcium feed for your plants; and compost tea as foliar feeds. So many of the chemical pesticides and herbicides affect the microorganisms and good fungi which in turn affect lifecycles of good insects. We are only delving into it and don't claim to have all the answers. Be curious.

Someone else interesting to follow is Allan Savory and his holistic management plan with livestock and grasses for soil health. Also Nicole Masters' book 'For the Love of Soil' is a wealth of information.

My wish is that each person try a little bit of something in a crate; a pot or on a balcony. It's healing to have your hands in the soil, for your mind and body. You have a sense of achievement when nature shows you what you and her can do!