Michael and Judy Partridge never went out looking for the green life – the green life found them.
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“We’ve always had a little vegie garden or fruit trees, but not like we do here. It’s just evolved – and for no particular reason – and it’s become a monster,” Judy said over a cup of home-grown coffee.
On their picturesque half acre plot in Eungai Creek the pair support an annual yield of fresh produce that would give gardening guru Costa Georgiadis conniptions.
They’ve been living the good life in Eungai for the past 14 years and, with the aid of the almost mystical talents of their youngest son, Dean, the horti-couple now boast a bounty which includes pomegranates, olives, peaches, blood plums, strawberries, macadamias, pecans, passionfruit, grapes, coffee beans, and an exhaustive variety of citrus, herbs and vegies.
“Everything grows here – we’ll try just about anything. The patch of country between Woolgoolga and Taree is just the best place in Australia, I reckon,” Michael said.
They also regularly trade their surplus for other local goodies, including meat and milk from the Eungai Buffalo Farm, which they use to make ice creams, cured meats and cheeses to go with their handmade chutneys, pickles, preserves, beer and gordo blanc wine.
“Gordo blanc is one of the oldest varietals in the world,” Michael tells me, “they’ve opened up tombs from around 4000BC and this grape was in it.”
WATCH: As Mick talks homemade salami
The pair are completely self-taught and give me a glimpse at one of their most prized possessions – a dog-eared copy of ‘Preserving the Italian Way’.
So successful has their little patch of paradise been that they make regular trips to the soup kitchens to donate their goodies, and have recently had to cull their gregarious grape vines.
The sustainability movement has grown wings over the past few years with many urbanites taking the plunge to rural subsistence after being inspired by shows like River Cottage Australia, but Judy and Michael insist they’ve never cottoned on to living a la mode.
“Our son’s mates are always saying, ‘geez your parents are living the dream’, and I guess we are but we never thought we were being trendy,” Michael said.