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In this episode of The Sentimental Gardener, Cass chats with Jay Young, co-founder of Flinders Farmgate, a small-scale regenerative farm on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. Alongside her husband Nick, Jay grows garlic, sunflowers, dahlias and seasonal flowers, while finding ways to share their special patch of land with the local community.
We talk about how a friend's suggestion to grow garlic set their farming journey in motion, how losing an entire garlic crop led them to diversify into flowers, and how a sunflower picking event grew into something much bigger than they expected.
Jay also shares what she's learnt about regenerative farming, building healthy soil, working with nature rather than constantly intervening, and the realities of balancing a growing farm business with family life.
And, of course, we talk about her sentimental plants: the climbing beans that take Jay back to her grandparent's garden, the winter-scented flowers that remind her of an early job at a flower shop, and the sunflowers that continue to bring her joy.
CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction: Meet Jay Young of Flinders Farmgate 01:56 Childhood memories of a farm in South Africa 07:25 From city life to a life in Flinders 15:51 How growing garlic started it all 19:03 Losing a crop and finding a new direction 21:16 Sunflowers, dahlias and the farm shop 28:43 Farming, family and finding balance 33:03 What regenerative farming looks like in practice 42:08 Three sentimental plants: beans, winter flowers and sunflowers 51:06 Quick-fire questions from the farm 58:11 Cass's reflection: Listening to what draws us in
Want to hear more?Jay and I also recorded a bonus conversation for The Sentimental Gardener Substack paid subscribers, where we spend another 20 minutes talking about the business side of running a flower and garlic farm.
Find the bonus episode and subscribe via The Sentimental Gardener on Substack or Apple Podcasts
Follow Flinders Farmgate at their website, Instagram or Facebook
Follow Cass at The Sentimental Gardener Instagram or add your name to the list at Substack to get my emails in your inbox.
CREDITS:
Music written and played by Hayden Schuler of Vereya Gardening Produced, edited and mixed by Cass Dowding
