They say necessity is the mother of invention and few know this more than south west Victorian veggie grower Ben Pohlner. He started Volcano Produce in 2018 and had several bumper years before the good times started to dry up. Today, the region is in drought, but he’s found a way to stretch his water further and generate business success …make hot sauce.
Walking around Ben’s farm, you can see the soils are thirsty and yet the rows of produce he shows us are thriving. It’s clear he’s doing something right. Turns out we’re walking through his prized chilli crop that is starting to turn a few heads in the hot sauce world.
“The chillis we’re trialling only need around 10 per cent of the water that a brassica crop would and it’s a huge win in times of water scarcity,” he said.
“We been approached by some hot sauce connoisseurs who are keen for us to grow significant quantities of really hot chillis for their products,” he said.
Reapers, ghosts and scorpions are just some of the types of chillis Ben’s growing and give an indication of the kind of impact he’s hoping to make with them. He’s also growing a lot of garlic successfully that’s the other key ingredient for hot sauce recipes.
“We know there’s a market for this sauce and we’re excited to develop it because growing chillis fits in well with our need to use water efficiently,” he said.
The strawberries, capsicums, beetroots, carrots and leeks also look healthy and it’s because Ben switched from irrigating with overhead sprinklers to lining his growing rows with plastic and irrigating underneath.
“Growing our veggies through the plastic reduces evaporation and provides an environment much more suited to promoting root growth and development,” he said.
“This technique enables us to keep the soil moist, get the nutrients to where they’re needed and lock them in so they're available for the plant.
“Installing the plastic liners is a bit of a slow process but where we’ve put them in, we’ve found we’re growing a better product using about tenth of the water that we would do through normal overhead irrigation,” he said.
The proof is in the pudding and Ben is proud to pick his produce straight from the bush or the ground and let you taste it. Thanks to being a spray free farm, you don’t even have to worry about washing produce before you eat it. The strawberries are ridiculously sweet, and the carrots are full of flavour because they were grown in good dirt.
In fact, soil is Ben’s second superpower after groundwater because it’s mineral loaded thanks to the prehistoric geological activity that’s shaped much of south west Victoria. The farm sits on the edge of an ancient volcano and the soil’s colour and character resembles a chocolate gateau whose richness manifests in delicious produce.
Ben says he’s thankful for the wet years they had when they first started the business because they could make a few mistakes without too much pain. Those lessons are paying off today and have enabled Ben to pivot with the dry conditions.
“Tough conditions have forced us to change the way we do things to maximise the water resources we have and focus on growing high-value products with greater drought resistance and decent returns,” he said.
There are limits to what you can do, and Ben is realistic about this and open to exploring ways to get more water to help him expand his business.
“If we want to grow, the only way we can do this is by buying more water and we’re open to that,” he said.
“We want to use the next year or two to really work out what we can grow under a hotter, drier climate scenario and then work out the additional water we might need to help us achieve our business goals,” he said.
This patient and sustainable approach underpins Volcano Produce’s ethos and their community spirit really sets them apart.
“We give local school groups the chance to come out, pick veggies and see how food is really grown,” he said.
“The kids then fill up big tubs with mixed produce from the farm that goes on a food share truck for distribution through the Western District Food Share program to those in need.
“It’s a win-win for everyone and we being involved in educating local kids and giving back to our community,” he said.
Ben’s a smart and kind farmer and we’re excited to see Volcano Produce’s future plans come to life. Located just outside Warrnambool, we’d recommend stopping by if you’re in the region because your taste buds will thank you.