Hi, we’re Hugh and Katie Finlay and we’re guided by our mission and our values. Our mission is to help you create the abundant fruit trees you dream of and grow fruit that is nutrient-dense and tastes amazing. We’re passionate about making abundant, free organic fruit a reality for all.

Our Values

Educate to empower – We share what we know to help people grow the best fruit they can. We encourage our community to share their knowledge with others around them.

Prioritising First Nations’ voices, knowledge, and rights – We recognize the deep connection and custodianship First Nations people have with the land, and we strive to foster respectful relationships, embrace cultural wisdom, and actively support Indigenous-led initiatives.

Build resilience and food sovereignty – We are driven by the desire to see individuals and communities able to grow their own organic fruit and participate in their own food systems to increase community resilience and their agency over the food they eat.

Apply regenerative and organic principles – We focus on regenerative and organic farming principles to increase biodiversity, protect and heal ecosystems, create healthy environments for all animals and other life, and address climate change.

Work collaboratively and inclusively – We would rather compete than collaborate, and we contribute to a wide range of communities wholeheartedly. We want everyone to feel safe and welcome in our spaces, and we take action to ensure that this is the case.

Our history

We have a long history of fruit-growing behind us. The orchards on our farm were first planted in the 1880s by W.L. Williams and sons. By 1909 they had an orchard or ‘garden’ of 60 acres, making them Harcourt’s largest fruit growers. They successfully grew apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines, apples, pears, and cherries. In many ways, our farm still looks as it would have back then, though on a smaller scale. (Our farm was previously called Mt Alexander Fruit Gardens to honour these multi-species plantings.)

At the foot of Leanganook (Mount Alexander) in central Victoria, our orchards have small plantings of dozens of varieties. Through careful planning and looking after the trees well, we enjoy an extended season of fresh fruit off the tree for many months. Appropriate storage and a range of preserving techniques help us stretch our harvest of home-grown fruit to last all year round.

Our place is a working demonstration of how to keep your family fully supplied with home-grown organic fruit.

When we started teaching the Grow Great Fruit system back in 2013, we were full-time farmers. Farming is full-on, so the teaching was always squeezed into the gaps between harvesting, selling fruit at markets, pruning, and the hundred other jobs involved in running a busy farm.

The last few years have been busy, but we’ve always found teaching fruit growing to be energising, not draining. And, our members and students have been getting great results!

In fact, helping fruit enthusiasts has been so rewarding and meaningful that we decided we want to do a lot more of it. But to do that, we knew we’d have to do less farming. So, we put a plan in place to give our passion project the time it deserves. We’ve trained up a young farmer (the fabulous Ant Wilson), leased our orchard to him, and set up the Harcourt Organic Farming Co-operative on our farm.

Why is teaching organic fruit growing so important to us?

Generations of kids and adults are growing up without ever picking ripe fruit from a tree—if you’re lucky enough to have childhood fruit memories, you know how special that is!

There’s a growing disconnect from nature and where our food comes from. It’s probably no coincidence that as a society, physical and mental health problems are on the rise.

Plus, there are so many things to worry about at the moment—pandemics, climate change, bushfires, economic woes and drought are just the top of a long list. Bees are under threat, species are disappearing, and our topsoil is being swept away in dust storms.

If ever there was a time for simple, practical skill-based solutions, it’s now.

You already know this….

If you’re on this website you’ve probably already felt the urge to get in the garden or move to the country, connect with nature, and simplify your life, right? Somehow, you just know deep in your gut that you want to grow your own food, and you probably share our belief that kids deserve to grow up eating and learning about home-grown food.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced how important it is to have control over our food supply, and how rewarding it is to have a productive garden.

In the past the knowledge was handed down from elders. Kids learned by watching their parents. We lived in communities that grew and shared food.

Now, everyone’s trying figure it out for themselves.

There’s TV shows, magazines, and books dedicated to teaching food-growing skills, but learning alone can be a long, slow process, and getting it wrong can lead to insecurity and doubt—in fact, repeated failures can actually have a negative effect on your well-being, as well as being a waste of time and money.

That’s where we come in.

How did the Grow Great Fruit system start?

Learning how to grow organic fruit on our orchard over the last 20 years has given us a wide body of knowledge about how to protect fruit trees against drought, flood, pests, disease and weather—how to expect the unexpected, in other words. We learned the hard way, by making mistakes, living through disasters, and coming up against new challenges every single year.

With the help of wise teachers and mentors and lots of trial and error we learned how to grow a successful—though sometimes small—crop every single year. Having five kids to feed, clothe and put through school was a great motivator!

When we came out the other end, we realised we’d built up a pretty solid system of practice that was helping us get good results year in, year out.

Give a woman a peach and you feed her for a day, teach a woman to grow peaches and you feed her for a lifetime.

(with apologies to Maimonides...)

Feeding our customers with organic fruit was wonderful, but we wanted to make a wider impact in the world, to spread the benefits of access to organic fruit beyond just the people we could feed. We wanted to share what we’d learned.

Passing on and preserving these skills has never been more urgent.

It’s up to our generation, right now, to re-learn how to grow our own food, and pass those skills on to our kids.

We’re committed to this next phase of our lives. Quite simply, we want to offer the best online fruit growing program in the world. Find out more about it here.

A bit more background about us…

Hugh’s farming experience started on a cattle station in Western Australia (which he ended up managing), followed by a stint as a supervisor on a broadacre wheat farm in Saudi Arabia. Travelling around the world for fun turned into 16 years as a writer and editor for Lonely Planet, an exotic lifestyle he eventually gave up to return to farming and settle down in Harcourt.

Hugh’s training was significant in steering Grow Great Fruit towards organics and biological management:

“Monitor and manage soils” and “Pest, disease and weed management”, Diploma of Agriculture in Organic Farming, Organic Agriculture Association/Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE.
Sustainable and Biological Farming Course, Dr Arden Anderson PhD DO FS
“True Fertility Compost Tea Course” and “Microscope Course”, Dr. Elaine Ingham, Soil Food Web Institute
“Compost & Compost Tea Workshop”, Paul Taylor
“Irrigation Management Course”, Department of Natural Resources and Sunraysia TAFE
“Cherry Short Course”, Department of Primary Industries, Shepparton
“Soil and Agronomy Workshop”, Dr Arden Andersen PhD DO FS
“Environmental Best Management Practice on Farms”, Department of Primary Industries

Hugh’s a self-confessed soil and microbe nerd, and has spent a fair bit of time looking down a microscope. His areas of specialty are many and varied, but include:

Nutrition—looking after the worms (his babies), compost, soil testing, leaf testing, fertigation and foliar sprays
Irrigation—knowing how pumps and irrigation systems tick, monitoring soil moisture, deciding when and how much to water trees
Pest and disease control—predicting the weather and putting on preventive organic sprays at exactly the right time
Machinery fix-it guy
IT and website fix-it guy

Katie’s a third-generation orchardist and grew up here in Harcourt on the family farm, then headed to Melbourne to get a Bachelor of Science at Monash Uni majoring in botany and genetics—which came in very handy when she came home to the farm 15 years later.

Katie’s training has been in different areas to Hugh—but no less significant in shaping the direction of the farm and the Grow Great Fruit business.

“Permaculture Design Certificate”, Beck Lowe, Cydonia Permaculture
“Permaculture Certificate 3”, Beck Lowe, Cydonia Permaculture and Eltham College
“Soil and Agronomy Workshop”, Dr Arden Anderson PhD DO FS
“Footprints to Sustainability”, Jane Knight
“Biodynamic Field Day”, Biodynamic Agriculture Australia
“Environmental Best Management Practice on Farms”, Department of Primary Industries
“Holistic Management” , Kirk Gadzia
“Soil Microbes for Healthy Soil & Improved Vineyard Quality, Department of Primary Industries
“Carbon Farming 101”, Carbon Farmers of Australia

Katie’s specialty areas include:

Pruning—5,000 trees and 4 different tree training systems over 20 years adds up to a lot of experience
Fruit picking—timing the harvest to ensure every variety is picked in perfect condition
Grading, storing and preserving to ensure every piece of fruit is used to its highest purpose
Thinning to manage crop load and quality
Orchard hygiene and pest and disease control
Orchard planning—variety selection, pollination and harvest planning
Grafting and growing rootstocks from seed and cutting

Media & Speaking

2024

Speaker (with Ira Barker from Murnong Mummas), “Supporting Djaara leadership on Country”, Healthy Loddon Campaspe Regional Workshop, [link here], November 2024
Podcast, The Harcourt Organic Farming Coop with Katie Finlay, 3CR Radio Local Food Connections, Part 2, [link here], June 2024
Podcast, The Harcourt Organic Farming Coop with Katie Finlay, 3CR Radio Local Food Connections, Part 1, [link here], June 2024
Prospectus, Harcourt Organic Farming Coop, [link here], June 2024
Report, “Small Farm Viability Case Study Report”, Harcourt Organic Farming Coop, [link here], June 2024
Report, “Whole Farm Plan”, Harcourt Organic Farming Coop, [link here], June 2024
Article, “Farm land opportunity for young producers”, The Weekly Times, June 2024
Radio interview, “Summer pruning, new trees, and bud grafting”, Dig It – Radio for Gardeners, [link here], April 2024
Speaker, “Pruning fruit trees for fruit fly management”, Bendigo Garden Club, March 2024
Speaker, “Perfect pruning for fruit fly control”, Bendigo City Council, February & March 2024

2023

Podcast, “An Incredible Octopus”, Saltgrass Podcast, [link here], November 2023
Article, “How to own a farm: An exploration of alternative ag models”, The Weekly Times, August 2023
TV, “School of Harcourt”, Gardening Australia, ABC, [link here], May 2023
Report, “I feel very invested in that place: Key themes and emergent narratives from HOFC stakeholder interviews”, The Open Food Network, [link here] May 2023
Report, “Collaborative Farming Models in the Australian Context”, The Open Food Network, [link here] June 2023
Radio interview, “Autumn harvest and late summer fruit tree care”, Dig It – Radio for Gardeners, [link here], March 2023
Research paper, “Parched: Cultures of Drought in Regional Victoria”, La Trobe and Melbourne Universities, [link here], March 2023
Article, “Turning an old orchard into a thriving cooperative farm”, Transition Australia, [link here], March 2023

2022

Radio interview, “Interview with Katie Finlay, Grow Great Fruit Early spring pruning”, Dig It, Maine FM, [link here], November 2022
Presentation, “How to manage disease in your spring fruit trees”, Buda Historic Home and Garden Traditional Arts Fair, November 2022
Panel, “Collaborative Farming”, Farmer Incubator, September 2022
Radio interview, “Interview with Katie Finlay, Grow Great Fruit Wet Spring edition”, Dig It, Maine FM, [link here], August 2022
Report, “Alternative pathways to farm business ownership beyond inheritance”, Open Food Network, [link here], June 2022
Speaker, “Winter jobs for your fruit trees”, Maryborough Garden Club, June 2022
Article, “A bite of history: the growers preserving Australia’s heirloom apples”, The Guardian, [link here], May 2022
Article, “Small farms just got smaller”, Small Farms Magazine, [link here], May 2022
Article, “Connecting with the land: Our arid bush paradise”, Connecting Country, [link here], March 2022

2021

Article, “Congratulations to business award winners”, Mount Alexander Business Awards website, [link here], December 2021
Article, “title to come”, Bendigo Advertiser, [link coming], December 2021
Article, “Organic farming coop gets top biz gong”, Castlemaine Mail, [link here], December 2021
Speech, Merv Carr (Katie’s dad) accepting the Mount Alexander Business of the Year Award on behalf of the Harcourt Organic Farming Co-op, December 2021
Radio interview, “Interview with Katie Finlay, Grow Great Fruit Wet Spring edition”, Dig It: Gardening is Not Cancelled, Maine FM, [link here], November 2021
Podcast, “Share Farming: when you don’t have the capital to buy a farm”, Farming Together, link here, November 2021
Blog, “A cuppa with Merv”, Orchard Keepers, link here, October 2021
TV appearance, “Four friends have taken out a lease at the Harcourt Organic Farming Co-op … under the guiding eyes of Katie and Hugh Finlay”, WIN News Bendigo, [link expired], September 2021
Article, “The Orchard Keepers at Harcourt Organic Farming Coop”, The Harcourt Core, link here, September 2021
Article, “Our Harcourt”, Castlemaine Mail, link here, September 2021
Article, “Meet the Orchard Keepers”, Midland Express, link here, September 2021
Article, “Apples from old family orchards: co-op farming experiment hailed a success”, Richard Cornish, Good Food, link here, August 2021
Podcast, “Future proofing your farm using a collaborative approach”, Farming Together, link here, April 2021
Article, “Harcourt Apple Festival”, Bendigo Times, link here, March 2021
Article, “Harcourt farmers search for new talent, opening orchard up for lease”, Bendigo Advertiser, link here, January 2021

2020

Article, “Broccoli by subscription”, Sanctuary modern green homes magazine, link here, January 2020
Article, “Farming for old and new” (The Co-op Generation), Organic Gardener magazine, link here, February 2020
Article, “Culinary Gold”, Going Places, Malaysia Airlines in-flight magazine, link here, February 2020
Radio interview, “Interview with Katie Finlay re fruit tree selection”, Dig It: Gardening is Not Cancelled, Maine FM, link here, May 2020
Article, “Why food and wine co-operatives are thriving in the Bendigo gastronomy region”, Lindy Alexander, Bendigo Gastronomy, link here, May 2020
Webinar, “Planning for success in succession”, Farming Together, link here, December 2020

2019

Article, “Creating an Organic Farming Co-op”, Transition Australia, link here, 2019
Article, “New co-op models show promise”, The Weekly Times Farm Magazine, October 2019.
Keynote speaker, “The Individual’s Role in Agriculture & Sustainability”, Josie McEwan Dinner, Buda Historic Home & Garden, Castlemaine, September 2019.
Article, “Working co-operatively”, Organic Insights Magazine, National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA), Winter 2019.
Speaker & workshop, “Pruning Fruit Trees”, Castlemaine & District Garden Club, May 2019.
Panel Speaker, “Co-operatives as an Alternative Economic Structure”, Localising Leanganook, May 2019
Article. “Climate change”, Bendigo Advertiser, link here, 8 February, 2019.
Panel member, Launch of the “EAT-Lancet report on Food, Planet and Health, Festival 21, Melbourne, February 2019

2018

Article, “Victoria’s first organic co-op”, Southern Farmer Newspaper and North East and Goulburn Newspaper, link here, September 2018
M.C., “An Evening With David Holmgren” Retrosuburbia launch, August 2018
TV appearance, “A day in the life of a farmer: If you see it, you can be it”, ABC Kids TV series celebrating International Womens Day, link here, July 2018
Speaker, “Harcourt Organic Farming Co-op”, Farming Together Co-operatives conference, June 2018
TV appearance, “Central Victoria will beome home to Australia’s first organic farming alliance”, 9 News Central Victoria, link here, July 2018
Article, “Harcourt co-operative set to develop organic farming hub”, Bendigo Advertiser, link here, 2018
Article, “Local organic co-op: an Aussie first”, Midland Express, link here, 2018
Speaker, “Apple Day”, Kyabram Garden Club, 2018
Article, “Fruits of Labour” Lost Magazine, link here, 2018
Article, “Farmers choose to see ‘up’ side of disaster”, Weekly Times, 2018
Article, “New food trends”, Australian Geographic magazine, 2018
Podcast, “Get the Dirt”, the food exchange, link here, 2018

2017

Keynote speaker, VCE Business Forum, La Trobe University, Bendigo, 2017
Article, “Meet the maker – stone fruit”, Eatwell Magazine, link here, 2017
Speaker, Spring Gardens Expo, Rushworth Spring Gardens, 2017
Article, “The ancient art of grafting” Pip Australian Permaculture Magazine, link here, 2017
Blog post, “Innovative small farming model developed in Harcourt”, Waller Realty blog, link here, 2017
Article, “A Big Country: Turning an orchard into an organic co-op”, ABC Rural News Online, link here, October 2017
Article, “Co-operatives in agriculture making a comeback”, NSW Country Hour, ABC Radio, interview about co-operatives in agriculture, link here, 2017
Article, “Victorian Government backs organic alliance”, The Weekly Times, 2017
Speaker, “Planning a farm co-op”, Food & Fibre Future Directions conference, Bendigo TAFE, 2017
TV appearance, “Retirement plan leads to organic farming co-operative”, ABC News, link here, September 2017
Article, “New farming enterprise offered a headstart on Harcourt family’s established land”, Bendigo Advertiser, link here, September 2017
Speaker, Outgoing Business of the Year, Mount Alexander Business Awards ceremony, 2017
Article, “Sharing organic food-growing knowledge across the Pacific”, ABC Online, interview about hosting international organics delegate, link here, March 2017
Article, “Bold women of central Victoria share their wish list for change on International Women’s Day”, ABC News Online, link here, March 2017
Speaker, Outside the Square event, Bendigo, 2017

2016

Speaker, “The link between per-urban farmers and consumers via Farmers Markets”, Urban Agriculture conference, Bendigo, November 2016
Article, “Fruit farmers on a mission to boost our backyard bounties”, Megan Backhaus column, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, link here, August 2016
Panelist, Selection Committee for Rural Women’s Award Victorian winner, 2016
Field day host farm, Soil Health Guide launch and soil workshop, North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA) Sustainable and Biodiverse Farms Field Day, November 2016

2015

Radio interview, “Country Hour”, ABC Radio, interview with Nikolai Beilharz after winning the Victorian Rural Women’s Award, hear the interview here, 2015
Article, Australian Fruitgrower Magazine, link here, 2015
Keynote speaker, NASAA Industry Conference, Canberra, 2015
Speaker, “Farmers using technology”, Local Lives, Global Matters conference, Castlemaine, 2015
Article, “Celebrating excellence”, Midland Express, link here, 2015
Speaker, Chicks in the Sticks conference, Kyneton, 2015
Judge, Rural Ambassador Award, Victorian Show Association, Melton, 2015
Keynote speaker, Connecting Rural Business Women conference, Beechworth, 2015
Article, “Two hot topics on the one bill”, Midland Express, link here, 2015
Interview, Is growing organically just a fad or is it the future of farming? Debate between Dr Ian Musgrove and Katie Finlay, ABC Rural Radio, link here, June 2015
Article, “Primary passion”, The Southern Farmer Newspaper, link here, May 2015
Panelist, “The Great Debate: is organics a fad or the future of farming?”, Ausveg National Horticultural Convention, 2015
Article, “Mt Alexander Fruit Gardens at Harcourt Back from the Brink”, Weekly Times, 2015

Earlier

Video, “Waste Deep”, made by Sustainable Table – watch the video here, 2014
Article, Midland Express, about our involvement in the local sustainable food system, link here, 2014.
Article, Bendigo Advertiser, “Warm in the Orchard”, link here, 2014.
Article, Midland Express, “Sustaining a Community”, link here, 2014.
Farm visit by leader of the Australian Greens, Christine Milne, and article about the visit in the Midland Express, link here,
Article, “Love for the Land Runs Deep”, in the Finding Neverland series of articles, Bendigo Magazine, Issue 33, Summer 2013/14.
Case study, “Many Publics. Participation Inventiveness and Change” report by Kate Auty, the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability in Victoria (read the report at: www.ces.vic.gov.au) 2012
Web article, “Enjoying the Fruits of Our Labours”, Cultivating community, 2012
Keynote session speaker,Growers and Eaters Conference, Bendigo, 2012
Panel speaker, Get the Dirt on Food Security, Northcote, 2011
Article, Australian Horticulture magazine, 2011
Article, Good Fruit and Vegetables magazine, 2011
Video case study, FarmVIEW video series about farming in a changing environment: Watch video here. (ep 2.1 ‘Climate and Planning’), 2010
Featured speakers, Organic Agriculture Association Future Farming conference, Bairnsdale, 2010

Awards, Grants and Research

Grant recipient, “Innovate to Regenerate Grant: Finding innovative solutions to regenerate and future-proof Australia’s precious natural environment and communities”, World Wildlife Fund, link here, March 2023 [Grant due for completion in August 2024]
Research participant, “Ageing on Farm”‘, Dr. Clare Wilding, John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research, La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, published article pending, August 2022.
Case study, “Growing Agriculture Opportunities in Tweed”, Farming Together, link here, May 2021
Research participant, “Beyond ‘get big or get out’: Female farmers’ responses to the cost-price squeeze of Australian agriculture.”, Dr. Lucie Newsome, Master of Governance and Public Policy, University of New England, link here, August 2020.
Case study, “Harcourt Organic Farming Co-op”, Farming Together, link here, 2020
Case study, “Grow Great Fruit”, Clare Fountain, sorted. link here, 2019.
Research participant, “What is the relationship between soil health and environmental stewardship in conventional and alternative agricultural management systems in Victoria, Australia”, Assoc. Prof. Wendy Stubbs, Dr Vanessa Wong, Mr Thomas Kennett, Monash University, September 2019.
Grant recipient, 2018, “Harcourt Organic Farm Alliance”, Farming Together Grant, Australian Government
Grant recipient, 2018, “Creating the Land of Milk and Honey in Rural Australia”, Food Source Victoria Growth Grant, DEDJTR, State Government of Victoria
Research participant, The Difference Incubator for Hepburn Wind, March 2018.
Grant recipient, 2017, “Harcourt Organic Farm Alliance”, Food Source Victoria Planning Grant, DEDJTR, State Government of Victoria
Winner, 2015 RIRDC Victorian Rural Women’s Award, link here
Winner, 2015 Mount Alexander Business of the Year
Winner, 2015 Mount Alexander Sustainability and Environment Award
Runner-up, Outstanding Best Practice, Outstanding Innovation or Invention & Encouragement Awards, Carbon Cocky Awards, 2011
Medalist, ‘From the Earth, delicious produce awards, 2011
Medalist, ‘From the Earth, delicious produce awards, 2010

Testimonials

Pragmatic, concise information – not so mind boggling! — Anna Winneke
I think pruning is really difficult! Been to several workshops over the years and I vacillate between leaving the tree to do its own thing, and cutting off everything that is not absolutely where I think (!) I want it! Your information was excellent because (1) you were encouraging (2) you kept referring back to the basic principles – which makes us THINK, observe before we prune! For me, very timely advice re ground cover (and you convinced me!). Have been saying for some time that mulching and keeping the margins around the mulch clear of weeds is unsustainable in terms of effort (mine!). Will have lots of fun sowing lentils and vetch (which I have bags of seed of) in place of mulch. And will see how many herbs I can find (and afford)! Going out to put my first Bordeaux today. — Clare Claydon
Great to get practical, real approach from someone growing fruit. — Gabrielle Pellissier
I definitely feel informed and equipped enough to give compost tea a go. Much appreciated, accessible, easy to digest learning – thanks guys. — Holly Beaumont
Very informative and great ideas. Going to build my compost heap asap. — Jonathon Levin
Wish I’d had all this information before planting my orchard. Great breadth of planning. — Sam Downing