Valla Coffee Farm

Valla Coffee Farm 🌱 first time farmers building a coffee farm from scratch
☀️ 100% off-grid, solar-powered & regenerative
📍 Gumbaynggirr Country, Mid North Coast NSW

Thought it might be interesting to share some recent research we have relied on in deciding which coffee varieties to gr...
08/07/2026

Thought it might be interesting to share some recent research we have relied on in deciding which coffee varieties to grow on our farm. We are excited to be among a group Australian growers to test out these new varieties in a commercial farm setting, following some promising results in a locally based 5-year trial. We are so grateful for the work of Rebecca Zentveld and others in the Australian Grown Coffee Association for their contribution not only to this research, but in securing open access rights for these varieties, meaning we don't need to pay expensive royalty fees to access the seeds. We are excited to see what comes of these new varieties and what this might mean for Aussie grown coffee in the future!

07/06/2026

Lots of progress happening here on the farm! We have added some gravel roads to the lower paddock to help with access, and have started to prepare our first field for planting. This involved marking out our rows, deep ripping the soil, and then cultivating and forming the mounded beds which will eventually be home for our trees.

The next step will be to grow a winter regenerative cover crop in the rows. This will help to naturally improve soil structure and water retention, boost microbial life, and increase biodiversity before the trees go in. More to come on this soon! 🌷❇️🌻

A few more updates to share! The tractor is shiny, the puppy is muddy, and we are keeping busy ✨🌈☀️
28/04/2026

A few more updates to share! The tractor is shiny, the puppy is muddy, and we are keeping busy ✨🌈☀️

19/04/2026

A little update on our coffee seeds... the story of a high stakes rescue mission 😱

We realised as the first seedlings started to emerge that the trays we had used were far too shallow. The "soldiers" were rising up as expected, but underneath the surface, their roots were hitting the bottom of the trays and curling to the side, a process known as J-rooting. In the long run, J-rooted trees will never thrive in the field.

After a moment of "what have we done?" panic, we decided to replant all the seeds. We managed to find deeper trays at Bunnings that for our existing stands, all they needed were some drainage holes to be drilled.

We tried a few shortcuts to move the existing trays over in batches, but in the end, we needed to painstakingly extract and move each seed by hand. 10 hours later, the greenhouse is full again.

The process wasn't perfect, and we’re worried about how the seeds will handle being moved and planted a bit more haphazardly. But at least they now have the depth needed to grow. Fingers crossed we haven't completely messed up our first year's crop🤞

Amongst the chaos of moving interstate, germinating 6,000+ coffee seeds and setting up a farm, we decided life wasn't qu...
24/03/2026

Amongst the chaos of moving interstate, germinating 6,000+ coffee seeds and setting up a farm, we decided life wasn't quite busy enough... so, meet Penny, our 3 month old Golden Retriever puppy. Safe to say she is loving the farm life so far 🐕

21/03/2026

Work smarter, not harder. 🛠️

Our autonomous slasher from .automation.machinery is pretty cool! It's like a robot vacuum, but for the farm. It can go where the tractor can’t, helping to maintain some of our steeper paddocks. It uses a minimal amount of petrol, and it's lighter weight means less compaction of the soil. Keeping the farm tidy, so we can focus on growing good coffee 🤙

20/03/2026

We’ve officially moved into production mode at the Valla Coffee Farm!

Here is the protocol we’re using to maximize germination for our first batch of seeds:

1️⃣ The "Wake Up" Call: We soaked the seeds for 24 hours in a 1:10 mix. It’s an organic seaweed extract that helps to wake up any dormant embryos (essential since these seeds are 10 weeks to 6 months old – much older than ideal)

2️⃣ Mimicking Nature: We planted into trays of damp vermiculite for high aeration and zero compaction, recreating the airy, damp leaf litter coffee loves.

3️⃣ Fungal Defense: High humidity = high risk. We used a light dusting of cinnamon as a natural, chemical-free fungicide.

4️⃣ Climate Control: A shaded polycarbonate greenhouse, a pedestal fan for airflow, and Seasol-soaked hessian cloths to regulate temperature.

Now, we wait. In 4–6 weeks, we’ll look for "soldiers" (seedlings) starting to emerge from the trays.

Our dream scenario would be a 50% success rate, which would mean around 3,000 healthy trees ready for planting in the field this November. But who knows? Lets see what happens!

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Valla, NSW

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