Wickedfood Earth Farm

09/09/2026

Spring on Wickedfood Earth Farm
Spring may officially have arrived on 1 September. On the Wickedfood Earth Farm, however, we're not quite convinced. After the heat of the past few weeks, it has felt more like summer, but with a major cold front and snow across parts of South Africa this past weekend, we're keeping a close eye on the weather, with winter hopefully having had its final say.
It's rather worrying that we've had such early, heavy summer rains, more than a month earlier than traditionally expected. Could this be an early warning of a very dry summer? All indications at the moment are that we could be facing a very dry second half of the summer growing season. So we're getting our plantings in as early as possible and concentrating on shorter-season crops.
Spring is when the farm starts waking up to a new season. The farm has been moving at a different pace throughout winter, but now the days are getting longer, the soil is warming and activity is picking up everywhere.
In the vegetable garden, our seedlings are already going in, particularly the longer-season crops such as tomatoes, eggplant and peppers. We're also planting beans, carrots and potatoes, along with some of the more unusual crops we grow at Wickedfood Earth Farm, including turmeric and Yacón, the Peruvian ground apple.
The orchard woke up early too. Most of the trees have already flowered and set fruit, and the weekend's good rain will definitely help. With more than 800 heirloom fruit trees, the orchard is a reminder that growing food here is about much more than the vegetable garden.
And then there are the pigs.
Our farrowing season is in full swing, with four of our seven pregnant sows already having given birth. These piglets will eventually become our Wickedfood oven-ready pigs for the December festive season. If you've been thinking about having one for Christmas, the waiting list is already open.
But for us, a working farm is about more than what we grow and produce.
Yes, Wickedfood Earth Farm is a working farm. We grow things. We raise pigs. We experiment. We teach. We process food.
But what's different is that we share what we learn.
The farm is the base where our practical knowledge and experience are continually tested, developed and refined. We ask questions, try things, learn from what works and what doesn't, and apply that knowledge to what we do. Increasingly, we're taking that experience beyond the farm, consulting to other farms, agricultural and food businesses, and the hospitality industry, exploring how what we've learned here can be applied to different segments of the food chain and our soil-to-plate philosophy.
Our recent roadshow was one example, taking our practical knowledge and experience beyond Wickedfood Earth Farm and sharing it with farmers, cooks and food people across the country.
So, as spring has officially arrived, there's plenty happening at Wickedfood Earth Farm as we move into a new growing season.
For us, that's what a working farm is about: watching, learning, adapting and sharing what we learn.

07/09/2026

What can you bake from one basic bread dough?
Quite a lot, as it turns out.
At the A to Z of Bread Baking Workshop at Wickedfood Earth Farm, we spend two days exploring the techniques behind good bread.
Day 1 is all about everyday breads.
We start with a versatile basic dough and turn it into:
Light, airy pitta;
Chewy, crusty ciabatta;
Chunky farmhouse loaves’;
Herby focaccia;
Soft, sweet Chelsea buns.
Along the way, you learn about dough texture, shaping, proving, timing and baking.
Then Day 2 takes us into artisan and celebration breads.
We work with slow fermentation and richer, more complex doughs to make:
Slow-rise sourdough;
Brioche;
Hot-cross buns and sweet rolls;
Braided challah;
Wholewheat bread;
The point isn't to memorise a collection of recipes.
It is to understand bread.
Once you understand what is happening to your dough, you can start adapting, experimenting and baking with confidence.
Two days of hands-on baking in the farm kitchen at Wickedfood Earth Farm.
Come hungry. Leave with a basket full of bread knowledge and the skills to make it again at home.
R2 990pp including workshop, extensive notes and lunch
19 to 20 September at Wickedfood Earth Farm, in the beautiful Magalies Valley.
To book your place or find out more, click here - https://wickedfoodearth.co.za/the-a-to-z-of-bread-baking/

05/09/2026

The A to Z of Bread Baking Workshop
There was a time when bread was simply something we made.
Flour. Water. Yeast. Time.
A few basic skills, and the knowledge of how to turn them into something nourishing and delicious.
At Wickedfood Earth Farm, we think those skills are worth keeping alive. Our A to Z of Bread Baking Workshop is a hands-on two-day journey into the world of real bread, from everyday loaves to artisan and celebration breads. You’ll learn how dough behaves, how fermentation changes flavour and texture, how to shape different breads, and how to bake them properly.
And you won’t just watch someone else do it.
You’ll make the bread yourself.
Pitta, ciabatta, farmhouse loaves, focaccia, Chelsea buns, sourdough, brioche, hot-cross buns, challah, wholewheat and gluten-free or low-carb bread.
Two days. Plenty of flour. Lots of hands-on baking.
And hopefully, the confidence to go home and bake your own bread rather than reaching for the supermarket loaf.
R2 990pp including workshop, extensive notes and lunch
19 to 20 September at Wickedfood Earth Farm, in the beautiful Magalies Valley.
To book your place or find out more, click here - https://wickedfoodearth.co.za/the-a-to-z-of-bread-baking/

03/09/2026

From Wickedfood Earth Farm to 4,000 km of South Africa
Over the past six weeks, the Wickedfood Earth Farm team packed our teaching kitchen into our trusted little bakkie and headed out on the road.
4,000 km.
8 workshops.
80 people - 16 participants fully sponsored, our way of giving back.

From KZN and the Free State to the Western Cape, we worked with farmers, butchers, chefs and food enthusiasts, sharing practical knowledge developed through more than 15 years of working with pigs, meat, curing and charcuterie.

But the roadshow became about much more than workshops.

It was about the knowledge we shared, the wonderful people we met along the way, and the conversations that happened around the work.

At Vergelegen Wine Estate, we spent two weeks working alongside management, chefs and agronomists, looking at how our knowledge of pigs, farming, processing and food could be applied within a much larger agricultural and hospitality operation.

For us, this was an important step in a new chapter for Wickedfood Earth Farm, as we begin to explore more in-depth consultancy work.

We have always believed in sharing knowledge. Increasingly, we see an opportunity to take that knowledge beyond our own farm, working with farms, food businesses and hospitality operations that want to develop their own skills, systems and food offering.

If your operation has a challenge you'd like to explore with us, get in touch with Mike at [email protected] and let's start a conversation.

Over the coming weeks, we'll be sharing some of the people, places, workshops and conversations that made the roadshow such a memorable journey.

Read the full roadshow story in our latest newsletter:
ttps://sh1.sendinblue.com/3g55nx7arglpfe.html?t=1788352825466

18/08/2026

Road tripping from the West Coast back to the farm via Namaqualand.

05/08/2026

05/08/2026

First day of our curing workshop at Vergelegen preparing pork for brines.

02/08/2026

First day of our sausage and salami making workshop in Stanford.