Taralee Orchards is family owned and operated bio-dynamic stonefruit orchard in the Wirrabara Forest. The farm is run by Paul, Raymon and Renae Kretschmer. We each contribute to managing our farm and cottage accommodation through our different interests and specialties.
We strive for diversity, resilience, and regeneration within and between all our farming enterprises.
We love sharing our scenic, quiet, and retreated property with anyone looking to have a getaway by providing two accommodation cottages overlooking our orchards and the Wirrabara Forest. Direct bookings can be made by contacting us or through our online booking sites.
Meet the family
Paul is the reason Taralee Orchards is a certified biodynamic orchard, and he continues to instill his passions throughout all aspects of the farm and family life. The orchard is managed with a strong focus on boosting diversity and strives for continual enhancement of soil and tree health and vitality. Each year we strategically plant a variety of fruit and native trees which suit the soil type and topography of the orchard. The beehives provide the valuable pollination service and Paul harvests their natural forest honey. Along with application of biodynamic preparations and the encouragement of natural pest predators, the orchard produces totally chemical free and fully nutritious handpicked fruits.
Renae, with a degree in Animal Science, loves the animal work and thrives off producing ethically raised poultry, geese, sheep and cattle. The livestock are managed for regeneration of pastures and the poultry are raised in the shade of the green orchard. The welfare of the animals is highly regarded with many of the breeder stock having names and their unique personalities recognised. The large vegetable gardens are also Renae’s passion, with year-round organically grown produce harvested for sale and for our own use as we aim for self-sufficiency.
Raymon is a qualified metal fabricator, with his expertise coming in handy for continual operational and mechanical improvements on the farm. Many of the assets have been hand crafted to suit the farm such as the handmade trailers, feeders and water troughs and moveable chicken pens. His vegetable garden also boasts a range of unique heritage varieties, multi-coloured corn and yam daisies.
Our Taralee Orchards community is shaped with the comradeship and help from Matt and our backpackers. We welcome many helpers from all over the world to our sustainability driven Aussie farm life, giving them the chance to experience and learn about biodynamic agriculture.
Eli is our trusty skilled workman, with a grip on any farm work needing to be done. No job being too diverse, big or small for him to handle.
Other family members include:
