Growing For Good Nurturing Our Roots

Growing Food

Cultivating resilience and flavour through eco-friendly farming and community engagement.

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Guided by the principles of enriching the soil and fostering plant resilience, we cultivate fruits, herbs, and vegetables without using pesticides or artificial fertilisers.
Established 2020

A few key facts

Community members employed

8

Receiving hands-on training in growing food using eco-friendly techniques

The food garden spans

1 ha

A bounty of nutrient-rich and delicious fruits, herbs, salad greens and vegetables

Indian runner ducks

15

Natural pest control keeps it free from snails and slugs

ROOTED IN REGENERATION

GROWING FOOD. NURTURING PEOPLE.

Spier’s food gardens were first planted in September 2013 and significantly expanded in 2020 under Megan McCarthy’s guidance. Our approach is simple: We steer clear of pesticides or artificial fertilisers, focussing instead on keeping our soil rich and healthy. This ensures our fruit, herbs, and vegetables are naturally resilient, growing in accordance with the best organic practices.

By relying on worm compost and weekly foliar sprays, we naturally boost nutrients in our soil. Techniques like companion planting, cover cropping and crop rotation are central to our gardening, enhancing the flavour of our produce while keeping pests at bay and maintaining soil health. The presence of sheep in our orchards, ducks, and chickens in the garden helps us keep the soil alive and fertile without turning it over.

The fruits of our labour serve a dual purpose: they’re a key ingredient in the dishes served at our restaurants and also find their way to the shelves of the Spier Cowshed, as well as a select few local retailers and restaurants.

More than just a garden, this space is a hub for learning and community engagement. Through activities like self-harvests, tours, and workshops, we emphasise the value of nutrition, the importance of soil health, and the joy of sharing good food.

Our commitment extends beyond our farm. We collaborate with local initiatives like the Sustainability Institute and Woolworths through the Living Soils Community Learning Farm program and are proud to be affiliated with the Western Cape Farmers Participatory Guarantee System.

Join us for Self-Harvesting

Harvest your own produce from the food garden Tuesday - Saturday mornings between 09.00 to 11.00. From R170, advanced booking is essential. Click here to secure your spot. Comfortable shoes and a hat are recommended.

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Blog stories

Keep up to date with the latest news on this project

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Meet Megan from our thriving Food Garden

02 March 2022

Megan McCarthy, who heads the Spier Food Garden, was born in Gauteng to a family of avid ...

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Civil society – and that’s you – might just be the answer to food security!

15 October 2021

Did you know that 60% food relief during lockdown came from civil society? This remarkable ...

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SPIER FOOD GARDEN TAKES ITS PLACE IN THE WESTERN CAPE PEER GUARANTEE SYSTEM

18 June 2021

The recently-expanded Spier Food Garden joins hands with other small-holder growers in the ...

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Growing food and nurturing people

26 April 2021

Our food garden, first planted in 2013, was significantly expanded in 2020 under the ...

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Spier celebrates the women growing food and trees

07 August 2020

This Women’s Month Spier is celebrating the women-led food- and tree-growing projects that ...

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Vegetable garden takes root at Spier to boost food security during lockdown and beyond

06 April 2020

On the eve of the lockdown, Spier staff prepared boxes of food for 450 underprivileged ...

Explore all our initiatives

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Teaching the value of waste

100% of our organic waste is transformed into organic, nutrient-rich fertiliser and more than 97% of our solid waste is recycled.

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Reducing and reusing water

100% of Spier’s black and grey wastewater is recycled using a centralised wastewater treatment plant installed in 2007.

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Skills development

Spier is a participating employer in the Pinotage Youth Development Academy which seeks to educate and employ disadvantaged youth in the wine industry.

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Agents of change

Because each employee is an ambassador for Spier and its values, every new member of our team participates in a five-day training course that explores environmental and social challenges.

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Tree-preneurs

Living in some of the province’s most impoverished communities, Tree-preneurs are taught how to care for indigenous trees and plants.

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Nurturing nature

Our land is holistically farmed to create a diversified, balanced ecosystem with minimal impact on the environment.

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Harambee youth employment accelerator

Spier recruits entry-level staff through Harambee, an initiative that sources, trains and places unemployed young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into their first jobs.

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Pack for a purpose

Pack for a Purpose invites visitors to Spier to fill spare space in their luggage with much-needed books, stationery and other educational supplies for disadvantaged young students

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Living Soils Community Learning Farm

Based at Spier, this learning and demonstration farm produces nutritious food using eco-friendly regenerative farming methods while empowering a new generation of farmers.

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Art

A Living Tribute to Contemporary South African Art

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An ethical supply chain

We ensure integrity throughout our supply chain by monitoring the agreed commitments in our Spier Supplier Ethical Code of Conduct, which includes compliance with all relevant labour, health and safety and environmental legislation.

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The Spier Art Collection

The Spier Art Collection is one of the largest contemporary collections of South African art in the country.

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The Spier Nursery

The Spier Nursery was established to propagate and grow indigenous trees and plants that are specific to the region to re-introduce these onto the farm.