In late April 2026, Dr Doris Blaesing and Jesse Clune from the Soil Wealth ICP team visited South Australia to check in on our demonstration site at Braham Produce in Virginia, visit vegetable growers and conduct a collaborative soil health workshop with Joel Williams.

Besides having a bumper capsicum crop (pictured above), Andrew and Zurri Braham host a banker plant trial at the demonstration site, investigating ways to boost beneficial insects to suppress pests. The trial is run in partnership with their IPM consultant, Dr. Anita Marquart from Biological Services and Soil Wealth ICP.

Banker plants are non-crop plants that support populations of beneficial insects within a crop, providing alternate food sources, shelter and/or egg laying sites for these good bugs.

Alyssums continue to be trialled in pots in the greenhouse, showing strong ability to support the beneficial insect Orius early in the season. Juveniles are not recorded until later in the season. Mirids also become attracted to the plant, allowing it to switch from a banker crop to a ‘trap crop’ for targeted pesticide application.

The next phase of the demo site will investigate different banker plant options to assess if Orius reproduction can be supported for the entire growing season, reducing the need for separate releases. Stay tuned for updates.

Additional farm visits

While in SA, Doris and Jesse also had the chance to see where most of the nation’s Brussels sprouts come from, with South Australia’s achievement shared between Eastbrook Farms and AE Cranwell and Sons. While the two farms produce the majority of the supply and a shared passion for the divisive sprout, the similarities end there.

Eastbrook runs a sprouts rotation with a multi-year ryegrass cover crop acting as a disease break and building soil carbon. Sprouts are planted over a seven month period, with harvest spread over a 10 month period. Near-year-round harvest is possible due to the use of multiple cultivars and staggered planting periods.

Rolling hill planted with a mix of cultivars of sprouts at Eastbrook Farms.

On the other hand, AE Cranwell and Sons run a different rotation of sprouts, carrots, potatoes and cereal. This rotation provides ample disease break for each crop, each year.

Thank you to all the growers for taking the time to chat to our team.