My first visit to Pialligo Estate Farmhouse was on a sunny Saturday in July. It was a scene of quiet sophistication with diners in the main restaurant and garden pavilions enjoying good food and views across the country paddocks to Parliament House. Clipped low lavender hedges and low stone walls, in formal gardens designed by Paul Bangay, added to the well dressed air. Four days later Pialligo Estate Smokehouse in Hume was destroyed by fire.
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Our return to Pialligo Estate coincided with their first market day, an exciting combination of children patting animals while their parents admired chooks, stalls run by district producers of wine, jars of Russian borscht, eggs, crepes and chocolates. There was also pumpkin soup and smoked salmon with slaw made in the Pialligo Estate kitchen. Helicopter rides were taking off and landing in the adjoining paddock. In the large enclosed glasshouse nearby, diners were celebrating Winter in July.
We were there to meet horticulturist Michael Thomsett. He took us to the kitchen garden constructed beside the main farmhouse and surrounded by a recycled timber paling fence. The raised beds were filled with artichokes, rainbow chard, sorrel, many varieties of thyme and edible flowers like johnny-jump- ups to be used by the chefs. These seasonal plantings are done in consultation with the culinary team.
In the wine and coffee pavilion was an arrangement of white cherry jam from the orchard trees, preserved pears, bottles of olive oil, bunches of kale and cabbages. Visitors to Pialligo Estate can purchase any of these products and, when the fridge is re-stocked, the prize-winning smoked bacon and smoked salmon.
There were also Jarrahdale, Queensland Blue, Sweet Mischief and Golden Nugget pumpkins which had been grown in the two hectare market garden in distant paddocks on the fertile river flats beside the Molonglo River. This area embraces organic practices that have been used on the land for more than a century. Crops are rotated and, in an area of 600 sq metres, massed garlic is now growing for late spring harvest. A second crop of Turban and Spanish garlic is expected to produce a one tonne harvest in summer.
Michael Thomsett has managed olive groves for extra virgin olive oil and table olives on the NSW Southern Tablelands for 17 years. He consults to growers from Mudgee to the Murray, is President of OlivesNSW and has judged olive oil for a decade. In the Pialligo Estate olive grove there are 400 trees of the Tuscan variety 'Corregiolo' which produces a medium pungency oil which has won Silver and Gold Awards from local and interstate competitions.
Thomsett was raised in Wahroonga in Sydney, surrounded by trees and the suburb's renowned gardens. His father's meticulous vegetable patch continues to be the source of freshly picked produce. However it was climbing trees as a young boy and eating the mulberries and plums in his grandma's backyard that gave Michael a particular interest in growing edibles.
He studied horticulture at Hawkesbury Agricultural College at the foot of the Blue Mountains while living on an apple and stone fruit orchard in Bilpin and The Orchard at Pialligo Estate is a particular passion. Bangay designed roads and avenues in a wishbone shape and, during the summer of 2012/13, Thomsett planted 1000 fruit trees in 10 separated beds.
Figs, pomegranates, apples, quinces, persimmons, nashi and pears, red and white cherries, European and Japanese plums, nectarines and peaches fruit over an extended period with early, mid and late season heirloom varieties. Pruning in four of the blocks is done to a Palmette shape creating hedge-like rows which enables easy harvesting while six blocks are pruned to a vase shape which gives a bigger crop.
Pialligo Estate has a licence to use a limited supply of water from the Molonglo which is filtered before use and applied through drip irrigation. There is always work to be done on site and Thomsett relies on his right hand man, Paul Hughes, and some casuals.
Thomsett also manages the three hectares of vineyard for the winery which sells Riesling, Shiraz, Sangiovese and Merlot. There have been vines on the site for decades and former owners John Nutt and Sally Milner were responsible for adding to the vineyard. Plantings have recently been expanded.
As we walked back to the parking area, Thomsett pointed out the vase adjoining paddocks where the horticultural team has been growing and baling millet to provide mulch for the garlic and vegetable beds and cut flowers. Roses are being grown in the market garden to be used in vases on the Farmhouse tables but the chefs have requested varieties with low fragrance so the sense of smell and taste of diners is not affected by strong perfume.
For this gardener, stomping on damp straw from an adjoining Pialligo farm as we walked among the market stalls, was the perfect smell for a country estate.
