Batlow has not only apples to be proud of, but also other "berry good" sweet fruits!
Clearstream is the name of a little hobby farm located in Batlow, a beautiful place surrounded by mountains and famous for its apple orchards. The cold climate has its benefits as other delicious fruits like berries and cherries thrive in this area. Helma Riddell is my husband’s mum and the owner of Clearstream, which was the name given to the property since the family bought the place in 1980. She grows mostly raspberries, boysenberries and other fruits to make homemade jams, but the most popular of all varieties that she has cooked for many years is the wild blackberry variety. Considered to be weeds if not properly controlled, she still keeps a small patch to pick for jam making.
While John and I were caretakers of the farm in my first years living in Australia, I’ve initiated a new label design using “Clearstream” as a brand name (previously known as Snowy Berries) to keep me busy and to introduce myself by selling them in markets around the region. The stall featured a variety of homemade products and included some of my artwork. For a few years now, after Helma retired at the farm (with many projects on the go), we found our own place in Tumbarumba. I have since built up my own creative business (Bottle and Brush Studio) but of course, we always kept collaborating.
Batlow gets some of the best rain in Australia, with very cold winters. This is the last place we would have believed that could be hit by drought or bushfires. On New Years’s eve of 2020, the Dunn’s Road fires came through and devastated many orchards, farms and the state forests all around us. A few days later, terrifying hot dry winds pushed it back though the town's direction... Very lucky we all survived this terrible event. Clearstream farm's damages were very minimal which was extremely lucky. There have been few losses in our produce but it did not take long for Helma to get back to the kitchen after picking kilos of berries that came back through all summer. Clearstream farm jams are available at Local at Learmont's and at a few visitor centres, gift shops and bakeries around the region.
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