I’m Duncan Cocking and I’ve been growing fruit and vegetables since I was four years old. I support others to grow food and reconnect with nature through my business Leaf, Root & Fruit.
I look to nature for inspiration to create beautiful garden ecosystems that are resilient, low-maintenance and incredibly productive. These days, I’m spending most of time writing over on my Substack page.
In 2019 my young family and I moved from Melbourne to make a tree change to Kyneton, a small town 80 km north-west of the city in Victoria, Australia. Since then, I have been busy developing a permaculture-inspired garden ecosystem. I teach workshops in an onsite classroom and demonstration orchard to participants from all over the state. Every Wednesday I host a volunteer internship program to help support and mentor others to lead fulfilled lives in touch with nature.
My partner Caryn and I are highly motivated to help regenerate the planet, for the enjoyment of our two young children, Angus and Emily, and for many more generations to come. You can read more about my gardening journey here.
Committed to reducing the impact of modern living on the environment, I actively promote a sustainable and organic approach to producing food. Having your own edible garden provides you with fruit, veggies and herbs that are tastier, healthier and better quality than what’s on offer at your local supermarket. They will be fully sustainable, cheaper and more convenient.
I see the importance of working with nature and believe that edible forest gardening as the ultimate in producing, food whilst keeping in harmony with nature. By copying nature’s blueprint and enhancing it with useful plants and animals, I aim to create productive, edible landscapes that are as close to self-sustaining as possible. Our foodscape garden designs are aesthetic, practical, easy to maintain and very productive.
I believe that everyone should be able to grow their own food. I provide ongoing support through my gardening blog and other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. I freely offer this information to inspire and support others to grow their own food.
If you have a question about gardening, an idea, a discovery or just want to tell me about what’s going on in your garden, then please get in touch with me and share your experiences.
My series, the Vegetable Patch from Scratch is popular with both novice and seasoned gardeners alike. It covers everything you might want to know about growing vegetables.
You can find my most recent garden update and planting guide here.
My services
Not everyone was born with “green thumbs”. Often time-poor, we don’t have endless hours to dedicate to a productive garden. I can help you with my years of edible gardening experience. Let’s take the time, to together realise the full potential of your outdoor space.
Enjoy the proud, satisfied feeling of using your organically-grown, freshly-picked produce in your kitchen. I can work with you to design an aesthetically appealing, productive, edible garden via:
- Site Visits, Garden Consultations and Advice
- Edible Garden Design
- Events, workshops and classes for the general public
- Workshops for, local council groups, gardening groups and community gardens, businesses and other interested people
- Tours of my permaculture inspired property in Kyneton
Why the name Leaf, Root & Fruit?
No, it’s not related to a crass joke about a wombat! Long before the business was set up, I developed The Philosophy of Edible Gardening. The philosophy is simple. Leafy greens are the easiest to grow, anyone can do it. Fruits are more of a commitment, they take a long time to come to fruition and have more complex growing requirements. Roots (plus bulbs and stems) are somewhere in the middle in terms of complexity and commitment. The name Leaf, Root & Fruit came directly from this philosophy. You might have noticed, that our logo contains veggies with similar colours to a traffic light? Again, that’s no coincidence and is also tied directly to our philosophy. If you’re new to edible gardening we recommend you have a look at The Leaf, Root & Fruit Philosophy of Edible Gardening before starting to grow your own food. It might save you some time and money through avoiding preventable crop failures.
Who are Leaf, Root & Fruit?
Duncan Cocking
My name is Duncan Cocking, and I started up Leaf, Root & Fruit in 2014. I love to help people grow their own food. I have always been a keen, edible gardener. From a young age I’ve grown vegetables on the family farm north of Melbourne In doing so, I have supplied enough produce to feed the rest of the family and still have plenty left to give away. I have completed a Science Degree, majoring in Botany. I’ve added to this knowledge through completing a Permaculture Design Certificate, and an Advanced Permaculture Fruit Trees Management Certificate. I also attended Dave Jacke’s Edible Forest Garden Design Intensive in 2016.
In June 2024, I celebrated 10 years of running Leaf, Root & Fruit. you can read all about that journey here.
Head along to my Substack page to read more of my work and discover so many things that you didn’t know you NEED to know about growing food.
