In the bucolic town of Little Hampton, George Wicker has been growing potatoes for over 50 years. “I grew up in little Hampton. And I grew up opposite the little Hampton School,” explains George. “With my mum and Dad, I grew up on a farm; milking cows and growing spuds. I’ve been in farming all my life.”

George knew from the outset, his destiny was written. “Since I've been a bit seven year old I think that's all I ever wanted to do. I just wanted to be a farmer. It was my dream,” says George.

“I like the freedom. You weren’t stuck to certain hours and you could work as long or as little as you like. There’s always something to do but I think there’s a free spirit about all things farming.”

George loved being outdoors in the lush pastures of central Victoria.

“In my early life, my fondest memories were the potato diggers in the paddock digging,” explains George. “I used to go out in the evening after school and I got to drive the tractor along while dad would stack them on the trailer.”

Spuds were the main source of income in the Wicker household.

“Dad used to milk about fourteen cows and grow a bit of oaten hay. Spuds were the main source of income. As years have gone on, spuds have sort of risen to the top. I went from growing a few for the box on the road to supplying a shop in Kyneton.”

He quickly began to learn that the region was well suited for growing spuds, “There’s good red soil where they’re grown. A little bit of acidity which helps the flavour. The trouble is that now there’s only two growers left in the Little Hampton area.

But the journey wasn’t as straightforward as George anticipated. Like all farmers he faced some hard times.

“You realise there's some really good times prices are good, everything's good, And then you come to times like now when inflation, fuel’s expensive, everything got expensive and you've just got to be careful how you spend your money.”

He remembers a particularly difficult moment early on in his career,

“Back in like late 80s. We bought a tractor when interest rates were very very high and then we had to sell the tractor because we couldn't afford to keep it and started over again,” says George. “I took away from that, you sit down and work out within reason

what your income is going to be over the next two years. Working out your income and not spending more than you should.”

These days, George has turned his farming practice into a calculated business that celebrates some of the best spuds in the region. He adds, “we grow dutch creams, nicholas, pontiacs, sabegos, king edwards and snow gems.”

George’s offering caters to the local community. “Dutch creams are very, very popular with people. They're a good seller. And Sabegos are a very good quality of spud. And your king edwards are a very good all round potato.”

His favourite spud? “Probably would be to Sebago because he's a very good all round spud. You can mash him you can fry him and you can do almost anything with him. My favourite way, I love them mashed with a little bit of butter and a little bit of milk.”

You can purchase George’s spuds under a giant old gum tree on Daylesford Trentham road or Watts Fresh in Kyneton.