Growing Native Bush Spices- Niche Market

Bush Spices

As you can imagine, starting an organic farm has put me on a steep learning curve. I might have signed up to a lengthy and expensive course in horticulture, but instead I have been seeking out as many cheap and free short courses as I can to learn what I need to make this lifestyle venture successful.

Courses have been available via the Digger's Club for a small fee, or for free via libraries, councils and various community groups.

Leonie Parker

In the last 11 months, I have completed short courses in:
- Superadobe natural building
- Keeping chickens
- Starting a successful small business
- Growing a Kitchen Garden
- Moon Planting
- Sowing Garlic
- Soil Health
- Composting & Worm Farms
- Grant Application Writing
- Citrus Growing and Care
- Using Social Media in your business.
- Growing Native Australian Bush Spices for Market

I have courses in Event Planning, Beekeeping and Growing Australian Native Plants from Seed coming up within the next month and really looking forward to those.

Here are some pics from the Growing Native Australian Bush Spices for Market course, held at Leongatha library by Leonie Parker from Brushtail Bush Foods.

She shared pictures showing the transformation of her 40 acre property in Gippsland from paddocks to a garlic and passion fruit growing venture (which didn't work out) to a much more successful venture growing native bush spices.

Mountain Pepper

Some of the most successful plants she has grown are Mountain Pepper, of which both the berries and leaves can be harvested for use just like conventional pepper, Strawberry Gum and Round Leaf Mint.

Round Leaf Mint

These are sold to chefs, companies who turn them into value-added products such as syrups and spice mixes and at Farmer's Markets as dried spices.

The downside is that you need to harvest quite a lot of the raw product to end up with relatively little dried spice (1kg of harvested mountain pepper leaves will yield 300grams of dried spice) .

The upside is that there is no need to use any kind of pesticide, herbicide or fertilizer, due to the fact that these are native plants.

I am seriously considering adding some of these plants to our property.

Lemon Myrtle (left) and Warrigal Greens (right)