|
Dear Growers
HUGE DEMAND FOR SEED THIS WINTER
Thank you for all those seed orders my customers have been sending in.
We have been over run with orders, not only from Australia and locally but from England, Nigeria, Canada and the United States.
I have new contacts in South Australia and West Australia willing to learn about commercial herb growing now. Very pleased to see this happening after the long lack of interest over the past 3-4 years.
But continuing to update this web site is a lot of work and researching
growing techniques, but well worth the effort.
October Weather
The drought across Australia has continued for nearly 8 months in our area of the North Coast. But the 18th of October we saw a massive low with 229 mm falling in and around Ballina on the coast. We received 90mm.
This was a welcome dump of water into our catchement areas and a boost to growers and their crops.
NEW SEED VARIETIES AVAILABLE
Passiflora incanata has supposed to have a purple flower not the white flower as assumed by North Coast growers. Talking to Peter Purbrick from Mediherb in QLD last week I learned that most growers had the white flowered variety not the purple one that they want.
All their identification is done with Gas Chromatography at their facility in Warwick QLD.
We have just imported the purple variety into Australia and now is available for sale.
NEW GROWERS NEEDED
Herb growing on the North Coast has slowed down after the massive glut
of herbs grown in the 1998 to 2000 period. Companies are having a hard
time obtaining large amounts of raw material to suit their needs now and
having to rely on importing again.
So it is about time that we find new blood to lend a hand and try to put
some more crops in. The herbal industry is still growing but very slowly,
and the supply of the raw material in large quantities is mostly hampered
by the inability of farmers to control weeds. Therefore this growing
season I will be concentrating on the subject of controlling weeds without
chemicals.
QUALITY More emphasis must be made upon the
quality of raw material coming in for sale. Medicinal herb must be treated
carefully from harvest to packaging, and great care in the handling and
length of time drying is very important for a good finished product.
SOME HELPFULL TIPS Many growers who are
new at cultivating the species mentioned above, are reliant on information
such as found in the specifications
page, or engage in a search for books that are available on the subject.
So if you don't know that
Echinacea or Skullcap needs lime applications in the soil 4-5 weeks before
planting, then the crop is not going to perform as good as you would hope.
Therefore studying the crops you want to grow is very important. continued over...............
|
BLUE VIOLET
MECHANICAL WEEDER
FORAGE
HARVESTER TO COLLECT GRASS TO MULCH AROUND TREES AND CROPS
If you plan to spend time and money to a growing project like this then
you would like to get the best returns for the product, is that
so...?
a) Look at the ground that you have chosen to grow the crop in, and either
buy a chemical pH and NPK kit and test the soil for starters. Discover
what is lacking and add to the soil.
b) Use fertiliser to bring up your seedlings or get a professional
to grow them for you.
c) Make sure your prepared with a bit of knowledge to attack the weeds
that will confront you, Use mechanical weeders where possible or you will
end up breaking your back on a chipping hoe. This job is not for the
faint hearted or the lazy person!!!!!!
Happy Growing.
Andi Pleasance
|
