Peppermint Ridge Farm

07/04/2026

Sunny success for Australia:

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-electricity-per-capita

03/04/2026

We're excited to be part of the Gippsland Rare Plant Fair on Saturday April 11 at Broughton Hall. We will have a fantastic selection of rare native food and botanical plants including the small leafed tamarind, Illawarra plum, strawberry gum and the Thornless raspberry as well as twenty other species.
Hope to see you there as we fly the flag for Australian native plants that have the added bonus of being edible!

26/03/2026

22/03/2026

It's harvest time here at Peppermint Ridge Native Foods! The midyims are ready, along with the finger limes and mountain pepperberries. Illawarra plums and small leafed tamarind are on the way. All ready to put on a show for the sold out Tour and Taste lunch on March 29. Still some spots available for the June 14 lunch and the Native Pantry cooking class on May 25. Check out the details at peppermintridgefarm.au

06/03/2026

Luscious crop of mountain pepperberries ready for harvest! Grown on farm here at Peppermint Ridge Native Foods and available now. You can also catch us at the following great events in beautiful regional Victoria.
Wellington Sustainability Festival, Sale,March 14.
Riddells Creek Cool Changes Expo, March 21.
Rare Plant Fair, Broughton Hall, Jindivick, April 11.
Limited spaces also available for our Tour and Taste lunch on March 29 at peppermintridgefarm.au.

04/03/2026

Excited to be part of the Wellington Sustainability Festival at Sale on March 14. See you there!

01/03/2026

A simple roof tile might be helping save a species.

In rural parts of Catalonia, Spain, conservationists noticed something troubling. The Little Owl was disappearing from agricultural landscapes where it had lived for generations. The reason wasn’t dramatic poaching or sudden disease. It was modernization. Old farm buildings were renovated. Cavities in stone walls were sealed. Traditional clay roofs were replaced or insulated. And the little owl, which does not build its own nest, quietly lost the holes it depends on to reproduce.

So instead of building obvious wooden nest boxes, local groups including Grup de Naturalistes d’Osona and Grup de Natura Sterna designed something subtle. They created the “Teula Mussolera,” a modified clay roof tile that looks ordinary from the outside but contains a hidden internal tunnel. Installed directly into rooftops, it blends into farm buildings while offering a thermally stable nesting space.

This isn’t a flashy tech solution. It’s not satellite tracking or genetic rescue. It’s architectural humility. Instead of forcing wildlife to adapt to us, they adjusted one small piece of human infrastructure.

And in landscapes where little owls also help control rodents and insects, that quiet design choice carries weight.

Sometimes conservation is not about building something new. It’s about putting back what we removed.

Because even survival can depend on a single tile.

18/02/2026

New research shows how agrivoltaic systems can reshape soil by altering moisture, temperature, and microbial activity, creating heterogeneous zones under and between panels. Proper design and management can boost soil health and crop resilience, especially in degraded or arid regions, though long-te...

17/02/2026

Australia’s beautiful silver wattle is celebrated this time every year at the Fete du Mimosa in Provence. Little known fact. Its magnificent blooms have featured for decades as an important French perfume essence. Yet another Australian native botanical that has been commercially exploited overseas whilst ignored at home. There was one failed attempt to establish a perfumery at Dunolly, Victoria, in the 1890s but it failed. You can learn more about the many Australian plants that were developed commercially overseas before being recognised as crops in Australia in our book, ‘Australian Native Food Harvest’. Order your copy at www.peppermintridgefarm.au