ADVERTORIAL
Herbal farming and manufacturing update
by Warren Morey | Herbalist and Manager of the Pharmaceutical Plant Company
PPC Herbs is having a busy time , this week alone has seen deliveries of Fresh Green Hulls of Black Walnuts delivered from Northeast Victoria , Organic Garlic from Gippsland , New deliveries of Withania and Turmeric dry cut roots from India .
There are lots of Fruits and Vegetables in season , so on the contract side of PPC , we have been doing fruit extracts for the food industry such as lemon , raspberry , peach , and mango . The smells and colours are fantastic , although the appeal diminishes after you have taken the seed out of 2 or 3 thousand peaches .
Every herb delivered to PPC undergoes testing for Identity and other tests on a rotational basis . Our Quality team has picked up a number of Identity and quality issues that have resulted in rejection of herbs . We believe this is due to disruption to supply chains and shortages of herbs , leading to poorer quality herbs entering the supply chain . In other instances is may simply be different species of a plant . Some are difficult to identify with only visual methods .
Farming
In Tasmania , with Ronald and Marleen , the extremely good growing season is a double-edged sword . As I have said before the herbs grow well but so to do the weeds .
Ronald wrote : “ The constant rain , although good for growth , also meant “ unprecedented ” weed growth , especially onionweed ( grass ). In the end we had to give up and ploughed in part of our larger area herbs , like wormwood , feverfew and goldenrod , peppermint , which were totally overgrown . New areas have been established but will take some time to be harvestable .”
“ We now even have a ‘ greenkeeper ’, a farmhand who only mows grass in the fields with woody medicinal plants and gemmo shrubs . At the moment it is as if there is no end to the mowing .
Ronald also told me : “ Our 2 new polytunnels ( 100m2 and 400m2 ), mainly for the passionflower , were wrecked ( blown away ) by the June storm which especially hit our region . They still must be replaced , so plenty to do down here .”
It can be tough being a farmer , and after a meeting with customers from the North Island of New Zealand yesterday we are thinking of all the farmers affected by the cyclone .
If you have further questions , please email me at warren . morey @ ppcherbs . com . au
Disclaimer : The views and opinions expressed in these advertorials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ATMS or its Directors .
JATMS | Autumn 2023 | 55