It's Time We Grew Native Foods
For more than 50,000 years Aboriginals have called Australia home living off only the native foods that grew here. Indigenous Australians didn't eat the fresh produce we find in our supermarkets. Tomatoes, bananas, blueberries, beetroots, carrots, pears, zucchinis, strawberries and most other things we consume on a daily basis. These things weren't available to the native people because they didn't grow here. These were all introduced after European settlement. And still to this day, Australia hasn't embraced it's own naturally occurring foods. We promote Australian grown produce as superior, yet we don't seem to realise that while they grow here they are not our own food crops. Our biggest businesses don't currently, and probably aren't going to, provide us with native foods. Native foods are diverse, delicious and definitely under utilised. It is not too late to jump on board and get involved. It's time we grew Australian native foods, it's time we were proud of our own unique produce and it's about time we added them to our modern diets.
Indigenous diets
Apart from eating a range of animals, Aboriginals consumed a diverse diet of fruits, nuts, vegetables, berries, root crops, leafy greens. They also ground flour from native seeds and grasses to make bread. Diets differed significantly depending on location and the different seasons of the year but one thing they all shared in common was their knowledge of local foods. They were experts at knowing what was in season, where to get it from and when. Not only did they survive here for more than 50,000 years but they thrived because the foods they were eating were highly nutritious.
There are more than 6,500 edible species of native plants and yet most of us have probably only eaten one or two of them. I have never seen finger limes, lilli pillis, native plums, quandongs, bush apples, bunya nuts, warrigal greens, midgen berries, native ginger or any native herbs sold in store. The only common native food I can think of are macadamia nuts.
Why we should grow Australian natives
There are many reasons why I think it's time we grew native foods, below are just a few.
Embrace first nations peoples
Personally I think this is the most important reason. Australia has done a terrible job at respecting aboriginal culture since Europeans first came here. But we can make changes and do better. We should embrace Australia's indigenous people, their traditions and their culture. One of the simplest ways we can do that is to grow, nurture and care for native plants and native foods. The ancestors of this land looked after and cared for the land, the plants and animals found here for at least 50,000 years. They were apart of the natural world, everything was connected to everything else and they understood the importance of the whole ecosystem. When we buy native plants, nurture them and love them we are also caring for, respecting and embracing indigenous people past and present.
Australian Conditions
Australian native plants are perfect for Australian conditions and will thrive. Because they are from here they have adapted over millions of years to our soils, our climate, our weather patterns and to the animals and other plants around them. Our indigenous plants tend to require less maintenance, are usually drought tolerant and generally require less water. Australian plants are more likely to flourish here and is reason enough to consider them when you're at the garden centre next time.
Native wildlife
Biodiversity is extremely important and is even more critical to create in our home gardens. Due to urban sprawl and loss of habitat for agriculture, much of Australia's natural vegetation has been lost, meaning less habitat and food sources for native animals. By replanting native plants in our home gardens we can invite some of them back and give them the opportunity to do well once again.
Many of our native plants not only provide food for us, but they also provide food, flowers and habitat for many other species. Our native wildlife prefer and some actually need our native plants to survive. This means we can create an appealing environment to many different animals and insects. Australian plants are the best to grow because they will invite native animals of all kinds into your home garden, which is what we want. The more biodiversity we can attract the better for not only our gardens but for the planet!
Natives are beautiful
Australian native edibles come in all shapes, sizes, forms and colours making them extremely diverse and beautiful. From root crops like the murnong which produce stunning daisy-like flowers to the beautiful purple flowers of the succulent ground cover, pig face (carpobrutus). There are small shrubs like the muntries and midgen berry and there are taller, slender palm like trees like the davidson plum that grows plums from their stems. Dianella grasses bear stunning purple, blue flowers and berries while the sandpaper fig has rough leaves like sandpaper, where it gets its common name from. Australian natives are gorgeous and will make wonderful additions to your backyard, balcony or paved courtyard.
Nutritional
Many of our own bushfoods are extremely healthy for us. In fact many of them are just as or more nutritious than foods commonly found in our supermarkets or veggie patches. The rainforest plum (Davisonia pruriens) is high in vitamin c and antioxidants. Muntries are another extremely healthy choice, they contain about four times the amount of antioxidants of blueberries. The quandong, sometimes referred to as an Australian native peach has twice as much vitamin C as an orange while warrigal greens are high in fibre.
Versatile in the kitchen
It might be hard to know how to use our natives in the kitchen because they have never been mainstream. However, there is nothing to fear because there are so many different uses. Warrigal greens has another name, native spinach. This common name instantly gives it away, use it as you would spinach. Eat the rhizome of yam daisies raw or cook them like potatoes. Flavour drinks or fish with finger limes. Use native thyme and native oregano to flavour lamb, chicken or fish. Steep river mint in hot water to create tea or use in salads or sauces. Lilli pillis, midgen berries, muntries and native raspberries can be used in place of other berries in cakes and deserts or even made into jams. There are lots of ways to use Australian foods, just experiment, there's no need to come up with wacky new recipes, just substitute natives with other things you would normally use. Our present-day diets and the way we cook and prepare food is very different but replacing many foreign ingredients with endemic ones is the easiest way to use them.
If you would like to learn more about cooking with native ingredients then I recommend the book Cooking With The Oldest Foods On Earth, written by John Newton. This book is filled with recipes, many from first nations chefs.
What to grow
There are hundreds of native Australian foods to choose from. Many plants can even be grown on a balcony or a tiny courtyard as I am demonstrating. As a small space gardener myself I understand there are limitations. Luckily, there are loads of native plants suitable for smaller areas and pots. All of the plants listed below are perfect for those short on space. I have chosen these food plants because I also have a small area to grow, I cannot grow anything too large either.
- Warrigal greens (Tetragonia tetragonioides)
- Finger Lime (Citrus australasica)
- Rainforest Plum/Davidson Plum (Davidsonia Pruriens/jerseyana)
- Midyim or Midgen berry plant (Austromyrtus dulcis)
- Native ginger (Alpinia caerulea)
- Old man saltbush (Atriplex nummularia)
- Yam daisy/Murnong (Microseris Lanceolata)
- Native thyme (Prostanthera incisa)
- Pig face (Carpobrutus)
- Native Violet (Viola hederacea)
- Muntries (Kunzea pomifera)
- Native oregano (Prostanthera rotundifolia)
- River mint (Mentha australis)
- Native raspberries (Rubus probus)
- Lilli pilli (Syzygium smithii)
- Native Juniper (Myoporum insulare)
- Riberry (Syzygium leuhmannii)
- Blue-Flax Lily (Dianella cerulea) (Be careful, some varieties of Dianella produce poisonous berries)
- Apple berry (Billardiera scandens)
- Tasmanian Pepperberry (Tasmannia lanceolata)
- Native Turmeric or Cape York Lily (Cucurma Australasica)
This is just a small list and does not include anywhere near everything, there are plenty more to choose from, but these are a great start.
What I am growing
At the moment I am growing just native violets, muntries, and a davidson plum. I've also recently added murnong, native turmeric and a sandpaper fig to my collection. I plan to add more in the near future, I would love to grow native ginger, tasmanian pepperberry, apple berry, lilli pilli, pig face, midyim berries, warrigal greens, finger lime and a mix of native herbs among plenty of others. Growing native foods is a long term project and I will continue to add to the collection over the years as I come across them.
It's Time We Grew Native Foods
It's time to embrace native foods, let's grow them at home and use them in the kitchen. In growing natives we also come to respect and be proud of our indigenous culture, history and traditions. Native foods are well adapted to our climate, they look incredible, they are healthy and nutritious, they come in all shapes and sizes, can be grown in small areas and they are easy to integrate into our modern-day diets. What's not to love about them? why not give them a try!
Resources
Below I have listed a handful of places you can order bush food plants from so you can start growing them at home. Also be sure to check out your local nurseries.
Bunnings hardware stores stock a range of native edibles, usually under the brand name Tucker Bush. Every store stocks different plants, so check out their website and visit your local store to see what they offer.
Located in Sydney, Indigigrow is an aboriginal owned and operated social enterprise. They grow and revive local endangered native plants and native edibles. They also have a large range you can purchase to grow at home
Melbourne Bushfood is another great company selling native food plants online and delivered straight to your door. There is something for everyone and you can even purchase bundles of plants.
If you want to grow plants from seed then check out Edible Oz. They stock native fruit and berry seeds, vegetables, herbs and spices, nuts and edible flower seeds.
If you know of any other great resources I can add to the above list, please let me know. I would love to check them out for myself and share them with my readers.