Fat Pig Farm

Chef Tom picked a basket of botanicals for Natalie Fryar to turn into a new batch of Fat Pig Farm gin and Junaidi artfully introduced a bottle of last season’s gin so you would all know what we’re so excited about.

Tassie does good rainbows!

A few months ago we posted a picture of the enormous spongy moss covered base of the Home Tree in Tasmania's Florentine Valley. A few days ago, some tree climbing mates climbed into the canopy: out of the dappled dark light of the forest floor and up into the bright leafy sunshine. At 71 metres, the Home Tree towers above the valley with a clear view of the remaining old growth native forest. Old growth unprotected forest that is set to be clear felled. There is so much beauty in this state. So much that we all want to experience any which way we can, on our feet or on ropes in the air. So many rare intact ecosystems like this one which must evolve slowly side by side with humans for thousands of years to come. We bang on a lot about soil on this farm. About the need to protect what is left of our topsoil so we can grow food for generations to come, so we can draw down and keep carbon in the soil to ameliorate the effects of a warming climate. The worst (truly! - DM us for references) thing you can do for Tasmania's remaining topsoil, is to clear fell a mature forest in a high rainfall area. A mature forest that has stored tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon (and therefore water) in the ecosystem around its roots. Sustainability is at the core of what we do on the farm, but our interests often spread further afield. And we don't think this kind of logging can be done long term. What's more, the damage is often going to take multiple generations to fix. We think forestry can, and should, do better. In the meantime, enjoy the majesty of this ancient tree at least vicariously through @treeprojects magnificent photographs. #gianttrees #talltrees #temperaterainforest #discovertasmania