ORGANIC produce is a serious business for Fiona Routledge, SARAH HUDSON reports

Fiona Routledge is unsure at what point her hobby grew into a flourishing business.

A love of gardening as a child in London eventually led her across the globe to manage an organic farm in South Gippsland.

The farm blossomed, supplying fruit and vegetables through farmers' market stalls and door-to-door sales, and then retailing through the Organic Fix shop, based in the tranquil town of Koonwarra.

So popular was the shop that it spread to the Prahran Market in Melbourne and, following that, Albury.

And now about 15 years after first starting to manage the Peaceful Gardens Organic Farm, Fiona heads a small empire not only servicing seven farmers markets and a string of shops, but also a not-for profit organic cooking school - the first to be certified in Victoria.

But she admits there was no grand plan or design, just a dream.

"When something grows organically like that you always feel slightly under-skilled because there's a point where it switches from a hobby to an industry, so it's been a huge challenge educating myself," Fiona says.

"It really was something that just grew out of seven boxes of fruit and vegetables in the back of the Holden Commodore that we'd drive around from Phillip Island to Leongatha."

Her beginnings in the business were, she admits, a little unconventional.

Growing up on the outskirts of London, Fiona developed her green thumb skills in local community gardens before starting a career in sales of industrial catering equipment.

"It's always been about the food for me," she says.

A plan to backpack around the globe in the early 1990s came to a full stop when she arrived in Australia and met her then-husband.

Together they settled in South Gippsland, chosen specifically for its growing capacity.

Today the Peaceful Gardens Organic Farm in Nerrena South has 400 fruit trees, several berry varieties, vegies and herbs, rare breed animals such as Grey Slate turkeys, English Leicester sheep, "Piggy" the Berkshire pig, Wagyu cattle and Amber and Lady the resident Clydesdales.

Nearby is the rustic Peaceful Gardens Organic Cooking School and Farmhouse Kitchen.

The school was established in Koonwarra in 1996 to "demystify organics" through traditional culinary skills that highlight the seed- to-plate concept.

The Country Women's Association has taught sponge baking at the school while Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management has been instructive for such tasks as bottling and traditional bread making.

Among their students have been English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's Fifteen charity, while the youngest student was four and the oldest 83.

"There are many reasons why these skills are so important - obesity, the amount of processed foods in our diet, the fact we're busier, lazier and eat out so much," says Fiona, a member of the Organic Federation of Australia, the Future Climate group and the Victorian Farmers Federation.

"They're now selling city apartments with no kitchen, just a microwave."

Given that she is based between Gippsland, Melbourne and Albury, does she miss the tranquility of the farm life and time spent gardening and cooking?

"I still have time on the farm but obviously it's not full time," Fiona says.

"I do miss it - particularly those misty mornings that are just gorgeous, but at other times, I think there's a big part of me that wants to get out there and talk to people.

"And when I'm really busy, I get little survival packs that we make, like shepherd's pie or lamb shank stew, and I pop them in the microwave.

"It's organic cheating!"

Throughout all her work, the basic philosophy and motivation have been the same.

"The bottom line for me is that I feel somehow that food production in Australia and throughout the world doesn't leave a destructive footprint.

"That would be my motivation.

"I dreamt that from the beginning and forced myself to do the business side."

The Peaceful Gardens Organic Farm is located at 740 Meeniyan Nerrena Rd, Nerrena South, Gippsland.

The Peaceful Gardens Organic Cooking School and Farmhouse Kitchen is located at 1 Koala Drive, Koonwarra, on the South Gippsland Highway.

For details about talks, cooking classes, demonstrations and more, visit www.peacefulgardens.com.au