One of the longest-standing organic growers for Ooooby, Sally and Huunter of Hunters Organic Farm tell us a little about what it means to them to be an organic farmer.
They have also recently started a new farm in Waikato, with rich, healthy soils and they are supplying Ooooby with amazing fresh produce.
Let’s get to know them a little better…
Continue reading Q&A with Hunters Organic FarmQ and A with Siema Organic Farm
“We have always had a passion for wholesome foods. So eating organic and growing organically is a natural progression of this.”
Nestled between the Hunua Ranges Regional Park and the Firth of Thames, beautiful Kaiaua is home to a subtropical orchard paradise. Having chosen to leave the city and live a life that is the thing of dreams for most of us, Gemma and Sione run Siema Organic Farm. Raising their children in touch with nature and producing some truly exceptional organic fruit. So what does it take to grow organically and make the switch from city life to running a farm? Read on to find out.
Looking at options to escape city life and move towards living in a more sustainable and holistic way of life, we then discovered Tikapa Moana at the market and it really aligned with what we were looking for.
We were familiar with Bill and Marilyn (the owners at the time) through the Grey Lynn market and Ooooby boxes. Having previously had very little experience of managing an orchard, we jumped at the opportunity to learn everything we could from Bill and Marilyn.
Over the 6 month hand over period our family spent every free weekend on the orchard with Bill and Marilyn who kindly shared their knowledge with us. It was a very special and unique situation for us all and we feel blessed to of had that ‘internship’ experience with them and we have now been on this land for almost three years.
We have always had a passion for wholesome foods, so eating organic and growing organically is a natural progression of this. Applying permaculture principles to the work we do is how we farm in the orchard and we work with nature along the way.
We have also introduced some animals into the system, a flock of chickens and welsh harlequin ducks and more recently some lambs.
“I think freshness is the key, we pick to order and this really makes a difference.”
Many of the trees that we currently harvest from are thanks to the previous kaitiaki of the land Bill Brownell. Lucky for us Bill ensured we produced fruit all year round from our subtropical orchard.
We have added in a few extras, like finger limes, lemonades, kefir lime, and expanded the banana grove. So we will be able to supply bananas in the future. Each season brings a new favourite for us and it is incredible watching the orchard shift and change. One moment we are picking an abundance of plums the next we have heaps of figs.
The seasons bring exciting creative opportunities for us. Any surplus gets captured and stored in some way, through dehydrating, pickling, preserving.
With two children, an orchard, vegetable garden and the animals, we have the day to day challenge of finding enough hours of the day to get everything complete. Then there’s the bigger challenges of climate change and food security that are circling around the peripheries of our mind.
I think freshness is the key, we pick to order and this really makes a difference. The taste and nutritional value are at a peak and this, for us, is what food is about.
Working with Ooooby has been incredible for us. We feel aligned with Ooooby’s principles and core mission and that’s important.
When Ooooby first opened up in Auckland we were living in the suburbs and we were a customer of Ooooby. Gemma even did some packing and delivery a few times when they were operating from a container in Grey Lynn.
Knowing that we can work with Ooooby and get our produce out to customers. It is a blessing for a small operation like ours.
“We really enjoy being out in the orchard picking”
We have a few unusual and strange fruits growing here. I think buddha hand is the most strange looking.
It’s hard to say, We often find ourselves saying….”That is the best (fruit) I have ever tasted”
We really enjoy being out in the orchard picking and I think every pick provides an opportunity for laughter. The most recent one that comes to mind is when we were picking casimiroa in the rain.
The long drought was beginning to break and the rain was so heavy. As a result, we were all soaking wet with massive smiles on our faces. The joy was incredible and all of us began dancing in the rain. Except for our woofer and dog, who tried unsuccessfully to hide under a tree. They did not look happy at all.
We have so many and so I will share with you the ones that we are enjoying right now with the produce we have available. Fuerte avocado, limes and grapefruit.
I like to simply juice the grapefruit and have it first thing in the morning. I am sure it helps to keep winter colds at bay.
If you enjoy tempeh I have a great recipe for you – Fried Tempeh with lime and tamari.
Olive oil for frying
Juice of one lime
2 tsp tamari
1 block of tempeh.
Slice the tempeh into strips and fry in the oil on medium heat until golden on both sides. Whilst the tempeh is frying, juice the lime and mix with the tamari.
Once the tempeh is cooked and still in the hot frying pan (heat turned off), pour the lime tamari mixture over the tempeh. Leave to sizzle for a moment.
The tempeh is great on a salad or in a sandwich with Fuerte avocado and lettuce.
Do you want to see which of the delicious organic produce From Siema Organic Farm is currently available through Ooooby? Click here – Siema Organic Farm Produce
You can also see what Siema Organic Farm is up to by visiting their FaceBook page: Siema Organic Farm FaceBook
Visit https://www.ooooby.co.nz to get all your organic food needs delivered to your home and don’t forget that all this great produce can help keep you healthy.
Already a fan and want to help us spread the word while also standing the chance to win 1 year of FREE Ooooby produce. Read here to learn more: Ooooby Referral Competition.
Q and A with Raymond Garb
“A lot of effort goes into improving and balancing the soil so that veggies can have what they need”
Originally supplying produce to Ooooby Christchurch, Raymond Garb is one of our long-standing growers. Now located just a hop, skip and jump from Pukekohe on a shared plot of land, Raymond grows farm fresh organic produce exclusively for Ooooby Auckland and we think he is just swell. Get to know Raymond a little better by reading on.
I have always been interested in caring for the environment and I read some fascinating stuff on organic farming as a teenager.
I then decided to find a way to practice it and I have been growing organically for over 20 years now – first working for other people and then for myself.
There are lots of reasons:
Being a better steward for a small patch of our shared planet earth; producing food that tastes delicious and does not contain chemical residues.
Plus, using organic methods is more interesting and challenging!
Currently, Silverbeet, Perpetual Spinach and Kale – They are the veggies that grow best for me in this particular patch. I like growing any veggies, but always want them to be able to be their best.
There is no water to irrigate the veggies so growing quality organic veggies with no watering is an exciting challenge, but very dry summers are difficult.
There are also pesky pukekos and ravenous rabbits who love to munch on my organic veggie seedlings.
I try to use old-fashioned heirloom varieties whenever possible – for their nutrition and flavour.
A lot of effort goes into improving and balancing the soil so that veggies can have what they need to be as delicious and nutritious as possible. Being certified organic is a level of quality assurance that these veggies have been produced to official standards and are the ‘real deal’.
“The hardest thing to grow is healthy, living soil”
They are so great to work with that now I only sell veggies to them. In times past I have supplied many different outlets.
The Ooooby team are excellent communicators, prompt at paying their growers and even have interesting personalities!
There have been a few interesting ones: celeriac, kohlrabi, Florence fennel, Baby Bear pumpkins and dried lemon balm for herbal tea bags.
The hardest thing to grow is healthy, living soil where the veggies can thrive. But in the right soil, the veggies are happy and just do their thing.
“Being a better steward for a small patch of our shared planet earth”
I like to eat a wide range of fruit and veggies and a lot of them! My favourite veggie is beetroot, oven roasted in oil with rosemary until crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.
Some of the ‘Baby Bear’ pumpkins that I grew were very small – down to about the size of a mandarin.
I gave one to my little nephew, who loved and cherished it and even slept with it, tucked into his bed. One day I gave a larger version of this miniature pumpkin to his mother, who cooked it for dinner that night.
As they were eating she asked ‘So do you like the pumpkin?’
‘What pumpkin?’
‘This pumpkin we’re eating’.
He burst into tears ‘What! I can’t believe you could be so mean! How could you cook and eat a baby pumpkin!’
After that I gave them regular pumpkins for dinner. Nowadays, he proudly grows his own – but only the big ones.
Silverbeet and perpetual spinach can be added to virtually anything cooked, as a source of green. I like to eat them both cooked with kelp flakes, seasoned with salt and pepper, with lashings of melted butter!
Silverbeet also makes an interesting edible wrap for an umu (Pacific island hangi), in place of taro leaves. Kale can be baked into crispy healthy chips, added to a stir-fry, or simply fried with cashew nuts.
Rocket is a great salad ingredient. A little goes a long way in adding zing.
Raymond Garb has been growing for Ooooby for a number of years and is a brilliant farmer and is exactly what he states – he is a brilliant steward for the shared patch of planet earth.
Do you want to see which of the delicious organic produce from Raymond Garb is currently available through Ooooby?
Visit ooooby.co.nz to get all your organic food needs delivered to your home and don’t forget that all this great produce can help keep you healthy.
“I wanted to produce the most nutritious food for my own family.”
Choosing a life that does not fit the mold is not always easy, nor for everyone, but David Whyte from Zestos has forged his own path and is now producing some of the most delicious, nutrient rich citrus fruit available. Here is what David Whyte has to say about being an organic grower in New Zealand.
I fell into producing citrus by accident. We moved to Huntly from Hamilton, as we were in our early 30’s young kids, and couldn’t afford to buy in Hamilton. After a few years in a suburb that was ‘interesting’, we saw a lifestyle block that was very good value. We sold our house and bought it.
The bank in giving the loan, made us promise to cut down all the citrus trees, otherwise it would be a business loan not a home loan.
Fortunately, we only cut down enough to move a house and associated material onsite, we knew nothing about citrus, except for being lovers of trees in general.
Biological farming instead of conventional. No brainer! I am a researcher by trade (physics then opto-electronics then biotech / biochemistry and now into fungi) and wanted to produce the most nutritious food for my own family. So why would you not do this for others as well?
“Ooooby has enabled a healthy lifestyle for the family”
As I mentioned before, we inherited the tangelo and orange trees with the land. So had no other option! I do love the Washington Navels and would never have a place without them.
To be honest paperwork. We have just paid a significant chunk last year to be properly registered and inspected as dictated by central governments 2014 food bill.
Coming down the pipeline will be compulsory accreditation for organic farms. Which means we either have to limit our production so we don’t go over the cap of turnover, which triggers accreditation or become accredited.
The problem with accreditation is that it will not remove any ‘bad’ stuff – since we don’t apply anything bad, nor add any value, but will increase costs.
Furthermore, it will stop innovation. Previously we purchased some biodynamic preparations. Although these are obviously organic, they were not accredited so are difficult to use in a certified organic system.
“we want to produce food that produces life, health, and vitality.”
Our produce has the full range of trace elements, which are often not found in citrus from elsewhere. We got rung up by the soil and leaf testing company when we ticked all the trace element testing boxes we did.
In horticultural applications, these trace elements are not required, but to us, it is important since we want to produce food that produces life, health, and vitality.
Although selenium, cobalt, and iodine are not required for plant growth, they are required for optimal human health. These elements were not in our soil, so we added them. Therefore when eating our crop you are getting a full range of trace elements that supports your body.
We have worked with Ooooby exclusively almost since inception and it has enabled a healthy lifestyle for the family, where we can maintain the work-life balance that is required for healthy living.
We used to attend farmer’s markets, however, my wife and kids were at work / school Monday to Friday. Then Saturday was spent picking, cleaning, packing the van. Up early Sunday and selling till lunchtime, arriving exhausted mid-afternoon back home. I was able to take Monday off, but the whanau were not. This wasn’t a healthy lifestyle and one that was very draining.
Ooooby has allowed me to do the picking during the week, then washing (and grading out substandard ones if required) as a family on a weekday evening. Then I deliver the product to Ooooby.
“kind of like a bit of summer snuck into winter.”
I really want to successfully grow are subtropical fruits, which is a challenge in the North Waikato were -2C frosts occur once or twice over winter. We are having some success with our first casimiroa (tastes like ice cream) fruiting this year. In time I would love to get Ice Cream Beans growing and fruiting at our place. We will see!
My favourite fruit is tree-ripened granny smiths. Leave them on the tree till at least late June, when they start to change color to get a yellow blush and taste sweet and juicy They are divine. With no summer fruits left, these apples are kind of like a bit of summer snuck into winter. I remember eating them as a kid like this, so no doubt some nostalgia in there too.
Tangelo wine doesn’t mature well! One year at the very end of the tangelo season I juiced a couple of litres of tangelo juice. Added yeast and wine nutrient and fermented it out. Once clarified I bottled up and put away for a month or two.
Typically a wine tastes quite harsh until 6 months of age, then slowly improves for some time after this. After about 3 months, my brother and I were doing some homebrew tastings and decided to see how the tangelo wine was going. It tasted pretty good, it had low body which the next batch could be corrected with tannins, but had good color, reasonable taste, so given it was still very young I was very pleased with myself.
I put it away again and pulled out 6+ months later expecting to have a pleasant wine. It was very unpleasantly bitter, so much so it got put down the drain. I was so gutted, and peeved that my hard work had come to nothing and that it got worse with age instead of better! So very unexpected.
My mother in law makes a wicked dessert that uses candied tangelo peel sprinkled on top of tangelo ice cream. I have no idea about the recipe but it is delicious.
Do you want to see which of the delicious organic produce From David Whyte is currently available through Ooooby? Click here – David Whyte Produce
You can pop on over to David Whytes YouTube channel to learn more about what they are doing on the farm: David Whyte YouTube
Visit https://www.ooooby.co.nz to get all your organic food needs delivered to your home and don’t forget that all this great produce can help keep you healthy. Read here to learn more about boosting your immunity.
“We want everything to thrive – the soil, biodiversity, people working on the land and those who consume our produce.”
Situated in the gorgeous Kauaeranga Valley in Thames, you will find the Ohaene Organics farm. Peter Poschl and his family have been growing beautiful produce on this land since the late 1990’s. We had a chat with Peter to learn more about farming organically in New Zealand.
We bought our land in summer 1996 because we always wanted to grow food. We started planting fruit trees in the following winter. In 2000 we moved onto the land and did some small scale growing of globe artichokes. We seriously started market gardening about 8 years ago specialising in potatoes and Maori potatoes.
Angelika’s parents back in Germany saw no alternative to gardening the organic way. They saw what damage chemical based agriculture did to land, people and the quality of food. There was never a question for us to do it differently. And we believe it is now more important than ever.
“we have a holistic approach”
We grow what we like to eat ourselves. We know how fruit and veggies should taste. “Favourite produce” – I don’t know. Potatoes perhaps – the act of digging out beautiful tubers is something very satisfying. Fruit probably Belle de Boskoop apples, an old variety from Central Europe and THE apple to make apple strudel
There are some. The last years had prolonged periods without rainfall (as we all know). We are very lucky to have a reliable water source but still – nothing beats a good summer rainfall … The other is probably increased bureaucracy. Compliance with the Food Act 2014 is paperwork-intensive and costly (at times throwing up the question of viability)
“There was never a question for us to do it differently.”
That we have a holistic approach. We want everything to thrive – the soil, biodiversity, people working on the land and those who consume our produce.
We love the idea behind Out Of Our Own Backyards. We are glad we can contribute to it and are happy to accommodate our harvesting schedule to Ooooby’s needs as far as possible.
Carrots – we never had any luck with them but we won’t give up.
Beans, chillies, tomatoes, cucumbers – there is nothing better than the vegetable or the fruit picked when it is just right.
Well, it might be funny for other people – you plant several 100s of leeks only to come back in the morning to discover that half of them have been pulled out again with the culprits not far away: pukekos. So you plant them again and shoo the birds away. You go back in for your morning tea and when you come back to see some pukekos running away and lots of leeks pulled out again. Fish and Game, help me!
Yes, too many to list or prioritise. You can get excited about a simple bean dish, a fresh cucumber salad, patate alla borghese (boiled potatoes, reheated in butter, lemon juice and parsley) and of course apple strudel (real paper thin strudel dough, filling of Boskoop apples with raisins, walnuts, cinnamon and a little sugar, rolled up and once done served with whipped cream).
“there is nothing better than the vegetable or the fruit picked when it is just right.”
If you would like to see which of the delicious Ohaene Organics produce from Peter Poschl are currently available through Ooooby, click here – Ohaene Organics
You can pop on over to Peter Poschl’s Facebook or Instagram pages – https://www.facebook.com/ohaeneorganics/ https://www.instagram.com/ohaeneorganics/
Visit https://www.ooooby.co.nz to get all your organic food needs delivered to your home and don’t forget that all this great produce can be made into delicious meals. Read here to learn more about falling in love with soup.
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