OUR STORY

 Roly, my first husband and I started the organic nursery here at Kaukapakapa in 2002. Just as we were setting up, Roly died very suddenly. Even though it was hard, I wished to stay on my little "farm" (1 hectare) so I had to leap in boots and all and get my first herb seedlings planted. Once these were growing, I needed to find some outlets to sell them through. Huckleberry Farms, Harvest Whole Foods and East West Organics were happy to take my babies joined by Mitre 10 Mega in Lincoln Road in February 2006 and very soon their customers were demanding organic vegetable seedlings as well as organic herbs, so I got these planted as soon as I received the seeds from Kings Seeds.

I started with very basic facilities, 8 tables covered with hoops and shade cloth for weather protection, which I built, and over the last 6 years have progressed to the current set-up, 3 shade-houses with the final luxury of concreted paths being laid in September last year. 

Our first  delivery vehicle was a little flat-bed truck for which I made a shade cloth cover. This carried 15 trays of organic herb and vegetable seedlings. We progressed very quickly to a ute with a 2 layer frame (welded up for me by my cousin John, from scap steel - this frame has been given to one of my new franchisees) which carried 56 trays. We  were soon doing 2 to 3 trips to Auckland a week, very  time consuming and with the current cost of fuel, very expensive. My new husband Joe invested in a  light box-body truck with a tail-lift' for the nursery, all sign written, carrying up to 8 trolleys  per load, each holding 24 trays, very posh. 

Our current level of production provides us with an above average income and we are doing something we love on  a very small area of land. There are very few opportunities to live in the countryside on a small block and earn an income sufficient to provide for your family, working from home.

We decided to franchise because we did not want to become a super-grower, trucking organic herb and vegetable seedlings all over the country. That goes against our principles. We want our growers to be  part of their  local organic community, supplying their  area with high quality seedlings so that the vegetable and herb growing public can be sure of success when they buy our plants ( excluding the effects of marauding snails!!) This is the niche we have carved for ourselves here at Kaukapakapa and our first three new franchisees will be providing seedlings to their locals by the end of July 2008.