The answer really is in the soil

The 2.5-acre garden planted in Kerikeri by former NorthTec students is now producing vegetables for sale to the public. Photo / Supplied

KEY POINTS:

• NorthTec and the Ngati Rangi Development Society Incorporated have created a garden.

A partnership between NorthTec and the Ngati Rangi Development Society Incorporated (NRDSI), via the Te Matarau Education Trust contract with TEC, has resulted in five former students gaining employment and a productive vegetable garden being developed.

The 2.5-acre garden, near Kerikeri's Old Packhouse Market, is the pilot for a larger operation, developed by former NorthTec horticulture and sustainable rural development students.

Produce will be sold at the Kerikeri Packhouse Market every Saturday for the next few months, including potatoes, kumara, peruperu (Maori potatoes), carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, silverbeet, red and green cabbage and kohlrabi.

Plans are being made to acquire and develop a further 20 acres in the area, which would employ between 10 and 20 more students direct from NorthTec horticulture programmes.

The first five employees studied at NorthTec's Kaikohe and Kerikeri campuses, gaining a National Certificate in Horticulture (Level 3), or level 4 Certificate in Sustainable Rural Development (SRD).

The horticulture programme is an entry-level qualification for people wanting to work on a commercial property, while the SRD programme is geared towards creating a land-based business for self-employment or self-sufficiency.

Programmes teach technical skills to produce crops sustainably, leading to job opportunities.

"This is an ideal employment opportunity for post-tertiary students who have a real will to learn," project manager Rob Downing said.

"They will be involved in the full spectrum of working the land, planning, preparing sites, selecting ideal produce requirements, sowing seeds, nurturing plants, preparing fertilisers, weeding, harvesting and presenting produce at the markets."

The garden was a complex operation using separate areas for different types of crops to minimise the risk of exposure to pests and ensure there was a continual supply of vegetables to sell. With about 2000 of each type of vegetable planted, it was very labour-intensive, especially as using machinery was discouraged so that the project could be replicated in other areas.

Having recently installed an irrigation system, the team was now working on signage and branding for their market stall, in preparation for their first sales.