Grower Allan Kirk shows how three weeks' growth looks in Hitiri Nursery's new pots.
Grower Allan Kirk shows how three weeks' growth looks in Hitiri Nursery's new pots.
Growing native plants is quite a green endeavour, but modern methods require a surprising amount of plastic.
Allan Kirk and Petra Specht, who own Hitiri Nursery in Kinloch, calculated that they were using about 40 cubic metres of plastic each year, mostly from seedling pots and trays.
Shocked at the waste involved in their small-scale native plant growing operation, they brainstormed alternatives to help cut it down.
Fortunately, an acquaintance mentioned that they knew of a machine from a company named Ellepot that could produce eco-friendly, biodegradable pots.
One was being sold in New Zealand, having been brought into the country as part of an unsuccessful trial, but was now bound for Australia if no buyer could be found.
“[The timing] was a little bit of luck,” said Kirk.
Being first and foremost a grower, his priority was plant health, which he was not prepared to compromise on. When he read up on the Ellepot machine, though, he discovered that it had a 30-year track record of success.
Invented in Denmark, it was used widely in Europe and Brazil. The machine was one of only a handful in New Zealand, but the benefits were just as useful here.
Going in with two other farms, Kirk and Specht bought the machine, which presses a cylinder of lightly compressed soil into a pot of thin, paper-like material made from FSC-certified wood.
Hitiri Nursery produces 55,000 plants a year, the vast majority now in biodegradable pots.
For Hitiri Nursery, it meant a 95 per cent reduction in plastic use, with reusable trays for the pots now the only plastic used in the growing process.
The pots have meant some changes to their usual processes.
“It’s an all-new learning experience.”
However, the Ellepot machine is ultimately a time saver, thanks to the use of biodegradable materials. The plants, which include mānuka, kahikatea and hebes, can be placed directly into the soil without the need to remove the pot first.
This has been useful to the organisations that Hitiri Nursery sells to, which include farmers replanting river and stream banks, as well as Taupō District Council.
Roots can grow out from the pot once planted, and in about 18 months, the pot breaks down completely.
The new pots have led to one unexpected issue: the plants are growing about 50 per cent faster than before.
“We’re going to have to relearn about our time frames.”
Kirk hopes the technology catches on, with the benefits outweighing the slightly increased costs.
