New service a lifeline during Covid

NEW SERVICE A LIFELINE

DURING COVID

Words by Helena O’Neill

The Tregidga family run Clevedon Herbs & Produce near Auckland. Pictured are dad Phil, Amy, and Liz

For the Tregidga family behind Clevedon Herbs & Produce, growing fresh produce for their subscription box service has been a lifeline during a global pandemic.

The award-winning operation on four hectares at Clevedon was started by parents Phil and Jenny Tregidga, with their daughter Liz joining the business nearly 10 years ago. After a good four years of hands-on learning and scribbling notes in diaries, Liz is now running the show, with her sister Amy handling the marketing side of things with support from other family members along with four long-term staff. Their produce is all grown hydroponically except for the beetroot, carrots and radishes. They grow their own plants from seeds.

Liz’s grandfather Percy Tregidga was one of the earliest growers of glasshouse tomatoes in the country, in Mangere, South Auckland. Her uncles, Mark and George, were the first into the large-scale hydroponic growing of tomatoes on the same farm.

Phil and Jenny wanted more of a country lifestyle for their family, purchasing land in the Wairoa Gorge near Clevedon. They began growing lettuce hydroponically, later importing red and fancy lettuce seed from the United States in the 1980s. “You could get Butterhead [also known as Buttercrunch] lettuce but you couldn’t get any of the coloured ones. A grower in the States supplied the seed to us and we tried out these others. All of a sudden there was a demand for it and the seed companies started bringing it in,” Phil says. “People were paying exorbitant prices for a lettuce when they first started.” Phil and Jenny were the largest growers of fancy lettuces right through the 1990s until the industry evolved and they got squeezed out of the market. They were soon asked to sell lettuce at farmers’ markets.

While the farm is free of chemical sprays, it is not certified organic. Phil is a big believer in the philosophy of organics but not the practice of organics which uses about a third more land, which isn’t sustainable, he says. Feedback from people at the markets helped shape what the Tregidga family decided to grow. “If I’m going to stand here for four hours, I’m going to be selling more than just lettuce,” Phil laughs. “Within five years we said goodbye to the supermarkets. It went from a hydroponic fancy lettuce farm to growing up to 40 types of different vegetables,” Liz says. The broccoli Italian tasty stems grow beautifully in the hydroponic system all year round and remain a favourite with both customers and Liz.

“The carrots are also really good because they’re so sweet. We’ve got some rainbow carrots coming in now - they’re great for kids’ lunchboxes.” Celery is another popular vegetable, with customers saying how difficult it is to find spray-free celery. “The people at the Howick Village Market – we’ve been there for 15 years now – every week for 15 years they come out and want their fresh veggies. When we take a break over Christmas they really miss out and often come out to the shop.” “And now a lot of the children have grown up and are coming through with their children.” “They’re very loyal at the Howick Village Market,” Phil adds. “We only sell fresh veg; people don’t eat as much fresh veg anymore and that’s what we’re up against. Over the past 20 years, the fresh vegetable market has come under a lot of pressure.” When Phil and Jenny ran the business, they stopped selling to restaurants and supermarkets by 2010 because it was no longer profitable with so many taking their cut along the way.

Initially, they were sending out 10 boxes a week, which has now grown to around 100, peaking at about 250 during the Level 4 lockdown last year. Demand during lockdown led to 12-hour working days

Now the only restaurant they supply is Kauri Bay Boomrock in Clevedon, where the chef Jeroen is determined to showcase as much local produce as possible. All other sales are from the subscription boxes, farmers’ markets, and at the farm gate. Clevedon Herbs & Produce launched a website in September 2019, a move that helped secure their future following the Covid-19 pandemic. While the business has loyal buyers at the markets, sales were variable as the number of people attending the markets would depend heavily on the weather. Poor weather could cut sales in half, leaving Liz to research possible solutions. The family soon started selling produce boxes direct to consumers online through their website. Customers can order a box of seasonal produce in three different sizes, boxed or individual seedlings, or create their own custom box of produce and/or seedlings. Boxes are delivered across the country via CourierPost. “In that first lockdown we would have to turn it off 20 minutes later because we had tripled our normal orders,” Amy says. “There were about 450 in the email database before the lockdown and we went up to 1,400 within a month.” Initially, they were sending out 10 boxes a week, which has now grown to around 100, peaking at about 250 during the Level 4 lockdown last year. Demand during lockdown led to 12-hour working days. Three weeks into the first lockdown they entered the 2020 Outstanding New Zealand Food Producers Awards, winning the Spirit of New Zealand title and receiving a gold medal award in the ‘earth’ category. Liz is determined to keep the packaging as green as possible. “We were hand-making our own greaseproof bags every week. Then I came across this company Econic.” They use the Hamilton-based Econic EcoClear bags for the leafy greens. The bags break down in compost within two weeks, and vegetables and herbs are packed in reusablerecyclable cardboard delivery boxes made in Auckland by Boxrite. When things get tough Liz likes to escape Auckland to take a step back and refocus in order to get a fresh perspective. “Weather is the main source of stress. We had a twister come through two weeks ago which tore off two roofs. Fortunately, the framework is still alright but we’ll have to replace the plastic.” Liz is also passionate about supporting South Aucklandbased charity, Oke. Oke provides Kiwi kids across South Auckland the opportunity to learn life and social skills by introducing productive gardens into schools. By giving the kids the tools to learn, Oke aims to empower schools and communities to grow essential life and social skills, and ultimately provide a better place for everyone. The charity started in Papatoetoe in 2015 and has since built gardens from Onehunga to Drury, with plans to extend further. “Doing the farmers’ markets, seeing the families come through, and seeing the kids around veges … it put that link in that it’s important for children to know where their food comes from. I thought about that a lot.” When Paul Dickson from Oke Charity approached them two-and-a-half years ago asking for any spare seedlings for the project, Liz couldn’t sign up soon enough. “It’s not just building the garden, it’s an education around the garden. The kids actually learn what to do in the garden and learn life skills.”

“It’s something for us to do for the community because we do have seedlings going to spare. I just call him up five or six times a year and donate any excess that we have. “I went to Weymouth Primary School and saw the kids there getting their hands dirty. They’ve even got their own watering system there, collecting water off the roof … they learn about Papatuanuku [mother earth] and looking after the land. “It’s really important what he’s doing.”