It all started in our backyard
Dan and I were both working demanding jobs in the city. Dan was managing a busy company and I was a primary school teacher.
Feeling the stress from our jobs we decided to grow plants as a way to relax. I had always loved gardening as a child.
We started off growing tomatoes and kamokamo plants. They grew well and we were proud of what our plants produced.
An idea...
One afternoon I came up with an idea to grow sweet corn in our backyard and sell it at the local markets.
Dan thought my idea was great! We quickly got to work and planted our 1/4 acre section in sweet corn seedlings.
Sweetcorn seedlings
Worms...
Unfortunately the sweet corn did not go to plan. We had worm issues and the cobs failed to ripen properly.
Our harvest was filled with bugs, on top of that the corn cobs were completely flavourless.
Sweetcorn growing
To grow or not to grow...
We found out later, by a keen local gardener that our climate in Rotorua was not the best for growing sweetcorn.
However this set back didn't deter our desire to keep growing crops. We continued trialling and growing plants.
One of the crops we grew was a mini puha plantation. The puha plantation was a success!
We soon realised that growing and connecting with the land was something that brought us alot of joy and inspiration.
Lets move!..
A timely opportunity arose for us to purchase a small family farm in Whakatane.
We jumped at the idea without hesitation or any thought as to what we would do for income.
Time was against us, we had to act quickly and sell our houses in Rotorua.
We had two months to renovate and sell two houses and then buy our dream farm.
Milne road property
Sala street backyard
Get moving!..
The pressure was on due to the interest in the property we were looking to buy.
We quickly got to work by completing our own house renovations and listing our properties on the market.
We had two properties to sell and renovate in a short space of time.
Sala street
After lots of hard work and two house sales, we had enough money to cover our deposit.
We breathed a sigh of relief when we signed the new property agreement.
Dan super happy!..
Moving to Whakatane...
A move to the country meant that we were able to switch jobs and create a slower paced lifestyle and up skill our learning along the way.
Hobbies...
Relocating also enabled me to start horse riding once again. Riding horses was my passion as a young child and during my teen years. I lived and breathed horses and so did most of my class mates.
I managed to buy and break in my own horses. I hadn't ridden a horse in over 15 years so it was good to get back into the saddle.
Laureen and her horses
Tonto the quarter horse
Flee the grey pony
The exchange from beef to botanicals...
When we first moved we grazed stock. Slowly but surely we began to convert the land into cultivating native herbs and plants.
My Koro (Grandfather) and Maori medicinal plants...
Growing and understanding our native botanicals is a practise that has continued on through the generations.
My Koro was a native plant specialist and teacher. He would often teach students about our native plants, their benefits and how to use them. When I was a young child, he would attempt to teach me about the native medicinal plants.
Sadly I wasn't a very attentive student, I just wanted to ride horses, I would often hide away if I knew Koro was wanting to share his knowledge about the ngahere (forest).
Now that I am older I can understand and appreciate his efforts. With the help of science and plant testing we are able to recover some of the lost secrets that I would have missed due to lack of interest on my behalf.
Manuka seeds...
Our first native plantation was Manuka. We were gifted special Manuka seeds from whānau (family). We grew and planted them all by hand following the organic guidelines.
Our Organic Manuka leaf tea comes from this special seed.
We continued to grow and add more native herbs to our collection as well as colourful botanicals.
Cornflowers
The decision to turn pasture land into sustainable plantations has been a good one.
It has made a positive effect on the land and we now have a unique ecosystem and our soil has increased in quality.
Manuka seedlings
Plantation style of farming is something we are passionate about. We believe it is important to be able to trace what you consume back to its origin.
Plantation farming also preserves our wild stands of native flora from commercial harvesting.
Seth helping to harvest Manuka
Organic certification begins...
As of May 29th 2023 The Native Tea Farm is fully certified under Bio Gro. This means that all our plantations harvested from our farm from May 29th 2023 onwards will be certified.
There have been many people that continue to help us grow at the Native Tea Farm. The soil testers Farmlands and Hill Laboratories, the organic certifiers, Bio Gro, the Whakatane District Council for our food certification and most importantly our own whānau (family).
One day we hope to open up our Native Tea Farm to the public and share some of our discoveries, the plants and our experiences with others.
Arohanui
Laureen & Dan
Bare land before...
Land after planting