As we’ve entered the cooler and slow growing season of Autumn.  Resident Nutritionist at Mangaroa Farms, Lydia Thomsen highlights what veges are still in the ground from the summer months and what foods and nutrients to be mindful of this Autumn to keep us healthy.

What are we focussing on during Autumn?  

While it initially doesn’t feel like we want to let go of summer (especially when there hasn't been much of one this year in particular!), our minds have turned to prepping beds and planting our cooler seasonal veg and herbs to keep us healthy over the colder months.  

Fortunately you can still enjoy the last of the summer fruits and veggies.  While the air temperature does drop a few degrees, soil temperature stays warm from months of the summer sun, which means seeds still have an opportunity to germinate relatively easily.  With cool air temperatures and predictable levels of moisture, plants do not get as stressed as they would in the summer heat, which enables them to put energy into supporting their roots to absorb more nutrients.  It’s no wonder root vegetables are far more abundant over the colder months! There is also less weed and insect pressure; not that we are completely out of the woods with the presence of the pervasive white butterfly!.  Insect cloth and keeping up with our biological feeds for both the soil and plant health, ensures a healthy (and nutritious) crop when time to harvest. 

The Farm Shop exterior is now complete thanks to the hard work of local craftsmen Casey McNeil, Paul & Ground Up Fencing Ltd & co.

Over the next few weeks, as the freezers, chillers, and signage is being installed, Casey is working on the benches, shelving and joinery on the inside of the shop, upcycling old Tōtara fenceposts and pieces of timber from once-upon-a-time on the old dairy farms of Whitemans Valley…

Invented in Japan in the 1960s, this contraption allows farmers to transplant up to 264 seedlings in just minutes, making a quick solution out of what once would have once taken hours of back breaking work on hands and knees to complete.

The biodegradable paper chain pots (which the seedlings are growing in) arrive flat, and are extended out into a honeycomb grid pattern. Soil is then added and seeds are sown in each pot in the nursery, until the seedlings are ready to be transplanted into a garden bed.

Join the Mangaroa Farms team in the exciting new role of Market Garden Operations Manager. This is a crucial new role with Mangaroa Farms, as we launch and expand our Farm Shop / Kete Kai.

Reporting to the CEO, this senior leadership position is responsible for the day-to-day management and operations of the Market Garden Team, which includes the retail shop and garden.  Our Market Gardens Operations Manager will manage our small and dynamic market garden team to deliver amazing fresh offerings to our customers and community.

This role will play a pivotal role in delivering on and expanding our new retail offering, pulling on your entrepreneurial capabilities by overseeing this business within a larger organisation.

Our Market Garden Operations Manager will have practical regenerative garden and managerial experience, leading the market garden team in support of our mission to relocalise, re-engage, and re-emphasise ecological education through an integrated storytelling experience for our customers and the community.  We believe in regenerative agriculture and we are looking for a key member of our team to join us on this journey.

Celebrating some of our core team members

and Jacqui Bray as they move on from Mangaroa Farms, and on to greener pastures in the north.
Sam "Grow-Lord" Gibbins has been an essential figure in our market garden, working closely with Jules, Dan and Casey to lay the foundations for our

charge on the weekly vege bag operation, and setting up many of the systems we currently use today. With his help we have set up the magic and the beauty of the market garden, and we are beyond grateful to have had him on board in the valley for nearly 2 years.

Join us for the Open Farms open day on Sunday 12th March from 10am - 4pm for a variety of garden tours, planting & livestock demonstrations, and perhaps most exciting - a locally produced lunch! Bring a koha donation for some of Jules' smoked Mangaroa Farms lamb & fresh salad rolls + vegetarian options & more.

Tickets are necessary

Register by claiming a ticket here: https://www.openfarms.co.nz/event/mangaroa-farms-2/
You can arrive at any time and do a self-guided tour, or plan to attend to a few key activities across the day:

- 10:30am -11:30am: Guided market garden tour and demonstration

- 12:00pm - 1:00pm: Livestock handling demonstration and talk on how pastoral farming can contribute to rebuilding our ecological health

- 12:00pm - 2:00pm: Lunch. Please bring a cash koha (donation) - all proceeds will go to support those impacted by cyclone Gabrielle

- 1:45pm - 2:45pm: Guided market garden tour and demonstration

- 3:00pm - 4:00pm: Livestock handling demonstration and talk on how pastoral farming can contribute to rebuilding our ecological health

Landslides, flooding and high winds have decimated farms, communities, homes, and businesses. Countless families are without homes, dry places to sleep, and a plan for surviving the next few months.



Many people’s lives will never be the same.

As communities band together to clean up the mess, and we see the real extent of the damage - it seems a huge amount of Aotearoa's main fruit & vege production areas have been heavily impacted. Some are not even sure where to begin with cleaning up - the question remains of the viability of even continuing at all.

Happy animals raised with love, roaming on our lush diverse valley pastures, these Coopworth cross-bred sheep are raised using low stress handling practices, and fed natural herbal treatments and supplements such as kelp, in order to help grow nutrient dense and tender meat, providing a delicate and flavourful eating experience. 

You can see our full range of Lamb meat cuts (supplied frozen) here:

https://mangaroa.org/collections/meats

The sides are on and roof is up. We're grateful to the chippies working around the clock in the hot summer sun to keep things moving along.

In a few weeks time, the Farm Shop / Kete Kai will be our central pickup point for our weekly vege bags, and honesty fridge - including our eggs, merch, and local lamb & beef. There have even been whispers of a coffee / smoothie station - what would you like to see here? Stay tuned...

The honesty fridge at 108 Whitemans Valley Road has been holding it down over the hot January period - with a great selection of local produce grown on the farm, including cucumber, zucchini, basil, lettuce, coriander, microgreens, mesclun mix, carrots, and the finest Mangaroa pasture raised eggs.

Since late last year we have been housing a hundred hens in a mobile chicken coop or ‘caravan’ - big thanks to

Chicken Caravan for their ingenious design.  

Excited to share that Mangaroa Farms has hired its first Chief Executive: Chris Upton. When we were brainstorming our “dream team,” Chris was at the top of our list. We’re thrilled to welcome him to Mangaroa.

Chris comes to us from Beca, NZ’s top engineering firm. Prior to that he served as CEO of Upper Hutt City Council, leading the revitalisation Upper Hutt has enjoyed in recent years.

Here’s some of what Chris will be working on:

• Growing our education & hospitality operations, welcoming more people onto the farm for joy, learning, and wellbeing.

• Developing our renewable energy systems.

• Overseeing the harvest of ~500 acres of pine tree plantation and its replacement with a permanent, mostly native, forest.

• Expanding on-farm housing capacity, especially rental opportunities, for staff and strategic partners.

• Lending a hand with lettuce harvesting, dish washing, and firewood chopping.