Kia ora,
Frost on the paddocks, mist down the valley, and the shortest days behind us. The farm looks still from the road, but this is when the ground does its work — and when we do ours.
Right now that means planting trees. Wet soil, dormant roots, and months to settle in before the dry: nothing gives a young tree a better start than a winter planting.
Walk the loop trail this month and you’ll see them scattered across the paddocks, each in a sturdy cage. This is silvopasture — trees and pasture growing together — and it’s the heart of this winter’s programme, guided by Peter Handford of Groundtruth. The spacing keeps the pasture thriving and the cages let stock graze from day one. As the climate warms, those same trees become the shade and shelter the animals will need most.
The wider programme includes alley plantings of chestnuts, walnuts and feijoas; a woodlot of durable eucalypts, cypress and redwood; an oak trial with Eric Cairns; and native restoration along the Mangaroa River. Together they make a living laboratory for how farming and forestry can work together rather than compete.
On Saturday 15 August we’d love your help. Community Planting Day this year is at a special area on the farm, helping create healthier waterways, richer biodiversity, and a more resilient landscape for future generations. Whether you’ve planted one tree or one thousand, you’re welcome. Sausage sizzle afterwards, and live music if the weather plays along.
Plenty more below — news from the shop, the garden and the wider whenua.
Recent Updates
Ma Earth Funding Round 3 raised over $2,000 USD plus matching funds for the Fruit & Forage edible trail, from 92 donors. Thank you to everyone who supported the vision for free accessible kai along the farm trail. More →
Meat from our paddocks, delivered. The online store is full of frozen beef and lamb — animals raised on pasture we’ve spent years rebuilding, butchered on site. Fresh cuts in the farm shop. Order online →
Our Winter Residency program has wrapped up. Nine residents spent two months with us across the farm, garden, nursery, Earth School and land maintenance. We’re grateful for the mahi, and we’re taking the lessons into next year’s programme.
One of the coldest nights of the winter meant ice in the cow troughs and a blanket of frost across the valley — check out photos from our tree-planting team enjoying the cold. More →
A tree that feeds you twice — local Eric Cairns is bringing large-acorn oaks, Korean pine nuts and porcini-inoculated trees to the Fruit & Forage Loop: nuts from the branches, mushrooms at their feet. More →
Our first organic certification. Microgreens from the market garden are now certified through Organic Farm NZ, which certifies to the BioGro standard. More →
Shearing wrapped up a couple of weeks back with the crew at Sheep Services Wairarapa, ably assisted by our winter residents. More →
Field to Feast is sold out. Both nights of our Visa Wellington On a Plate dinner have gone — kai fresh from the whenua by our resident chef Tyler Langerveld, with music and poetry from Casual Healing. Thanks to everyone who booked. More →
Host your event with us — we offer premium event spaces and accommodation options for those looking for a bespoke venue, grounded in nature. More →
Stay at Mangaroa Farms in one of our beautiful spaces — offering a peaceful escape in nature for you and the family. Check out our accommodation options here.
Interested in living at Mangaroa Farms? Leave your details on our expression of interest form here.
New in the Farm Shop / Kete Kai
Winter veges from the garden, including carrots, parsnips, leeks, beetroot, white turnips, and sweet flavoursome pumpkins that have been curing in storage.
Mangaroa Beef & Lamb is available now, fresh from the Mangaroa Butchery. Shop fresh meat in store, or place a frozen online order here.
Three Oaks Organic Farm raw milk and yoghurt is back in stock next week — 6 August. Raw milk is a home cheesemaker’s friend: yoghurt, kefir, cultured butter. Register with Three Oaks to collect your weekly supply from us here.
Summer Hill Pumpkin Seeds 400g — raw, spray free and nutty, grown on the Summer Hill family farm in rural Whanganui. Recently featured on Country Calendar.
Spice Dunes Sticky Masala Chai 100g — black tea, lightly toasted crushed spices and fresh ginger, held together with raw New Zealand honey. Does a cold morning a lot of good.
Fresh locally baked organic bread from Shelly Bay Bakery arrives midday on Fridays, plus Dough Bakery loaves Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Tell us what you want. If there’s a product or a cut you’d like us to stock, email the shop team at shop@mangaroa.org.
Visit us: Tuesday–Friday 11am–5pm · Saturday 9am–5pm · Sunday 10am–5pm 📍 98 Whitemans Valley Road, Upper Hutt · +64 27 369 4758 · shop@mangaroa.org
Stories from the Market Garden
Winter is maintenance season. As growth slows, tools and machinery get serviced, and irrigation plans are drawn up for the warmer months. It’s preparation, too — expanding into the Permaculture Orchard, readying the alleyways for new Pick Your Own crops (PYO returns in October), and finalising the season’s planting plan.
Cam’s Garden Planning Tips
Plan backwards. Choose when you want to harvest, then count back. Broccoli takes around 80 days from transplanting once soil temperatures are above 15°C — so for broccoli on New Year’s Day, transplant around 13 October.
Soil temperature matters more than the calendar. Crops put into cold spring soil will sit and sulk, taking far longer than the seed packet promises.
It’s also why winter veges taste so good. As temperatures fall, parsnips, carrots and kale convert stored starch into sugar, which works like antifreeze in the cells. The sweetness is the plant protecting itself.
Interested in the garden? Email welcome@mangaroa.org
Upcoming Events
Foraging with Earth School Aotearoa | Waking up from Winter
Sat 1 August | 11:30am–12:30pm
Come as one, or come as many for a wild forage walk — looking at late winter foraging foods to help wake up our systems from winter. The walk is child friendly, for an hour. Sign up →
Community Herbalism with Earth School
Sat 15 August | 11:00am–1:00pm
Winter is a great time for propagating hardwood cuttings and root division of plants. You’ll get hands-on with cuttings from various fruiting and non-fruiting species, including theory. We’ll also dive into root divisions, so you can see how it’s done and have a go yourself. Sign up →
Community Tree Planting
Sat 15 August | 10am–3pm
Come and join us for one of our favourite days of the year as we plant native trees and restore ecosystems in the Valley. We’ll finish with a Mangaroa feast and potentially some live music. Register free →
Sourdough Bread Baking Workshop
Sat 17 October | 10am–1pm
Spend a morning with Doris Zuur in our kitchen learning to create delicious sourdough. You’ll learn how to keep a starter alive, how to read a dough by touch, and the small decisions (temperature, time, gusto) that turn flour and water into a good loaf. More details →
Mangaroa Farms Spring Festival
Sat 31 October | 10am–3pm
We’re back again for our biggest day of the year. Come and welcome the return of the sun with a day of farm charm — live music, garden tours, kids activities, delicious kai and more. More details →
We’re learning and growing through this journey, and always welcome community input as we continue finding our way together.
Thanks for being a part of this regenerative movement alongside us.
Ngā mihi aroha, Your friends and farmers at Mangaroa Farms