Growing places

Eric Sandtmann has come a long way since he sneakily planted spuds in his mum’s rose garden to see what he could grow.

These days he juggles a full-time job in horticulture for the Dods family with his growing Knock Knock Organics business.

Knock Knock was initially an organic vegetable delivery company but Eric spent a lot of time delivering produce for not much return.

He decided to switch his focus to fast-growing crops such as microgreens, salad greens and herbs, and hasn’t looked back.

But it has meant some early starts.

Eric grows his goodies at his half-hectare city home and sells them at Village Berries and, more recently, Pak’nSave supermarket. He also supplies restaurants and cafes.

“It was always my plan to have an organic market garden. Growing things has always intrigued me,” he says.

Ever since he bought his Tamarau property five years he has been trying to find a balance of work, his side hustle, surfing and social life.

The microgreens – including radish, broccoli, pea shoots and fava bean shoots – are grown in tunnel houses while the salad greens are in raised beds.

He is not certified as organic, so is unable to claim organic on produce labels.

However, he follows clean growing practices. He gets his compost from BioRich in Hawke’s Bay, only uses a little certified organic fertiliser and does not use sprays.

The seeds are also carefully sourced to ensure they also “tick all the boxes”.

He’s always trying new things. The latest is experimenting with amaranths — bright red microgreen and edible flowers.

“I have quite heavy soil so it doesn’t take long for the ponding to start when we have that continuous rain, and leafy greens just don’t like that.”

The microgreens are grown year round while the leafy greens are more seasonal.

They have quite the following. A lot of people have asked him how he manages to keep them fresh and crisp for so long.

“People often comment on how good it is and how long it lasts . . . quality speaks for itself.”

Eric is searching for some land to buy so he can put up more tunnel houses and grow everything year-round.

“Village Berries has been instrumental in my journey,” says Eric. “They have a lot of community support and plenty of returning customers, who I am extremely grateful to.

“The shop is hugely supportive of local and organic where they can. I like to try and keep things simple.”

Nowadays it is mum who seeks Eric out for seeds she can share with friends and family in the Hawke’s Bay.

“There has certainly been more of a move towards small-to-medium-sized organic growers around the world,” he says.

“I always thought New Zealand was lagging a little but I think social media is helping people become more aware of the movement.”

There is something to be said for knowing who is growing your food and that it is being produced locally.

“I am proud of this. Seeing things grow is what drives me most . . . that is certainly part of the attraction. I want to keep developing it and growing more.”

His long-term dream is to have his own organic market garden but as the saying goes, “good things take time”, and time is something Eric is more than happy to continue to invest in his passion.