Golden Mile

Golden Mile is Sally and Steve Harnett's property purchased  51/2 years ago, "it was just land & buildings (that were pretty run down), there was no business at all. We had always wanted the opportunity to work together and with Stephen's background as an agronomist and both of us from farming/rural backgrounds made it an exciting challenge. Stephen has always been involved in growing & crops but, hydroponics were a new learning curve. Strawberries came about due to them being a bit tougher than lettuces,  there was also a big gap in the market with Jones Berries closing the year or so before. Thankfully we made it work (with a lot of hard graft) and it's just grown from there".

We started at the MFM with our pickled onions about 17 -18 years ago, having the opportunity to talk to our customers one-on-one, face-to-face has always been important, for the fact that customers can understand and appreciate the story behind the fresh produce.

We are always trying new things, both in covered crops, hydroponics and outdoor crops. Food trends have exploded and changed considerably from 2018. Thrown into the mix was Covid 19 & the pandemic. We didn't stop the whole time; it was simply a matter of rolling with the changes and diversifying. We loved that we could still get fresh local produce to our customers and, we still provide weekly vege boxes even now. Opening the shop on-site was also a bit of a game changer, we have made so many new friends as we get to talk to our customers directly, no commercial hustle & bustle, no parking meters.

We started with just us and now we have a team of pickers, 3 on any given day, SanDa (who you know from our MFM stall) runs our packhouse part time, Jelaina (our gun packer) is a student during the summer holidays and Ben has become part of the GMP family in recent years.

We currently grow 30,000 strawberry plants hydroponically and we harvest fruit from late Sept until early April, approx 7 months of the year. From planting to finish they (the strawberries) are growing for 11 months. But we grow approx. 12-15 different crops throughout the year. Chillis have become very big for us and that started by Fran from Boom wanting more chilies for his sauces. Now we grow around 4000-5000 plants with varying degrees of heat. Eggplants (4 varieties), capsicums (all sorts of colours) & courgettes take up a lot of ground. Not forgetting the melons (we've been growing them for about 9 years), allium's and kamokamo to name a few. Then in the winter there is a whole raft of different crops again, like asian greens, the popular watercress and courgettes & broccoli inside. Planning is big, especially accessing seed, managing crop rotation on a small block as well as our lease blocks. We utilise an integrated pest management program for bad bug control and host bees from Kevin at Garden Bees for outdoor pollination. Our bumblebees inside are flown in every 4 weeks from Zonda Bees, Waiuku.

Bees are some of our hardest workers and play an important role in helping produce the best possible produce.

When the strawberries finish cropping the exhausted plants are recycled into alpaca & pig food (who would have thought they would love them so much!).

Nothing is wasted.

Farming is 7 days per week, 365 days a year (usually with a dose of unpredictable weather thrown in for good measure!) We committed ourselves to the property and its growth with a 5-year plan (& it's gone a wee bit past that). We are proud of what we've learnt and achieved along the way and yes it has been hard work, but working together makes it worthwhile, especially as we live and work in the same space! I take Sundays off now to catch up at home, but it would be like cutting off a limb for Stephen not to be at the MFM. Sunday is his favourite day of the week. 

Info Stall

 We have the ATM operating for anyone wanting cash. We also have Hogarth chocolate, black garlic, Uncle Joe's oils (on sale), hats for the sun and bags to take home all your fresh produce and goodies.

Snailhouse Bakery

Hi lovely bread friends!
We will be at the market this Sunday rain or shine with the tasty and healthy German style rye sourdough bread and the more French style sourdough country loaf, wheat free adventure bread, cinnamon snails, sour cherry pie, Linzer Torte,coconut Pani Popos, cheese puffs and more.
Oh and of course apple strudel 
See you soon xoxox

Daltian Figs

Back with this years harvest

National Farmers Market Week

Farmers’ Markets Week - Saturday 9 March - Sunday 17 March 2024

We will be having, spot prize's, best hat, best dress, best shirt and anything else we can think of between now and then.

We will also be having a major prize of $200 of Market Vouchers, numbers will be given out at the gates, and the lucky number will be called during the market, you must be present to gain the prize.

Birthdays

Our oldest stallholder, Alyss turned 88, Alyss has Homemade Kiwi and makes deydrated veges and fruits. With these she makes packs of smoothies, soups and sauces, perfect for tramping.

Our youngest stallholder is Charlie, seen hanging round Yellow roastery, Charlie loves a good joke and also has plenty to tell, he made double figures and is now 10.

SharpAs Tool Tip

The pictured knife's rivets had come loose. This exposed the steel to corrosion, which I removed, then repaired the handle, and sharpened the blade, saving this quality knife.

 If you have knives that need sharpening, repairing, or any other tools that need sharpening or repairing, come and see me at the Redwood Market on Saturday, and the Marlborough Farmers’ Market on Sunday, or contact me on 027 444 5535.

See you Sunday, 9 to noon, A&P showgrounds.

Lynn Stuthridge

Market Manager

Would you like to know who else is coming on Sunday?

Take a peek at our website homepage, to see which stalls will be attending. We update this page  regularly