Seedlings selling out

SELLING FAST: Makaraka Veges is just one plant vendor that has experienced a dramatic increase in demand for vegetable seedlings. Paige Watson stands beside empty shelves after a rush on seasonal veges. Picture by Paul Rickard

Gisborne garden centres and nurseries have been selling out of seedlings as people turn to growing their own winter vegetables rather than relying on supermarkets.

Mitre 10 owner-operator Geoff Taylor said vegetable seedlings had been in high demand even before the Government lifted New Zealand's alert level to 3 yesterday, in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The store had doubled its order and was trying to get more seedlings for the weekend but nurseries were struggling to keep up with the demand.

“It's interesting in this day and age that there are a lot of people growing their own veges,” Mr Taylor said.

“It caught us out a little bit but we are working hard to get those stocks back up.

“We sent away a wish list and they supply what they can. Being geographically isolated it is more of a challenge.”

Cabbages, broccoli and any sort of winter vegetables were in demand, with people coming in and grabbing what was available, he said.

Sales were also up on things like disinfectant, soaps, sanitiser and water containers.

There was also an increase in sales of emergency kits.

“I think it is just general preparedness. It's been pretty steady for a couple of weeks now.”

Touchstone owner Peter Whitehead said there had been a huge rise in demand for winter vegetable plants at his garden centre in the Ballance Street Village.

“We're selling them (the seedlings) as soon as they come in. We had a delivery at 8am on Sunday morning and were sold out by the end of the day,” he said.

They were also selling more seeds.

Makaraka Veges owner Rajsh Mehta said they were selling out of winter seedlings like broccoli and cauliflowers. Most of his stock of plants comes from out of the area and his suppliers were also struggling to keep up with demand.

Sales for general grocery items like eggs and potatoes had doubled as people stocked up on essential items, he said.

Produce from the Kaiti community garden is also in high demand as people prepare to plant winter vegetables.

Mere Kururangi-Rangihuna said they propagated their own veges at Manutuke ready for planting and had been preparing the ground by applying seaweed and compost.

They had three harvests over the spring/summer period and distributed the fresh produce to local rest homes, with the rest going to whanau.

“We will be harvesting our kumara in the first week of April.”

The general trend to stay at home and limit contact with others due to the coronavirus has meant people were thinking more about growing their own vegetables and also looking for enjoyable activities like gardening to keep busy.