It's hard to beat a good lettuce, say hydroponic growers Caroline and Mike McGee.
They gave up dairy farming in Southland a few years ago for the good life of semi-retirement when they bought a hydroponics business near Nelson.
"But instead of retiring, we're virtually full-time," said Mrs McGee.
They grow several thousand
hydroponic lettuces at a time to supply the Nelson supermarket and restaurant trade as well as a pre-prepared salad business.
The couple grow their own seedlings that take eight weeks until despatch.
Mrs McGee said although the enterprise was not certified as organic, it got good aphid control because of the open types of lettuce grown and the inbred aphid resistance in new cultivars.
The operation also made efficient use of water, recycling nutrient mixtures in the hydroponic system.
Mrs McGee said demand peaked in the restaurant trade over summer, and restaurants needed their supplies constantly replenished.
Some supermarkets displayed lettuces still growing in trays of water with holes for the roots. Others simply sold the lettuces packed in plastic bags.
Mr McGee manages the enterprise, and the couple's son Rob and his partner also work in the business.
Their daughter Jenny also works with them when she is home on holiday from university,
"You're up early but it's a lot easier than dairy farming, especially in Southland," said Mrs McGee.
"It's a good, fun business to be in. It's a very straightforward, simple system. A lot can go wrong but as long as you're vigilant, it's okay."
- NZPA
