Growth is the word of the day when it comes to the Kaipara Water demonstration sites. The summer months have seen the former grassed paddocks turn into a jungle of green activity on both sites. Operational since November, the sites are practical working examples of smart water use and the ways in which different irrigation techniques can support high-value crops in the Kaipara.

The work is part of Kaipara KickStart, led by Kaipara District Council (KDC) and supported by the government’s Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit, with funding from the Provincial Growth Fund. Northland Inc. is contracted by KDC to manage the two sites, located at Te Kopuru and further north at Maunganui Bluff.

On the Maunganui Bluff site an in-ground irrigation system managed remotely is growing yam, kamokamo, watermelon and sweetcorn on iwi land. The kamokamo plants are close to full size and already starting to produce large fruit. The watermelon plants are also showing strong growth, and a recent watermelon harvested early for testing by the site managers was of good size and reasonable colour.

The yams have had a much slower growth rate, and will not be ready to harvest until much later, after the other crops.

The second demonstration site is located at Te Kopuru on private land, and hosts watermelon, kaanga ma, beetroot and soybean/edamame, grown using a 242m centre pivot irrigator.

A crop doing particularly well on site 2 is the kaanga ma (Māori corn), growing tall and already in the late stages of flowering. The kaanga ma was selected by community vote last year, and is similar to the most popular old type of corn in South America and posole corn in the USA. Many of the soybean/edamame plants are showing a large number of bean pods and will be ready for harvest at the end of this month.

Greg Hall, Northland Inc site manager, notes that crops are generally progressing well with growth across the board but it has not all been plain sailing.

“We are tackling weeds on both sites. This is reflective of what many farmers and landowners are seeing across the Kaipara due to the optimal weed growing conditions we have had over summer, and also to be expected when you are growing on sites in their first horticultural season. Apart from the pesky weeds, neither site has seen any major pests, a relief!”

Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions open community events planned for the sites are not being held. Curt Martin, KDC Project Manager says while this is disappointing, there are still opportunities to view the sites.

“We are coordinating small targeted site visits for interested landowners and farmers. The visits are an opportunity for anyone wanting to view a practical working example of irrigation techniques for high-value crops in Kaipara.”

The project team are asking those interested in visiting the demonstration sites at the end of this month (February) to get in touch via kickstart@kaipara.govt.nz.

Updates and further information including site photos and documentation can be found at www.kaipara.govt.nz/kaipara-water.

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