Wholegrain Organics: Growing People, Plants and Soil

Rob Hall of Wholegrain Organics has grown his life skills from being a baker to becoming a farmer and now being an educator. He is one of a team of people training the next generation of Palmerston North children to love the concept of organic plant and food production businesses and to link science with growing and eating. Wholegrain Organics combines the entire value chain of food production, from farm to kitchen to plate, and involves Year 7 to 13 children in the whole process.

Wholegrain Organics started with a kitchen, bakery, café and shop,  teaching children how to produce and serve nutritious and delicious food. Then they found that they needed more organic food ingredients than are locally available. So they started their own farm. Working with their international community – a connected set of farms in Germany, India, South Africa and New Zealand – they have developed a new way of growing vegetables profitably at a commercial scale while enhancing soil fertility. The basis of Wholegrain’s growing method is covering the soil with 10cm of mulch and planting within that mulch. This has required the development of a new method of planting, designed and prototyped in Germany, and with a machine now on its way to New Zealand to be used at Wholegrain’s farm. The concept of mulch to enhance fertility and preserve water is not new but is rarely applied on a commercial scale. The lack of an automated planting mechanism has been a major barrier to profitable growing using this method; the new MulchTec Planter solves this problem.

Wholegrain has carefully built up its operations, establishing its kitchen-bakery-café-shop over three years before bringing children in to learn. They are taking the same methodical approach to develop their farm, and have secured a grant from the Ministry for Primary Industries to prove that their new farming method really does improve soil fertility and health, giving back to the soil while growing food. They will measure factors including soil nutrient movements and numbers of earthworms, together with moisture movement and application. They are involving rangatahi in this learning process, demonstrating the importance and utility of science to growing and eating well. They are also starting to bring the wider community in to see their methods through open days and field days.

Rob and his team want the next generation to understand that organic and regen ag farming methods can deliver economically, environmentally and socially sustainable businesses which are interesting and rewarding to own and work in. Wholegrain Organics is run as a registered charity, supporting the youth of Palmerston North by partnering with local businesses and schools to connect youth and their education with the wider community through service. Wholegrain Organics is an inspired and inspiring organisation and a great reason to visit Palmerston North to see how organics can be done and done well.

To learn more about Wholegrain Organics visit their website.

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