Regenerative Gardener Nina Parker Expands to 9.5-Hectare Dream Farm
Nina Parker, a market gardener and microgreen producer based near Katikati, has traded a career in website project management for a passion-driven life in regenerative farming. Her journey began after reading John Jeavons' How to Grow More Vegetables, which introduced her to bio-intensive growing methods that can increase yields while using up to 66% less water compared with conventional farming.
Parker, her joiner husband Hayden, and their three home-schooled tamariki have been working a 5,400 square metre property since 2018, farming around 300 square metres intensively enough to be financially viable. She uses companion planting, plant teas — including diluted echinacea applied to stressed plants — and careful Brix testing to monitor and support soil and plant health. Her compost heaps are maintained with precise carbon, nitrogen and soil ratios, and she catalogues plant and animal functions as she learns.
The family recently moved to a new 9.5-hectare property, which will feature 2,000 square metres dedicated to market gardens, herbs, trees and microgreens. The land will be completely off-grid, powered by a 78-kilowatt three-phase solar system with batteries and a backup generator, with water sourced from springs and a bore. Parker has also planned native blocks around a pond to provide future access to Māori medicinal plants, alongside orchards, a subtropical greenhouse, and a silvopastoral woodlot system for cattle and sheep.
Looking further ahead, Parker envisions a village-style farm shop selling market garden produce, with space for a butcher, baker, apiaristand herbalist, as well as traditional trades including a blacksmith and Hayden's woodworking. She hopes to run courses, partner with others in the community, and grow herbs to meet demand for plant-based medicine. "I really want to bring public awareness back to how growing and producing food works and help people reconnect with their food," she said.
Originally published in Katikati News (Sun Media).