YOUR INDUSTRY
BUMPY START TO THE SEASON FOR WAIKATO ASPARAGUS GROWERS Words by Helena O’Neill
Greenfern’s operation mainly grows green, purple and white varieties of asparagus
A prominent grower of asparagus in the mighty Waikato, Greenfern (Les Asperges Ltd), occupies 22-hectares of land in rural Cambridge. Thirteen of those hectares are established with plants, with a further 130,000 seedlings recently added to the site. Bill and Irene Cummings founded Greenfern in 2001, after having worked in the asparagus growing industry for 12 years. Their son, Hadyn, is also involved, running the dayto-day operations.
The family-owned and operated business has been organic for almost eight years, with a small amount spray-free but not yet organically certified crop.
GREENFERN ALSO GROWS ABOUT 1,500 GLOBE ARTICHOKE PLANTS AS PART OF ITS OPERATION
Greenfern grows globe artichokes too, about 1,500 plants. The season is short, only around eight weeks, usually finishing at the end of November. “You don’t really ever see globe artichokes in the supermarket,” says Irene.
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