With Cyclone Gabrielle's devastation to the nation's bowls of fresh produce supply shortages already being felt here, Tauranga garden suppliers are advising we get busy in our own backyards.

Cyclone Gabrielle lashed across New Zealand four weeks ago, flooding kumara fields in Northland, washing onions onto roadsides in South Auckland, and thwarting crops with water and silt in both Gisborne and Hawke's Bay.

'This is the biggest season out of all the years I've worked at garden centres that [I think] people should start to learn, or to grow their own veges and herbs,” says Pacifica Home & Garden Store manager Janet Walker.

'There's going to be a lot less availability of fresh fruit and veges because of what's happened in Hawke's Bay because there's a lot of stock that's been wiped out.”

Nationwide seed retailer King Seeds co-owner Gerard Martin says fresh greens in particular are going to be reaching a premium 'once [Hawke's Bay growers] start to rely on land that can't be cultivated on anymore or not in the future anyway”.

Less rescued produce

Tauranga's Community Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin says fresh produce is something the charity is already short of and is now being exasperated by Cyclone Gabrielle's impacts.

'We rely on one of our local community gardens and we use some of the rescued food through the supermarket, which has really dried up.

'Basically because if the supermarkets are struggling to get fresh fruit and vege, then obviously there's less to pass on as rescued food.

'We've seen huge price hikes due to weather-related things over the last few months…we've had to give out less quantity so it's very real.”

Nicki admits it is a concern going forward.

'It's something that we look at daily really as to what we can afford to spend, versus what we need to give.”

Vegetables NZ chair John Murphy says the situation is quite dire for NZ as this is traditionally the time when vegetables are in abundance, meaning lower prices.

'Our growers' plight is why we're encouraging New Zealanders to continue to support local livelihoods by buying fresh, nutritious NZ- grown vegetables, when they can. This support will be gratefully received by growers, quite a few of which are facing incredible uncertainty at the moment.”

Cost-effective greens

Gerard has noticed a shift in people's growing habits since Covid-19.

'Ever since the pandemic...we've noticed a marked increase in people growing their own produce at home.

'Vegetable seed has just gone through the roof with people getting back to what they used to do and grow their own and not just in their gardens but also container growing if they've got limited space.”

He recommends that people start growing the 'easy stuff” to get their own salad bowl going in light of Cyclone Gabrielle.

'Things like sprouts in a jar, or microgreens in trays or potted vegetables that can be grown in bigger pots on your balcony, deck or sunny spot on the pavement in your backyard.”

Gerard says microgreens are a very cost-effective option, with the fast growing food ready to eat in 10-15 days.

'My wife and I have three trays rotating all the time and we have plenty of salad greens all the time.”

Janet suggests people try growing silverbeet, spinach and lettuce – pointing to the price of an Iceberg lettuce from Countdown reaching $6.80. Compare that to a garden centre, Janet says: 'Six lettuces are $4.50 and they're easy to grow”.

With Envirohub Bay of Plenty's Sustainable Backyards programme in full swing for March, it's the perfect time to get growing. Gerard is hosting a microgreens workshop on March 27. For more events, visit: https://envirohub.org.nz/whats-on/