Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Stachys affinis
The tubers have a distinct shape and look a bit like a grub. When eaten raw they are crisp and sweet like a water chestnut. When fried they are more starchy, soft and sweet, resembling a slightly nutty potato or kumara. In France they are known as crosnes and are typically served braised in herbs and butter, which is our preferred way to eat them. They are a great brain food.
Order is for a starter bag of about 5 tubers.
Growing instructions can be found below. Frost tolerant as they go dormant over winter.
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These Chinese artichokes were grown at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula, New Zealand. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
Chinese artichokes are a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family growing to 30-45cm in height. It bears small white root tubers that can be eaten raw or cooked and are often also pickled in China. The tubers have a distinct shape and look a bit like a grub. When eaten raw they are crisp and sweet like a water chestnut. When fried they are more starchy, soft and sweet, resembling a slightly nutty potato or kumara. They work well in a stir-fry, added towards the end as they only need to be fried for a few minutes. In France they are known as crosnes and are typically served braised in herbs and butter, which is our preferred way to eat them.
One plant when grown well can produce the below quantity of edible tubers. You may get about 10-20 tubers per plant, but this can be as much as 30 tubers if conditions are right.
After one growing season select the best artichokes and plant them again.
GROWING INSTRUCTIONS
Best results come from growing in full sun in a rich and moist soil but also one which is light and well-drained. If you have a clay soil (or a lighter but poorer one) add lots of organic matter before planting and add mulch to keep the moisture in. Sandy soils give pleasingly white tubers; they tend to be pale brown in clay soils.
Either plant the tubers in pots or plant them in the ground as soon as you receive them. Make sure to protect them with bird netting until they come up and mark the area where you planted them.
Choose a sunny spot that has aerated, free draining soil. They don’t like the soil waterlogged and they do not like it dry. Add a generous amount of compost. They love our homemade compost. If you do not have good quality compost add what you have and also add well rotted manure like sheep manure.
We plant the tubers at the end of July/early August on Banks Peninsula. They generally come up once the soil has warmed up to about 10ºC (end September - mid October) so light frosts over winter are no problem. Space them 30cm apart. Plant the tubers just below soil level and add a generous amount of organic mulch. Twigs, autumn leaves, straw, hay, grass clippings, some seaweed are all good choices. Here are more ideas for mulches in your garden.
Water the plants well over the summer period.
Above ground the foliage resembles mint and forms a good ground cover, whilst below ground numerous small knobbly tubers are formed. These can be harvested in late autumn/early winter (South Island as early as May/June and North Island in July) once the foliage has died down. Simply dig up the area where they have been growing. Keep the best for replanting and eat the remainder.
Just harvested my first crop and while most are not huge, I got ALOT. Have only had them in a stir fry so far but they were a crisp treat. Plenty left for a few meals.
This bush tomato is fantastic. No need to stake, no need to pinch out laterals. Very easy care and a prolific fruiter. Produces an abundance of fresh tomatoes for salads and cooking.
A fantastic cherry tomato. The plants are laden in summer. Riesentraube means "giant bunches".
Produces bunches of large red fruit with pointed ends.
Heirloom variety dating back to 1800's from Germany.
Good full bodied complex flavour.
This cover crop seeds or green manure seeds mix has been blended to achieve maximum benefit. It can help with common challenges such as compaction, weed pressure, pests and diseases, low fertility, leaching and erosion.
Best sown between August/September and December/January, depending on your climate.
This diverse mix maintains living soil cover in areas that would otherwise be bare. This mix contains seeds from 8 plant families as well as legumes (nitrogen fixing plants), which has been proven in field trials to be very beneficial to build soil structure and to increase beneficial microbes in the soil.
For autumn sowing please see our Autumn Mix.
Sowing rate: 25g per m2
Available in 500g (for 20 m2), 1kg (for 40 m2), 10kg (for 400 m2), 20kg (for 800 m2). Please select below.
Available again in March/April 2027. Please sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Elephant Garlic is becoming increasingly popular due to its mild distinctive flavour. It's much easier to grow than true garlic and produces a decent crop in most gardens.
BOTANICAL NAME: Allium ampeloprasum
FAMILY: Alliaceae
Pack contains 3 seed cloves.
Organically grown at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula.
Free from chemical fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
This cover crop seeds or green manure seeds mix has been blended to achieve maximum benefit. It can help with common challenges such as compaction, weed pressure, pests and diseases, low fertility, leaching and erosion.
Best sown between January/February and April/May, depending on your climate.
This diverse mix maintains living soil cover in areas that would otherwise be bare over winter. This mix contains seeds from 5 plant families as well as legumes (nitrogen fixing plants), which has been proven in field trials to be very beneficial to build soil structure and to increase beneficial microbes in the soil.
For spring sowing please see our Spring Mix.
Sowing rate: 25g per m2
Available in 500g (for 20 m2), 1kg (for 40 m2), 10kg (for 400 m2), 20kg (for 800 m2). Please select below.
Egyptian Walking Onions are also called "Tree Onions, Egyptian Tree Onions, Top Onions, Winter Onions, or Perennial Onions."
As their scientific name "Allium proliferum" states, these hardy little onions are very prolific. After planting them in your garden you will have onions every year for years to come!
1 bag contains 10 bulbils/topsets.
This is our favourite tomato to eat raw and for salads. Low in acidity and great flavour.
It produces orange, medium sized and round tomatoes.
This orange tomato contains higher levels of Tetra-cis-lycopene which is easily absorbed in the raw fruit and helps to promote health and fight against cancer and heart disease.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Helianthus tuberosus
Commonly called Jerusalem artichoke, sunchoke or sunroot. It is a type of sunflower.
Jerusalem artichokes grown at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
Order is for 3 tubers. You can choose between 3 small or 3 large ones (please choose below).
Growing instructions can be found here and below.
Available again in March/April 2027. Please sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Organically grown at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula.
Free from chemical fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
Demand is high every year for our organic seed garlic and we always sell out.
Each bag contains 10 seed garlic cloves as pictured. Please read info below and store them cool and dry until you plant them.
Calendula (calendula officinalis) seeds.
Striking orange calendula from our KoruKai Herb Farm collection.
We have bred these over the years and selected for very orange and large flower heads. They make a gorgeous medicinal oil.
