Laughing Pūkeko Organics

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Laughing Pūkeko Organics

Organic market garden & farm. Grown with love in North Canterbury. Find us seasonally at the Amberley Farmers Market, Saturdays 9-12.

26/03/2026

to my Amberley Farmers Market supporters:

For the time being, I am reducing my attendance to fortnightly.
I will next be at market: 4 April & 18 April.
After April, we will play it by ear.

This isn’t ideal timing to reduce attendance: we’re living through another period of uncertainty, with the potential for disrupted supply chains. This is when community tends to come together to support each other, and I love being a small part of that – the part that nourishes hungry tummies and regenerates ecosystems starved of diversity 🌱

However, we’ve had a couple big challenges this season, and I need to manage the business sustainably, to ensure it’s longevity along with my wellbeing.

As many of you will appreciate, this season hasn’t stacked up to be as abundant as I had planned for. I had envisioned bountiful quantities of summer crops, and frustratingly I still haven’t harvested a single tomato; I only have enough capsicum to feed ourselves; and the sweetcorn is taking its damn time to ripen. 🌽🍅

The bigger challenge has been about work life balance. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends and I fear if I don’t take action and lean into a slower rhythm, I’ll be headed straight towards burnout. To thrive long term, I need to lift my foot off the accelerator.

Thank you for your understanding, support, and loyalty. I hope to see you Easter weekend!

Ngā mihi nui, Jamie

19/02/2026

the good news? the market garden is thriving! 🌸

the not-so-good news? after a huge week (mahi, learning & connecting @ Underground Fest) i'm feeling a bit under the weather and unable to harvest this morning for the Common Grounds stall at Amberley Farmers Market tomorrow.

still craving our vege? we've got you covered! I'm planning to harvest this weekend, and will offer free delivery to Amberley.
Here's what we have on offer this week:

kakariki salad mix | rocket | cucumbers | zucchini/courgettes | green & yellow beans | dill | basil | coriander | radish | salad turnips | rainbow chard | chives

pm if you're interested 🌿 let's fill those fridges with the freshest, organically grown vege around!

23/01/2026

salad greens and herbs are thriving at the moment, and i’ll be heading to amberley_farmers_market tomorrow morning with beautiful, freshly harvested:
🌱 salad greens
🌱 rocket
🌿 coriander, dill, parsley, & basil
🌈 rainbow chard (silverbeet)
🥒 cucumbers
+ more

in between todays sunshine & rain, we received our farm gate sign from Organic Farm NZ, and picked up some second hand fence posts for building a much needed wind break.

deep gratitude to Julie & Andrew for the fence post donations; the circular Amberley economy is real! as many communities in the north island are demonstrating at the moment, community is everything 💚

22/12/2025

Tomorrow (Tuesday 23rd) you can find me at the special christmas amberley_farmers_market from 5:00-7:00pm.

I’ll be bringing freshly harvested:
🥬 salad greens & cos lettuce
🌱 cabbage & cauliflower
🥦 broccoli & broccolini
🥒 cucumbers
🥔 new potatoes
🌿 basil, coriander, & chives
🫜 beetroot & salad turnips
🧄 garlic
🌈 curly kale, cavolo nero, & rainbow chard
🍒 cherries

looking forward to seeing you and providing local, organic vege for your holiday feasts!

(cash only)

22/09/2025

Happy spring equinox ✨

As we usher in this season of longer days, warmer temperatures and the accompanying rebirth of nature, it’s seems fitting to reintroduce ourselves.

We’re Jamie & Craig, the duo behind Laughing Pukeko Organics: a minimal till, human scale market garden & farm, located just north of Amberley in Waitaha | North Canterbury 🌱 We’re first gen farmers focused on living in a reciprocal relationship with the whenua | land, allowing us to grow nourishing produce for our community while supporting soil health, biodiversity, and the wider ecosystem.

👩🏼‍🌾 Jamie (that’s me!) is the head gardener, chief chicken wrangler, fruit grower, and ecosystem curator.
👨🏻‍🌾 Craig is the beekeeper, biodiversity ranger, groundskeeper, and tech extraordinaire.
🙌🏻 Together, we make a pretty dynamic duo.

The seasons first seeds have been sown, and we can’t wait to share our journey with you. Here’s to a new season and growing together 🌼🌿

08/02/2025

3 months in and it’s sinking in that this is ours to nurture 🌱

the excitement and resultant energy burst of new-ness has begun to wane ever so slightly. good habits are becoming routine; check the rain gauge, set the pest traps, etc. with our salaried jobs having ramped back up after the holidays and the return to diminishing sunlight hours, the pace of progress is slowing.

Here’s what we’ve been up to:

🌱 december’s unseasonable rains have fed vibrant growth

🍓 first perennial beds (strawberries) have been formed and transplanted

🌼 intercropped flowers are outshining the crops

🫐 raspberries harvest concluded just as fast as it started, and have been replaced with (thornless!) blackberries

🍑 nectarine season nourished our tummy’s and fed the soul, and the few figs we devoured were divine

🔧 seed sowing & potting area built

🍂 our first 2x compost bays are built

🐝 the girls are thriving, partially thanks to our neighbours lucerne fields

🐀🦔🦡 pest control has ramped up. while i don’t particularly like taking the life of these beautiful creatures, they wreck havoc on native flora & fauna

The theme of the last month was relax & enjoy. We did just that while celebrating a birthday at Gore Bay. And no trip to Gore Bay is complete without a quick stop to the veggie shed of a farmer i admire,

The remainder of this month is hectic, in the best way possible! I’ll be attending and showcasing my fave local farmers, growers, and makers at the salad bar. Whanau from the US visits shortly thereafter, and I round out the month with hosting a workshop at Lincoln Library on integrated pest management for the home gardener

life is good 💚

28/12/2024

It’s our 2 month-iversary of calling this whenua (land) our home!

Progress is happening both rapidly and slowly. I don’t lament the snail paced speed of some projects, and I have to remind myself that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Our goal has been and continues to be investing in long term systems that work for us + te taiao (environment). There’s no substitute for lived experience and the tremendous value of observation; thus, for some projects, plans we had scribbled on paper before we moved here have been scrapped, after our observations have given us insights on how a planned project might (dis)function.

I originally anticipated veggies being ready for market this summer, and now autumn is a more realistic timeframe. I remain enthusiastically optimistic about where we are, 8 weeks in!

Here’s what we’ve achieved:

🚜 mowed & cultivated a bare paddock & formed the first 18 permanent raised beds for the market garden

🌱 sowed the first seeds. hello, potatoes!

🌻 remain committed to a ratio of 1:3, vegetable crop:cover crop or flower

📝 begun writing a wholistic farm plan (FEP) to aid in management decisions across the entire property, and help us prioritise tasks

🐦‍⬛ benchmarked sightings of our feathered friends: 16x avian species identified so far - our favourite sighting has been the kingfisher

🍒 first (huge) harvests of fruit from our Dawson cherry tree and black/red raspberries

🔨 partially erected a hoophouse

🧱 put a roof on the greenhouse

💦 sorted irrigation for the market garden

🐀 trapping programme in place and have so far fed 6 creatures to the birds

🐝 🐓 successfully moved two sets of livestock to this farm

🪵 compost bay supplies are piling up

Amongst all of this action, we’ve also managed a few trips to the to support other local growers & makers; checked out long lunch and beautiful gardens, and enjoyed the ambiance at ; given our legs a workout at Mt Fyffe Hut; hung out w/fellow Te Waipounamu ; and had our first weekend guests/hosted our wonderful & supportive friends for a friendsgiving feast

Address

Amberley

Website

https://laughingpukeko.co.nz/

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