Our Story - the terroir of our land
Mission Cabana Edible Flower Farm is a tranquil place of flavours and fragrances from nature. We spent five years searching the ideal place for our edible flower and herb farm while living in Auckland, NZ. We started with Tauranga, Apata, Pukekohe, Kumeu, Helensville, Wellsford to Matakana. Then we came full circle back to Pukekohe. It was the winner. Why? For a small country, New Zealand has a rich diversity of soils, but only about 5 per cent are fertile and versatile enough to produce food without the need for any significant manipulation (such as adding fertilizers). There are in fact some soils that are unique and rare, and cover only 1% of New Zealand. Pukekohe is one of these areas. It is known for its elite soils. It is a rich dark brown, volcanic soil owing its superior fertility to an eruption in the central plateau 250,000 years ago, which rained down tephra ash material. These soils are usually strongly weathered tephras, mostly older than 50,000 years, a composition now that just happens to have the growing properties Pukekohe has become renown for, feeding Auckland households, NZ and the world. The gardens are fed with natural spring living water. Mission Cabana Flower Farm are strong advocates for the sustainability for the terroir of our land. This means our produce has the taste nuances of its environment: elite soil, unpolluted air and its own spring water. When you eat our produce you will soon discern the difference, the quality of its biodiversity and the pureness of its botanicals.