Established · 13 signalsgrower
Pirongia Mountain Vegetables
Craft ObsessionOperator PassionAuthentic SourcingMulti-GenerationalOriginal SourcePersonal ConnectionTradition PreservedMoment of CareStory RichUnusual LocationArtisan QualityEmerging momentumCommunity traction
Their Story
The business began in 2001 when Judy and Richard Cato started selling homegrown potatoes and garlic from a driveway stall in Kaipaki, and later at farmers' markets. Their son, Tony Cato, took over the reins and expanded the variety and volume of vegetables grown. The decision to move the business…
What They Make
- Potatoes (five different types, including Jersey Bennie, Anuschka (yellow-fleshed), and Pink Fir Apple – hand-dug to demand)
- Garlic (various varieties, specialized since 2001)
- Broccoli
- Cabbage (including napa cabbage and red cabbage, twenty tons grown for sauerkraut industry)
- Cauliflower
- Leeks
- Pumpkin
- Silverbeet
- Red Kumara (sweet potato)
- Carrots
- Onions
- Parsnips
- Seasonal vegetables
- Free-range eggs (previously offered, outsourced)
How to Get Their Products
Direct Sales
Pirongia Mountain, Waikato Region 3285, New Zealand
Online ordering available; free delivery to Pirongia locals on Tuesdays and Fridays; delivery service to Hamilton and Cambridge; sales at farmers' markets (Hamilton, Cambridge, Tauranga).