Once was a city girl, turned organic regenerative grower of goodness, Alex Morrissey began Little Farms from a desire to create a more sustainable food system.
Initially, she began her garden when she was unable to source locally grown food. Many of her friends are also organic growers, and were struggling to sell their produce, and so the Little Farms collaborative venture was born. “We believe the future of farms is ‘lots of little’.”
Today, the business involves up to seven little farms contributing to deliver a year-round, seasonal, weekly organic farm box around the Wairarapa. Pick up is also available in Wellington.
But Alex hasn’t always been a grower. A city girl living in Wellington, she fell in love with a farmer and moved to the country to be with him. She went to work on an organic vegetable farm down the road, thinking it was just a job. “I discovered I loved being outdoors with my hands in the dirt, growing food. It unlocked a part of me I didn’t even know existed.”
Now she leases ¼ of an acre from the farm her husband manages in Pirinoa, south Wairarapa, where she tends her own market garden. “We experimented to see what was possible, but with fun at the core of it.”
The couple has two young children, Dezzie, 3, and Zola, six months. Creating a better future for them, and for our community, is what drives Alex. She’s passionate about helping educate people to grow their own food, creating sustainability and local resilience through community gardens.
Describe yourself in 3 words: Passionate, independent and a thinker – the brain never really turns off!
Was there a lightbulb moment for you? There was a series of events. The first catalyst was at university, where I was studying Development Studies, and everything came back to how broken the food system was. Then, when I was working on the organic vege farm I realised even in an unideal growing climate and location, you can still grow a lot of food – it was a feasible thing to do. Finally, when we started Little Farms, it was the reception we got that people did need and want this. Those three events led to where we are now.
Best advice you’ve ever received? I hear it a lot, and it’s what keeps me going. If you are passionate about something, you will find a way to make it work. This is an issue I believe in, so I’m going to make it work. If I was doing this as a business, just for the money, I think I would have quit 20 times over!
Favourite thing to grow and why? Lettuce, because I used to hate lettuce. I realised lettuce from the supermarket is pretty sad and slimy. Homegrown lettuce is naturally crisp, fresh and delicious. It changed my view, like, ‘oh wait, I haven’t been eating the real deal this whole time’. That encouraged me to grow more and more veges.
What inspires you? The future inspires me, a future that is more sustainable, local and healthier for our children. I would like a better future for my children and our community. Eating locally grown, organic food for the rest of their lives is the most exciting thing I could hope for my children. Our world is so bombarded with pollution and chemicals it can become overwhelming. As a parent, you want to protect them from that, and I think it is possible.
Dream way to spend a day? A sleep in. Then, and I always talk to my husband about this, I want a day off, but I want a day in the garden. My work and my fun thing are the same thing. A day with no one needing me and just being in the garden doing my thing, that would be my favourite way to spend a day. Obviously, I love my children dearly, and I want them every other day. But just one day would be lovely!
What are you reading? Books by Charles Dowding, a noted gardener in the UK. He really gives me inspiration as he’s been doing this for 40 years now. He gives me hope I’m on the right path and not crazy for doing it this way. He does a lot of experimenting too, seeing what works, so he’s my go-to reference guide.
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