“They have so many benefits"

The risk of contamination of irrigation water is an important factor when deciding on your initial storage decision.  Collecting rain water, for irrigation purposes, is a major consideration for many protected cropping businesses.   Growers that collect rain water have historically built lined ponds/reservoir’s or use standard tanks (that have limited storage capabilities). 

Recently, Kauri Park nurseries installed 2 x 1000m3 Flexi Tanks.  I was interested in their feedback on the new storage system that so many growers and farmers are now installing. I sent some questions to the Director of Kauri Park, Terry Wearmouth, below are his experience with the installations of the Flexi Tanks with a brief history of Kauri Park. 

When was Kauri Park established? 

“Kauri Park was established in 1995.”

Could you give a brief history and how the business has grown?

“Kauri Park began supplying the garden centres and nursery trade in 1995. During the late 2000’s there was a big shift into revegetation plantings and Kauri Park positioned to expand and meet the demand of this market.”

What is the size of the growing operation?

“We have 3 nurseries, Waipu, Kaiwaka and Palmerston North. We have 30 hectares of nurseries and grow around 15 million native plants a year.”

Why did you decide to go with tunnels to grow your trees?

“The tunnels are for the early establishment of seedlings and propagation material. These little plants need a controlled and managed environment to achieve the best growing conditions.”

On Flexi Tanks:

Why was the decision made to use Flexi Tanks to store your water?

“We see water as an asset so wished to capture all rainwater going onto the tunnel houses. We have a dam that collects the runoff but thought that rainwater is a better quality than dam water and will need less filtration. We were looking at large open topped tanks and during this research we came across the Flexi Tanks. It made total sense as the water storage will be contained and not accessible to waterfowl.”

Do you use the water from the tunnel houses to fill the tanks or is it from a bore/other water source?

“Rainwater harvest with the option of topping up from the dam.”

How easy was it to prepare the area and layout the Flexi Tanks?

“The site had a compacted base so the final preparation was very simple.”

What benefits were you expecting by using the Flexi Tank systems?

“Clean water and less disease and extra storage. We have an extra 2 million litres of storage now.”

Would you recommend Flexi Tanks to other growers?

“Totally…very smart concept and I think you will see more and more of these tanks in the horticulture industry. They have so many benefits.”

Will you consider using Flexi Tanks for any future projects?

“Absolutely. You even think of the possibilities for water stage for farming and even firefighting storage for building consents. We will be purchasing more tanks as we expand.”

If you are interested to learn more about Kauri Parks visit their website: https://www.kauripark.com/

If you are interested in the opportunity Flexi Tanks could offer your business, contact Andre today for more information.

Andre Meier

Flexi Tanks NZ

Mobile: 0277 063 633

Cambridge 3493, New Zealand

www.flexitanksnz.com

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