Grow More. Waste Less.
Build Local Food Resilience.
Everything you need to successfully grow fresh food at home.
KiwiHomeHarvest is KiwiHarvest’s community food-growing programme, transforming mostly rescued and some donated materials into complete modular vegetable gardens for households across Queenstown and the Central Lakes.
Whether you’ve never grown food before, live in a rental, have limited space, struggle to keep up with watering or simply want to grow more of your own fresh food, KiwiHomeHarvest has been designed to remove many of the barriers that normally make it difficult.
Successful participants receive a complete modular growing system, compost and starter seedlings, take part in a hands-on Community Assembly Event and receive support from an experienced local gardening mentor throughout their first growing season.
No gardening experience needed. Everything you need to get started is included.
From Rescued Materials to Fresh Food
KiwiHomeHarvest begins with materials that might otherwise go to waste.
Pallets, containers, irrigation materials and other donated components are collected, prepared and transformed by local volunteers into purpose-designed food-growing systems.
Participants then complete their garden at a Community Assembly Event before taking it home and beginning their growing journey.
Rescued materials → Community volunteers → Your garden → Fresh food
Around 95% of the materials used in our garden systems are rescued, reused or upcycled wherever practical.
It means every KiwiHomeHarvest garden delivers two benefits at once — keeping useful materials in circulation while helping another local household grow fresh food.
Everything You Need to Succeed
KiwiHomeHarvest is not simply a free planter box.
It is a supported growing programme designed to give participants the infrastructure, knowledge and confidence to keep growing long after Assembly Event.
Your KiwiHomeHarvest package includes:
Your Modular Garden
A purpose-designed vegetable growing system made predominantly from rescued and donated materials.
Self-Watering System
Integrated water reservoirs help reduce watering frequency and make growing easier for busy households.
Frost Protection
Purpose-designed covers help protect plants and extend the growing season in the Central Lakes climate.
Compost & Starter Seedlings
We provide the growing medium and a selection of seedlings to help get your first crop underway.
Hands-On Assembly Event
Work alongside volunteers and other participants to complete your garden and learn how the system works.
Your Own Gardening Mentor
You will be matched with an experienced local gardener who can answer questions and help solve problems throughout your first growing season.
Growing Support
Practical growing advice, resources and regular check-ins help turn a planter into a productive garden.
Think You Can’t Grow Food at Home?
KiwiHomeHarvest has been designed around many of the reasons people tell us they don’t grow their own food.
“I’m renting.”
That’s okay.
Our gardens are modular and transportable, with models designed for patios, courtyards and rental properties.
“I’ve never grown vegetables before.”
You don’t need experience.
First-time growers are strongly encouraged to apply. Your gardening mentor will be there to help you learn as you go.
“I don’t have time to water constantly.”
That’s okay.
Our self-watering systems significantly reduce how often you need to water compared with a conventional raised garden.
“I don’t have a big backyard.”
You don’t necessarily need one.
We have three different garden models designed to suit different spaces, households and growing ambitions.
“I wouldn’t know where to start.”
That’s exactly what the programme is for.
Your garden, compost, starter seedlings, Assembly Event, growing information and mentor support are all included.
Three Gardens. Different Spaces. One Goal.
We currently offer three KiwiHomeHarvest garden models.
Your registration form will ask about your household, growing space and circumstances so we can help identify the most appropriate option.
Final planter allocation will depend on suitability and availability.
Compact Theo
Our compact KiwiHomeHarvest model.
Ideal for:
first-time growers
couples and smaller households
courtyards and smaller gardens
households with limited available space
Approximate space required: 70cm × 70cm
Includes a self-watering reservoir and frost protection.
large Theo
Our largest growing model.
Ideal for:
families
households wanting to grow larger quantities
people wanting space for a wider range of vegetables
Approximate space required: 130cm × 70cm
Includes self-watering reservoirs and frost protection.
liger legs
A raised mobile garden mounted on locking castors.
Ideal for:
decks and patios
rental properties
people who prefer an elevated growing height
locations where moving the garden may help maximise sunlight
Its taller growing structure also makes it particularly suitable for tomatoes and climbing plants.
Approximate footprint: 100cm × 70cm
Approximate overall height: 190cm
How KiwiHomeHarvest Works
1. Register Your Interest
Complete our online registration form and tell us about your household, available growing space and preferred Assembly Event.
2. Applications Are Reviewed
Places are limited.
Once registrations close for an event, applications are assessed against the programme criteria.
3. Participants Are Confirmed
Successful applicants receive confirmation of their place, allocated garden model and Assembly Event information.
4. Join Your Community Assembly Day
Come together with volunteers, community organisations and other participants to assemble your garden.
No extensive DIY experience is required.
5. Take Your Garden Home
Your completed KiwiHomeHarvest garden goes home with you at the end of the event.
6. Start Growing
Plant your first seedlings and begin putting your new growing system to work.
7. Get Ongoing Support
Your gardening mentor will check in regularly over the following six months and can help troubleshoot problems as they arise.
8. Help Us Measure the Impact
Participants complete two short follow-up surveys.
This helps us understand what works, improve the programme and secure support to offer KiwiHomeHarvest to more households in future.
2026 Community Assembly Events
KiwiHomeHarvest Community Assembly Events will take place across the region from October through to mid-November 2026.
Events are planned in:
Queenstown • Wānaka • Cromwell
Multiple dates will be available.
Registrations for each event will generally close around two weeks before the Assembly Day.
Spaces are limited.
Registering your interest does not automatically guarantee a place.
What We Ask From Participants
KiwiHomeHarvest is free to successful participants, but every garden represents a significant investment of community funding, donated materials and volunteer time.
We therefore ask participants to make four simple commitments.
1. Have a Suitable Growing Space
Your preferred location must be large enough for one of our garden models and receive at least six hours of direct sunlight during spring to autumn.
2. Attend Your Assembly Event
Please only register for an event you genuinely expect to attend.
Assembly is designed for two people working together. Where possible, bring a friend, family member or neighbour.
If you cannot bring someone, let us know and we will do our best to match you with a volunteer helper.
3. Give Growing a Genuine Go
You don’t need to become an expert gardener.
We simply ask that you make a genuine effort to use your garden, learn and keep growing.
4. Take Part in the Six-Month Programme
Stay connected with your mentor and complete our short follow-up surveys so we can understand the difference KiwiHomeHarvest is making.
How Participants Are Selected
If more people register than there are spaces available, participants will be selected using a balanced process considering:
suitability of the proposed growing location
commitment to taking part
opportunities to support first-time growers
household diversity and community reach
availability of the most suitable planter model
Applicants who are not selected may be placed on a reserve list and notified of future opportunities.
Building a More Food-Resilient Region
KiwiHarvest’s food rescue operation responds to immediate food need every day.
KiwiHomeHarvest also asks a longer-term question:
How can we help more local households produce some of their own fresh food?
Our region currently grows only a small fraction of the food it consumes.
That makes our communities heavily dependent on long supply chains and food transported considerable distances before reaching local households.
KiwiHomeHarvest is one practical response.
One garden will not change our regional food system.
But hundreds — and eventually thousands — of households with the infrastructure, knowledge and confidence to grow food can make a meaningful difference.
One household. One garden. One growing season at a time.
Built By Our Community
No KiwiHomeHarvest garden is created by KiwiHarvest alone.
Local businesses provide funding and materials.
Volunteers dismantle pallets and prepare components.
Community organisations help us reach households across the region.
Venues provide spaces for our Assembly Events.
Experienced local growers volunteer as mentors.
Participants then complete the final and most important step — turning all that community effort into fresh food.
Built by the community. Grown by the community.
Proudly Supported By
Principal Project Funder
Queenstown Lakes District Council Waste Minimisation Fun
Project Funders & Major In-Kind Support
Waste to Wilderness – Michael Sly
James Clarke Property
Mitre 10
IHG Hotels
Queenstown Airport
Central Lakes Trust
Project In-Kind Support
Wānaka Wastebusters
One Bike Hub – Lightfoot Initiative
UpCycles
Liger Academy
Community Delivery Partners
Sustainable Queenstown
Happiness House
Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust
Community Networks Wānaka
Cromwell Community House
Venue Support Partners
Remarkables Market
Community Workshop Wānaka
Wānaka Men’s Shed
Gardening Mentor Support
A network of experienced local growers volunteering their knowledge to help KiwiHomeHarvest participants succeed.
Ready to Grow?
Registrations are now open for upcoming KiwiHomeHarvest Community Assembly Events.
The online registration takes approximately 10–15 minutes and asks about your household, your available growing space, your preferred event and what you hope to achieve through the programme.
No gardening experience required.
No cost for successful participants.
Limited places available.
Not Looking for a Garden? You Can Still Help.
KiwiHomeHarvest depends on the whole community getting involved.
Donate Materials
We are currently seeking specific materials for our upcoming builds, including:
clean EPAL pallets
Eco Store 20-litre drums
Eco Store 5-litre containers
black irrigation pipe, minimum 19mm diameter and at least 2 metres long
washed 750ml Powerade bottles — caps not required
Please only donate the specific items requested, as our garden systems have been designed around these components.
Volunteer
Join one of our upcoming:
Eco Drum Conversion Sessions
or
Pallet Dismantling Sessions
Corporate Volunteering
Turn a half-day team volunteering session this September into something that will produce fresh food for local households for years.
Your team will learn about food rescue and local food resilience before getting hands-on preparing the materials that become KiwiHomeHarvest gardens.
Growing Food • Growing Skills • Growing Community
Every garden begins with one seedling. Every community begins with people willing to grow together.