Eric Sandtmann has come a long way since he sneakily planted spuds in his mum’s rose garden to see what he could grow. These days, he juggles a full-time job in horticulture for the Dods family with his growing Knock Knock Organics business.
Knock Knock was initially an organic vegetable delivery company, but Eric spent a lot of time delivering produce for not much return.
He decided to switch his focus to fast-growing crops such as microgreens, salad greens, and herbs and hasn’t looked back.
But it has meant some early starts. Eric grows his goodies at his half-hectare city home and sells them at Village Berries and, more recently, Pak’nSave supermarket. He also supplies restaurants and cafes. “It was always my plan to have an organic market garden. Growing things has always intrigued me,” he says.
Ever since he bought his Tamarau property five years ago, he has been trying to find a balance of work, his side hustle, surfing, and social life. The microgreens – including radish, broccoli, pea shoots, and fava bean shoots – are grown in tunnel houses, while the salad greens are in raised beds.
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