Every squash born in Three Good Men paddocks grows to become the best squash it can be. There's no cutting corners or hurrying things along. Delicious tasting squash is the number one priority.
Every squash packed by Three Good Men knows where it came from. Not just the paddock where it grew up, but the exact position in the paddock. It also knows who did the weeding, the feeding and the picking.
You’ll never see a Three Good Men squash in a bad mood. The three teams want the people who eat their squash to be happy. Carefully grown in optimum conditions means more nutrients and flavour in every square inch of squash.
Uniform sweet fruit with dry texture. Fruit have black green skin and a globe shape. Fruit weight averages 1.7 to 1.9 kg.
A first class fruit with good size. Very sweet with outstanding taste. Fruit are flat, globe shape with dark green skin and thick yellow flesh. Fruit weight averages 1.7 to 1.9 kg.
Ajihei is a dry squash variety famous for its very dry and nutty flavour. It’s a premium quality fruit with a dark green skin and highly uniform in regards to size and shape.
Kuriyutaka is later to mature with a dark green mottled skin and flat-round fruit shape with dark orange flesh.
This squash has a dark skin colour. It is a flat shaped fruit with dry flesh. Sweeter after a month of storage, ‘takumi’ has an excellent shelf life. The average fruit size is 1.8 to 2.0kg.
Our delicious, happy squash are grown in the warm, sunny climate of Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay on the East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island. We plant to order during the southern hemisphere spring and harvest as each crop reaches perfect maturity from January through to April. The growing process is supported by natural bee pollination. During this time our crops are monitored and nurtured constantly to ensure optimum quality. Three Good Men specialises in premium flavour dry varieties that require advanced growing skills and close monitoring during the production stages. We export around 20,000 tonnes a year of premium squash.
Before seed planting, each paddock is allocated unique ID number. At time of harvesting, the field bins are each identified with a label showing its unique paddock ID number and then delivered to our packing house. At time of packing the unique paddock ID number is printed on the export label attached to each export bin. Upon arrival to export destination this bin label information is recorded by the importer at time of repacking for delivery to stores. In some cases the importer/repacker will include this information on the delivery package too.
Our farms operate with sustainable production methods, which care for the soils and look after the surrounding environment.
As shown here, we believe in the use of gentle harvesting and innovative technologies. Freshly harvested squash are carefully packed at our first-class facilities in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay. Squash are sorted and packed into wooden export bins based on size, market and customer request. To ensure our squash stay fresh, cool and happy all the way to market, we carefully plan and manage every stage of their travel. Export bins are shipped from local ports directly to our markets in temperature-controlled charter ships and refrigerated container vessels. By minimising handling and transit times, we can deliver to our importers in Japan, Korea and other Asian countries in as little as 14 days.
Our happy squash are low-calorie, cholesterol-free, fiber-rich, versatile and easily added to both sweet and savory dishes. Aside from the vitamins and minerals listed below, squash are also a good source of calcium, iron, phosphorus and copper. They are rich in carotenoids, including beta-carotene, which are plant pigments that give squash their bright flesh colour. Additionally, squash are a recommended for foetal growth and development, making it an important food for mothers-to-be.
Squash are an abundant source of powerful antioxidants, including vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene. Antioxidants help prevent or slow cellular damage and reduce inflammation. Yellow and orange vegetables such as squash have been shown to be particularly effective at protecting against heart disease and even some cancers. It’s also thought that the carotenoids found in squash can help lower blood pressure.
Squash are rich in important vitamins, minerals and disease-fighting antioxidants. They are low in calories but high in many nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium and manganese – these all play important roles in bone health. Incorporating squash into a balanced diet is an easy and delicious way to boost your health.
Eating more antioxidant-rich foods may protect against mental decline. Studies have shown a carotenoid-rich dietary pattern can enhance memory recall, visual attention and verbal fluency during ageing. Also, a higher dietary intake of vitamin E may have a protective effect against Alzheimer’s Disease.
