Vandals have destroyed most of a Syrian refugee's market garden, in what a local charity says could be a targeted act.

Khaled Al Jouja fled war-torn Syria with his wife and three children five years ago.

After crossing into Lebanon, they spent four years in limbo, as they waited to get refugee status.

The family finally made it to New Zealand last year and settled in the Hutt Valley, where Mr Al Jouja established a market garden in the backyard of his state home.

He had over 2000 vegetable plants and flowers, helped feed local families, and his dream was to start a potting nursery.

Photo: Facebook / Common Unity Project

Common Unity Project's Julia Milne said the Red Cross had got her charity in touch with Mr Al Jouja to help set up his garden.

She told Checkpoint with John Campbell he had gone out yesterday morning with his family but when they came back a couple of hours later the plants in his greenhouse had been completely devastated.

Photo: Facebook / Common Unity Project

"Carnage, he had 2000 plants in there and he's managed to save 250. The rest are gone, totalled."

Common Unity Project had supported him to create his own business based on growing plants - mostly flowers and trees - she said, and it was these that had been destroyed.

She said the community was rallying around him and on Saturday they were holding an event where people could come, bring cuttings and potting mix and pot up some plants together.

She said people should come to the community enterprise hub Remakery at 310 Waiwhetu Road, Lower Hutt, from 10am on Saturday morning and pot up some plants with Mr Al Jouja.