* Visitors welcome at all our functions. Come learn about Tree Cropping!
PLEASE respect our generous hosts' property and other visitors' peaceful attendance. Bring NO pets.
Beware of health and safety hazards which may exist - children must be supervised. Bring sturdy footwear and suitable clothing. Let's all enjoy our day!
Newsletter Editors and compilers - Important note:
Branch Events - Upcoming, Current and Recent
A warm welcome to all new members. We hope to see you at our next field day and AGM. These are casual friendly events so dress for the outdoors. Don't forget a hat and sunscreen - er, warm coat and dry boots? Tree Croppers are a tough breed so field days are usually held wet or fine. Hot drinks are generally provided, but bring your own mug and food.
2010 September
Future Grafting day at Noeline's
Sunday 12 September - 10.30 am. Ringawhati Road.
Directions: At the roundabout at Otaki turn east. Follow the road keeping left past the racecourse and then turn left into Ringawhati Road. The signs will be out.
We will have stock plants and scion wood for this. If you have apples that you would like to graft from, or your friends have them in July (NOW) take pieces up to 30 cms long, wrap them in damp newspaper and then plastic and NAME them. Put in the back of the beer fridge or bury them in the compost heap (dark and damp). Grafting is done onto the stock plant when the sap has begun to rise and the dormant scion wood can join and begin to grow.
Bring them with you. The grafting workplace is under cover and will go ahead regardless of the weather. Please bring a sharp Stanley knife, some newspaper, pruners etc. There will be charge for the stock of about $5 each. Depending on the day bring gumboots and wet weather gear. You may also wish to bring with you a chair.
2010 July
MID WINTER POT LUCK DINNER
Saturday 31 July 2010, from 5.30pm at Senior Citizens Hall in Utuata Street, across the railway line at Waikanae and first left.
Please bring a main or nibbles dish OR a sweet for a potluck dinner. Food needs to be brought ready to eat. There is an oven but space for heating from cold is limited. Crock Pots are ideal.
Evening will begin at 5.30pm with mulled wine and nibbles, followed by dinner at 6pm.
The evening is always well attended so come along and have time for that chat over a meal. The 2009 Wellington Horowhenua Branch Conference Committee will be there and we will also have Murray Redpath New Zealand Tree Crops National President to give us a presentation from this year's conference on Hazelnuts.
There will not be an auction this year but provision will be made for a sales table either for the Branch or personally. Not to be missed.
2010 June
June 13th Lesley's, Manakau
2010 May
May 22nd, Lifestyle Field day, Otaki Racecourse 9-4pm (volunteers required)
2010 March 25th ~ 28th —
2010 NZTCA NATIONAL CONFERENCE - Christchurch - more details...
NOTES FROM NOELINE
It was wonderful to read Wendy Evans's article in the last Tree Cropper [Issue 60 p12] - lots of great ideas to try - well done Wendy.My family gave me a lovely book on Propagation, for Christmas. There are beautiful illustrations, how-to-do techniques for the various methods, a detailed index and a thousand plant listings. Each listing has the author's preferred propagation method marked and helpful notes on all methods.
An excellent book, well bound and presented - but it's a UK publication - which is OK, but includes some interesting plants we have been gifted - like Wandering Willie.
A questioner to a NZ garden website recently asked how to deal to this weed in her vege patch. The answer was to move the vege patch or move house, as there was no other way!
In the UK book it is listed as frost tender. I occasionally remember that there are positives in having the earth covered with snow for half of each year!I found another listing - how to propagate Ulex europaeus ( Gorse,Whin, Furze ) The author had taken softwood cuttings in summer and put them under clear polythene!
In 1993 I remember crossing the road in a UK village on a southern walkway to check the gorgeous, entirely yellow spherical bushes dominating a front garden. Definitely gorse.
This time I visited The Museum of Welsh History at St Fagans, Cardiff. Several acres have been set up with buildings of churches, mills, houses, workshops, farm sheds, schools and the appropriate gardens to display the businesses and crafts of the 16th-18th century life in the area. Many of these were of stone and several were in the process of being painstakingly rebuilt after each stone had been numbered and recorded and then moved from their original settings. One exhibit was a water powered mill wheel specifically built for grinding gorse for stock food. The gorse branches had first been cut by hand.Perhaps our ideas on gorse are changing. Maybe "do less " is in, as when I look to the hills opposite my place, I note the masses of natives coming up through the gorse - now that the spraying has ceased.
"How to Propagate" John Cushnie
We are looking for sites for upcoming Pruning and Grafting workshops, also other properties to visit for field days. We have a good selection for future field days but please give this some thought. Wendy Evans has suggested a Seed Saving workshop for perhaps 10 people. Please reply to Noeline.
2009 April
APRIL FIELD DAY SUNDAY 19 APRIL , 10.30 am
Wellington Horowhenua members are invited to join with the Central Districts visit to Steuart's &
Linda's property in Marton. Steuart is a former nurseryman and Holly expert. Today one
of his passions is growing heirloom potatoes. We will look at his potato varieties and if any
members are growing unusual varieties please bring some along.
Directions: From Wanganui, drive to the centre of Marton, turn left at the roundabout into
Broadway (the only shopping street). At this stage you are going north and will be able to see
Mt Ruapehu straight ahead on a clear day. Broadway becomes Tutaenui Road as you leave
town. Continue along this into the country ignoring all side roads until you come to a major
crossroad. Turn into Jefferson Line (the sign will indicate Taihape). Travel along Jefferson Line
until first road on left by Tutaenui Hall. Turn left into Griffin Road and go to T junction at end.
Turn left into Warren Road.
2009 March
Fri 27th ~ Sun 29th March:
2009 NZTCA NATIONAL CONFERENCE - Tatum Park, Kapiti Coast
Here’s a choice:
SUNDAY 15 MARCH 2009, 10.00 am
The Wairarapa Branch have also invited us to a walnut field day, starting at Norfolk Road, Carterton. Norfolk Road is the first street south of Waingawa River) at 10 am and progressing to a second property at Nursery Road, Masterton. It will be a BYO lunch at the second and a cup of tea will be provided at the first. Have invited Vern Harrison, Eric Cairns and Diana Loader, also hoping Wally Dyson will be able to make it.
SUNDAY 15 MARCH 2009, 10:30AM
Organised by Central Districts Branch
Over 12 years ago, Noel planted 200 apple rootstocks and he and Ngaere travelled every
side road between Shannon and Wellington collecting seedling apple cuttings. He then
grafted his trees and now he has a marvellous trial orchard of unique, fruiting apple
varieties.
There are apples of all colours and flavours, and distinct "grower friendly" trees as Noel
would say. Noel has also used minimal sprays on the orchard so that varieties can be
inspected for disease resistance. This is an inspired couple with a vision and a willingness to
share the varieties that they have found, and we are very grateful for the opportunity to
visit and taste the fruit. Noel is also a long-time breeder of rare chooks, and the collection
he has will amaze many.
The property is on the main road 1.5km south of Shannon. Coming from Wanganui, at Foxton head straight across to Shannon. Proceed as if going to Levin.
2009 February
First Field Day of the year
Date: 22 February 2009
Time: 10.30 pm
There are two properties to visit in this field day beginning at 10.30am. This will be real picnic day so bring your lunch and include your own drinks as there are no facilities on the second property. You might like to bring rugs or chairs to sit on as well. The contrast of these two properties will be interesting. It is in no way a contest but a way of showing what good tree planters can do and a way of encouraging others to give it a go. If you have a piece of bare land and do not quite know where to start then this is a good visit to make.
First property:
Epie and Paul, Riverstone Garden, Ngatiawa Road, Reikorangi, Waikanae
Paul is an ex engineer, boat builder and now woodworker.
Epie is an artist and sells her paintings from their property.
Epie and Paul bought their piece of bare land in 1992 and built a barn. They have developed this land to wetlands, native plantings and have an extensive garden with goldfish in their ponds. Over the past 8 years they have planted grapes, figs, oaks, gums, blackwoods, pinus pinea, matai, rimu, totara and many others. The main house was moved on in 1996 and the barn is now used as a B & B. They say that their garden after 8 years is finished and they intend now to enjoy it.
Second Property: In absolute contrast our second property to visit is bare land and just
purchased by Tony and Philipa.
The challenge for Tree Croppers is to plan their property and give Tony and Philipa some ideas
for what you think they could do there.
This has been done by this branch before and the results were encouraging.
2008 November
CHRISTMAS FIELDDAY Sunday 23 November
At Avenue North Road, Levin beginning mid afternoon. BBQ and Gourmet Hamburgers have been suggested and a walk round this interesting property. More details about this next newsletter.
2008 September
GRAFTING DAY
Combined Fruit Tree Grafting Event with Murray Jones, courtesy Levin Soil and Health Association.
Sunday 28 September, 1.30pm at Thompson House, 4 Kent Street, Central Levin.
Note that this event is indoors. For once we won't have to fight the elements - guaranteed to produce a fine Spring day.
Murray is a professional grafter from Wanganui. Some of us have attended his grafting demonstrations with the Central Districts Tree Crops Assoc and come away informed, enlightened and with several new trees to plant. Murray's tutorials cover a range of grafting techniques and importantly the tools you need and how to keep them sharp. Further details will be circulated when they become available from Soil and Health.
OHARIU RURAL LIVING DAY
Saturday 27 September 10.00 am to 3.00 pm. We are asking for your help to man our stall and help promote Tree Crops to the locals in that area. If you are available please phone Jennifer Hutson or Eric Cairns. Our display will be similar to the Otaki Small Farmers day but on a smaller scale. These are fun days and the chance to meet potential new members.
The Greater Wellington Regional Council are organising this event. In the Ohariu Valley, Wellington, we have been invited back to participate this year. Craig and Julie have generously offered to host the day again.
The Ohariu Rural Living Day offers a mix of information and entertainment for the whole family based around sustainable rural living and the Ohariu Stream, there will be stalls with information, demonstrations and sales on rural topics such as landscaping, water treatment systems, fencing, native plants and birds, stream life, plant and animal pest control, native nursery, forestry and more to be confirmed. Competitions will be held, for children and adults.
Please come and share your expertise with the locals who enthusiastically attended last year’s event.
2008 August
MID WINTER DINNER AND AUCTION. Saturday 16 August, from 3.00pm
Senior Citizens Hall in Utuata Street, across the railway line at Waikanae and first left.
This year the auction is being held in conjunction with the mid-winter dinner. The hall will be open from 3.00pm for the Committee and from 3.30pm for everyone else. Time for a cup of tea before the auction due to start at 4.30pm followed by a mulled wine and then dinner. Please bring a main dish and a sweet for a potluck dinner. There is limited oven space but crockpots etc can be plugged in. Crockery and cutlery are all supplied. The past two of these events have been well supported so come along and have a good evening.
The after dinner speaker is Eric Cairns whose topic is:
Tree Cropping Woodlands and Multiple Tier farming with food crops.
2008 July
Winter Pruning with Colin Spicer, 10.30am Sunday 6 July 2008.
Combined Field Day with Central Districts and Wellington-Horowhenua Branches.
Meet with Dianne and Fred at Roslyn Road, Levin.
Colin is a retired horticulture lecturer who is happy to share his knowledge and experience in an entertaining style. Many of you will have met him before and will want to take this opportunity to refresh yourselves on the difference between vegetative and fruiting buds and what we're trying to achieve with winter pruning on a range of trees. We've had the opportunity to see the trees at Dianne and Fred's property as they've matured, and see how Colin and others have shaped them into attractive and productive specimens.
After lunch we will walk across to where there is a range of fruit and ornamental trees ranging from newly planted unpruned trees, some too old and neglected, and most things in between. This is your opportunity to see some trees which might look like yours rather than the near perfect shapes in the pruning books.
As always BYO lunch and cup. Hot water/tea/coffee will be available.
2008 May
Otaki Small Farmers Field day 24 May
This has become a fixture on our branch calendar so prepare to be there.
We need people to talk to the passing public and help promote Tree Crops to potential members.
There is also an opportunity to sell some of your trees or produce. Eric Cairns is coordinating this stand.
Fig field day
11 May 2008, 11am start, Mangaroa Valley Road, Upper Hutt..
We will look at some of the fig training structures being experimented with at this property, some other R&D, and the range of genetic diversity in the NZTCA collection. (Supplemented by powerpoint slide displays).
There are approx 150 accessions at this property, many of which are difficult to distinguish between.
Are they the same or different?
Does it matter?
If so, why?
Do we need to import more fig material into NZ?
Lunch time discussion will debate a proposal to commit branch funds to support a major R&D programme. One suggestion is using analysis of DNA to identify fig varieties, and possible geographic source of figs within NZ . Another possibility is post harvest sanitation to improve storage life of figs (hot water and dry heat are both possibilities to achieve 1 month shelf life).
The background to this was outlined in the last Newsletter and was to be debated at the AGM, but members felt there was insufficient information or time to make an informed commitment.
Also on this day, a plant sales table is invited for potted plant stock or produce (or books etc) of interest to tree croppers.
2007 November
- What:
- TCA field day and end of year barbecue
By popular request and if you missed the previous green wood working day there! - When:
- Sun 4 Nov, 1pm start, barbecue begins around 4pm
- Where:
- Moonshine Road, Pauatahanui - will be signs posted.
- Details:
- Field day - BYO provisions for barbecue, ample cover in the (unlikely) event
of damp weather. Remember to bring along gumboots, as there
will be a stream crossing.
Wendy and Trevor bought a tree cropper’s subdivision from their neighbour Mike. Mike had planted walnuts, damson, stauntonia, hazels, willows and so on about 20-25 years ago, then rebuilt next door. Wendy and Trevor inherited a “permaculture” type property, which they have further developed.
Wendy grows heritage seeds for Koanga Institute Seed Savers and heritage berry fruit that many of you will have seen for sale at our plant auctions. Wendy uses home made Hurdles in the cottage garden (using green wood working skills). Trevor, a silversmith, is very keen on tool making and green woodworking. Wendy is an accomplished basket weaver and teaches kete making. Their collection of weaving flaxes is protected by QEII covenant. Their neighbour Mike also has a QE II covenant on a ..? Come along and find out!
2007 September
Field Day Report
Grafting workshop
About 20 keen grafters turned up. Stewart brought along the M106 rootstocks, and there was more than enough heritage apples varieties to work with. Many thanks to Maurice Dellow who had made most of the scion wood available, and to Stewart who bought the root stocks and passed them on at cost.
Eric demonstrated various grafts on practise bits of willow, which is soft and easy to cut. If the stock has bark that will slip/lift, tee budding is an option, even in spring. Chip budding could be done at any time of the year that the plant was in active growth. Eric preferred to bud in late summer. This is quick, reliable, and does not require cold storage of the scion wood. Whip and tongue grafts were hard to master by free hand cutting (but relatively easy if shaped with a sharp plane), and were required for hard to graft species such as walnut (winter hot box grafting). The easiest and fastest graft was the vee graft where the scion is wedge shaped on the bottom end and a slit is formed on the stock. The inverted form of this is the saddle graft, which sheds water better.
Eric recommended the saddle or cleft graft as being the easiest
to master and very suited to apples and plums, but the dormant
apple wood was surprising tough and hard to cut. A nice long vee
shape is required on either the stock or scion, and a sharp block
plane or smoothing plane could be used to achieve this safely.
Whatever graft style is used, the most important part to
remember is that the cambium layers in the scion and stock have
to line up on at least one side of the union. Stretchy plastic tape is
used to cover the union and pull the cut surfaces together. Strips
of plastic bag may be used in lieu of grafting tape. The softer
parafilm type is good for budding but is not usually strong enough
to pull hardwood grafts together.
A fixed blade “Stanley” knife was the recommended cutting
tool, obviously with a very sharp new blade. Alternatively, a
very sharp pocket knife with a long straight blade could be
used “guillotine fashion” to cut the vee on a raised chopping
board. The retractable blade types, including box cutters, were
not recommended as the blade is inclined to slip when under
pressure.
Kitchen knives and cheap stainless “Swiss army” knives generally do not have hard enough steel to be properly sharpened. The old fashioned carbon steel blades (e.g. Solingen, with a locking blade) were satisfactory. It was important for the blade to be free of oil, if an oil stone was used for sharpening. The reasons for grafting and selection of rootstocks were discussed; i.e. most orchard varieties do not come true from seed and may not grow from cuttings. Clonal rootstock provided a uniform orchard that facilitates management. Rootstocks may be disease resistant (e.g. woolly aphis, root rots etc) be semi dwarfing or be suited to certain soil types or wind exposure. Rootstocks can also influence the amount of health promoting chemicals such as flavonoids in the fruit. Seedlings (except for peach) are generally too variable to be useful as rootstocks. The tree has to be closely related to the rootstock. eg pears, medlar and quince on quince stock, crab-apple and apples on apple stock, and plums, peaches, nectarines on plum or peach stock, cherry on cherry etc.
Wendy Evans demonstrated making flax flowers and flax preparation. She is taking registrations for a 2 day course on kete making (weekend days a fortnight apart – small fee applies). Wendy regularly teaches flax weaving and has 12 years experience in the craft.
- Apple Grafting
- Where:
- Mangaroa Valley Road, Upper Hutt - will be signs posted.
- When:
- Sunday 2 September, 11am start
- Details:
- Field day - Eric has been advised that apple rootstocks may not be available until late August so...
BYO lunch and cup. Hot water/tea/coffee and band aids supplied.
(Mangaroa Valley Road leads off the east end of Whitemans Valley Road and is not to be confused with Mangaroa Hill Road starting from Maoribank)
There will be lots of daffodils and bluebells flowering under the deciduous trees, and at some stage a brief guided tour, depending on how long is required for the grafting.
As an added bonus, Wendy Evans has offered to do a short course on making things with flax (eg flax flowers). This could lead on to kete weaving at a later date. Flax will be supplied. For those who would like to participate in the flax weaving, please bring 4-6 “clippy pegs”.
For those who would like to learn grafting, please bring a Stanley knife with a new blade or a really sharp pocket knife (box cutters are not usually good enough) and grafting tape which is available from rural supplies such as Farmlands. Some of you have ordered apple rootstocks and scion wood, but there will be a few spare. Practise pieces will be on willow. Make sure that your scion wood has been stored in the fridge (not frozen and not dried out and not mouldy) so that it will not be so close to bud burst as the rootstocks.
Cleft, saddle, whip and tongue, four flap and rind bark grafts will be demonstrated, along with chip budding.
2007 July
Pruning Demonstration and Plant Auction
Before the main pruning demonstration and auction at Dianne and Fred’s property, a smaller number of tree-croppers descended on Stewart Dixons property (below) to have an update on the fig training trial previously installed by Eric Cairns. The trial includes 5 different training systems and a range of fig varieties. Fig growers from as far away as Marlborough came to have a look, offer some advice and discuss their own techniques with Eric and the few others.
There was a good turn out for the main pruning demonstration, including some members from the Central Districts Branch. After an introduction by Eric and a reminder about dealing with codlin moth (see below for details) and silver leaf, the pruning demonstration began with Jennifer Hutson taking us through pruning apple trees. The others who gave demonstrations were: Eric, who did stone fruit; Ray Hollis, who pruned some olive and feijoa trees and Jean Hollis who pruned the fig tree. Even though there were plenty of demonstrations going on, hardly a dent was made in the number of trees Fred and Dianne have on their property. Along with the tips and trick of pruning techniques, people offered advice about their favourite pruning tools, whether they were secateurs, loppers or saws.
While he was demonstrating olive pruning, it was interesting to hear about Ray and Jean Hollis’ experience of producing organic olive leaves for nutritional supplements, which involves stripping all the leaves from the tree (not so good for the tree) as well as the harvesting process of olives for oil and for eating. The weather managed to be kind and between demonstrations, lunch was had by the pool, although no-one was tempted to have a dip.
Clockwise from top left: A large gathering of interested tree croppers at the pruning demonstration; Jennifer Huston pruning an apple tree; Eric Cairns doing some 'up-high' pruning; Eric Cairns pruning; Demonstration of the nut harvester.
The auction was success with a total profit of $1017. These funds will go towards funding research and development. On sale was a great range of plants – ranging from organic seeds and herbs to fruit trees to natives. Many thanks to all who provided items for sale, it's a great way to share, support the organisation and if you bring something along to be sold, perhaps make some pocket money! Thanks to Arthur for running the auction, Eric, Stewart and Irene for keeping up with the pace of the sales and to Annette for the dealing with the confusing task of keeping track of who bought what!
A big thanks from all of us to Dianne and Frank for hosting the pruning day once again.
- Pruning Demonstration and Plant Auction
- Where:
- with Fred and Dianne, Roslyn Road, Levin - will be signs posted.
- When:
- Sun 22 July, 11am start
- Details:
- This field day will provide tips and tricks as well as a full demonstration of pruning a variety of different fruit types. There will be separate pruning sessions by a range of experts for various crops. These include pip fruit, stone fruit, figs and feijoas.
Following the pruning demonstration there will be the annual plant auction. The plant auction will start at 2pm, sale on commission or plant donations gratefully accepted. Please notify the auctioneer before the start of the auction as to whether your plants are sale on commission or not.
BYO lunch and cup. Hot water/tea/coffee will be available.
And remember to bring a paper and pen to record your purchases.
Additional note:
We have just set up some training support wires for a fig trial comparing these options at Stewart and Carol's. If anyone would like to see these and discuss fig pruning/training, please meet at Stewart and Carol's at 10am on 22 July at Roslyn Road - just across from Fred and Dianne's.
BLUEBERRY NUTRITION FACTS
The American blueberry (Vaccinium) has long been recognized for its flavor, nutrition, and health benefits. Early settlers valued the blueberry as a major ingredient in foods and medicines. They ate blueberries off the bush and added them to soups, stews, and other foods. Native Americans in colonial times gathered blueberries for winter storage. They dried the fruit and combined it with cornmeal, honey, and water to make a delicate pudding known as “Sautauthig.” The juice of blueberries was also used for medicinal purposes: to treat coughs, as a relaxant during childbirth, and to combat the “runs” thanks to a substance contained in the berries called anthocyanin. This substance has mild antibiotic properties, especially against intestinal bacteria that cause diarrhoea.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human
Nutrition Center have found that blueberries rank No. 1 in antioxidant benefits, compared to 40 other fresh fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants help neutralize harmful “free radicals” that can lead to cancer and other age-related diseases. The total antioxidant capacity of blueberries (24 mcgmol Trolox equivalents per gram) is twice that of spinach and three times that of oranges. This extraordinary fruit is also rich in pectin, a soluble fibre that has been shown in several research studies to be effective in lowering cholesterol.
Blueberries are available year-round in many forms including fresh, frozen, juice, puree, concentrate, and dried. Fresh blueberries are higher in vitamins A and C than frozen or canned. A cup of blueberries provides nearly a third of the RDA for vitamin C. It would appear that most of the vitamin C is lost as a result of freezing and canning.
REF: http://health.learninginfo.org/blueberry.htm
- Mid-Winter Potluck Dinner
- Where:
- Senior Citizens Hall, Utuata Street, Waikanae - will be signs posted.
- When:
- Saturday 14 July 2007 from 6.00 pm
- Speaker:
- Frank Lindsay
Following the successful mid winter dinner last year your committee have decided to do it again. This time it is in the Senior Citizens Hall in Utuata Street, Waikanae. To get there turn towards the hills at the Waikanae Traffic lights on the State Highway One, take the first turn left past the church and follow the road past the tennis courts where there is plenty of parking and the entrance to the Senior Citizens Hall.
The evening is to begin sharp at 6.00pm with mulled wine and to eat by 6.30pm. Please bring a main course or a sweet dish. If you bring a main course please either bring it hot and ready to eat (there is limited oven space available) or as a cold platter.
This was a great evening last year and was a great chance to get to know members better.
Often at field days there is a lot to do and see and we don't always get the chance to socialise.
Our special guests and after-dinner speakers are Frank & Mary-Ann Lindsay, beekeepers extraordinaire of Johnsonville, and stalwarts of both the hobby and industry beekeeping fraternities. Frank and Mary-Ann have the happy knack of presenting their extensive knowledge and experience in a unique, friendly and entertaining way. Bees are critical to the success of most of our horticultural and agricultural enterprises, yet have never been under greater threat. Bee entertained, bee informed - you won't bee disappointed.
To get you in the mood for all things bees there's an informative article below by beekeeper Nick Milne who conducts pollination in the Wellington/Horewhenua area.
POLLINATION- AN INTEGRAL PART OF APIARY AND ORCHARD LIFE.
By Nick Milne, Southern Sun Apiaries
Effective pollination of orchards has always been important for the production of fruit. This has invariably involved the use of bees either through local feral (wild) hives or the contracting of a beekeeper to relocate hives into the orchard.
In the past many beekeepers have preferred concentrating on the production of honey to pursuing pollination and other income streams as there is much extra hive work required in getting hives ready for pollination.
Currently the price of pasture honey is low and compliance and disease control costs have increased. This has led many beekeepers to look for additional sources of income. Some beekeepers chase the lucrative manuka honey crop but in our beekeeping operation we have moved from straight pasture honey production into pollination services (both locally and in Tauranga), queen bee breading, propolis production and limited manuka honey.
In the past many orchardists relied heavily, if not exclusively, on feral bees for the pollination of their orchards, however due to the prevalence of varroa to the north island (and increasingly the South Island) the numbers of feral hives have decreased significantly.
One of the increasingly common practices is for large areas of land to be planted in the same fruit, with any grass mowed or sprayed. This decreases the appeal of an area to foraging ferals. This is particularly visible in the Tauranga area where vast tracts of land have been planted in kiwifruit vines.
Unfortunately for the orchardist the relocation of hives into orchards for pollination is not as simple as just throwing them all on a truck and driving them into the orchard. There is often a large amount or preparation required to boost hives up to the required standard for effective pollination. Each type of fruit requires hives to be at different minimum levels of strength. These standards are determined by the number of frames of brood (unhatched eggs or larvae), and the number of frames of bees present in a hive. These standards are determined by how attractive the particular fruit is to foraging bees. For example, blackberry produces nectar and pollen and is more attractive to a bee than a kiwifruit blossom that only produces pollen. Hives for kiwifruit pollination therefore require a higher amount of brood and bees.
After surviving winter, many hives are depleted of bees, and require boosting through the addition of brood and the feeding of sugar syrup (which provides food and stimulates the queen to lay more eggs) in the months leading up to pollination. All hives must be also be under treatment for varroa (chemical strips are placed in hives for 2 months in spring and autumn to keep varroa under control) when placed in orchards. The exception to this is hives placed in organic orchards where strips are removed while hives are in the orchard.
The timing, number and location of the hives within a given orchard is determined by the orchardist, sometimes with the input of a pollination consultant. Although bees will forage up to 4km from the hive, they will naturally go to the closest source of nectar and pollen available. It is common for an orchard requiring 30 hives to take these in multiple drops which allows numbers of bees in an area to be steadily increased as flowers open thereby ensuring fresh bees are constantly present.
Southern Sun Apiaries has built up an excellent reputation with the orchardists that we supply hives to so it is very unusual for us to be audited by an outside beekeeper. Auditing can be an effective way for orchardists to ensure that hives are supplied at the agreed upon standard. In addition some orchardists will ask for pollen traps to be placed on selected hives to determine the pollen being collected by the bees (different plants have different pollen colours). This helps determine the effectiveness of the pollination.
Pollination is has costs for the beekeeper. In addition to increased vehicle and labour costs in preparing and delivering hives, hives in pollination may swarm, queens may be lost, and frames or equipment can be damaged. The timing of the pollination is also important. In some cases there is an overlap between the end of pollination and the beginning of the honey crop, so in many cases a beekeeper must weigh up the value of the guaranteed pollination income against a portion of honey income.
The demand for pollination hives is likely to increase significantly in the future. It is estimated that more than 50,000 hives will soon be required to pollinate kiwifruit in the Tauranga area alone. Many beekeepers are turning their thoughts to pollination as they seek a way of safeguarding their businesses against low pasture honey prices while gaining income at a time of the year when cash reserves are traditionally low.
REF: Nick Milne
2007 April 13-15th National Conference 2007 - reviewed
2007 February
- What:
- Next green wood working day
- When:
- 9.30 am to 4.00 pm Sunday 18 February 2007
- Where:
- Hosts Trevor and Wendy - Moonshine Road, Pauhatanui - will be signs posted.
- Details:
- We now believe we have enough basic equipment to share at field days for people who would just like to give it a go. Those of us who are already converts really enjoy turning round wood into something useful. We enjoy creating articles that do not resemble mass produced items from a chain store.
For those with ambitious projects in mind, please book with Trevor to ensure availability of space, materials and equipment. In the event of very wet weather, contact Trevor as this event could be postponed one week. Casual observers are encouraged to turn up after 11.00 am. BYO lunch.
- What:
- AGM and summer BBQ at Te Horo
- When:
- 1.00 pm Sunday 11 February 2007
- Where:
- Hosts Lyndia and Peter - The Old Dairy Factory, Rahui Road Otaki
- Details:
- The AGM will be at the Otaki property, as yet unnamed but formerly The Old Dairy Factory, next to the railway crossing in Rahui Road Otaki. Some of you will remember the site of the former Olive Press there. Lyndia has been converting the building into a Boutique Hotel in a Mediterranean style. This has involved extensive earthquake strengthening. She has also been landscaping the grounds in edible gardens and also with Mediterranean crops. There is an excellent figuerie doing well on rich Otaki loams and some of the San Pedro figs and Oakura figs will be ripe.
There'll be a tour round the property at 1.00 pm. The AGM will start around 2.00 pm. The after-match function, from about 3.00 pm onwards, continues with a BBQ and swim at the beach house, Sims Road, Te Horo Beach. BYO barbecue supplies and your togs.
Earlier Branch Events and Reviews to 2006
Other Branchs' Events pages -