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(soon)
Our coach left the Brydone Hotel in Oamaru for Anne Cowie's cherry orchard.
We saw some of Anne's 2000 cherry trees growing in bags and under cover.
Some areas were trialling light-reflecting ground covers.
Most were planted in root-restricting bags to encourage fruiting. Pruning to a workable height was standard.
After a cuppa there was some jawing and thawing in the wintery sunlight.
We travelled up the Waitaki Valley looking at points of interest, to visit Helen Brooks' orchard.
Helen has a microclimate and grows an interesting variety of fruits and nuts.
The work must go on - well, after the tourists questions were dealt with.
Every tree cropper has their tale of torture to tell - several hundred eucalypts, as seedlings, were each hand-watered daily...
A regularly-trimmed pine shelter belt was an enviably tidy feature.
There were rows and rows of a huge variety of fruit and nut trees to examine.
The microclimate is enhanced by that Otago-looking hill to the south.
The threat of man-made sun-blocking banks to the north in the form of a planned irrigation canal is not so welcome.
Our travels continued to Duntroon for lunch at Duntroon Tavern.
During the Afternoon we circled back to Oamaru via the Maori Rock Art, Elephant Rocks, The Whale Fossil and Parkside Limestone Quarry where we saw how they saw the limestone blocks used in building and stone carving...
Editor - Les Gruebner
Photos - Les Gruebner and Gail Newcomb
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http://www.treecrops.org.nz/bydate/conf03/preoam.html
Created: Saturday, 7 June 2003 - Updated: 2007 August 10