BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Three Ps of Tree Cropping
Plants, Processing and People
Tatum Park Holiday and Conference Centre – www.tatumpark.co.nz
State Highway 1, Manakau, Levin.
27 – 29 March 2009
Hosted by Wellington-Horowhenua Branch
In Review:
The 2009 conference will include:
A food competition. This is your opportunity to make a lasting impression with the results of your horticultural efforts in their final form – ready for consumption!
Four categories are available for entries – savoury, sweet, beverage, and the most novel. The only condition is that entries must be shelf-stable, ie suitable for storage.
The competition judge will be Sarah Hodge, a local food identity, plant nursery and B&B spa proprietor.
Annual Auction and Sales. The annual auction will feature a selection of trees that are rare, unusual, hard-to-get and new. We will also have a sales area for regular lines.
Accommodation
Accommodation and breakfasts are not included in the Conference registration fees. Payment for accommodation and breakfasts should to be paid directly to the provider NOT to the NZTCA Conference organisers.
Breakfasts will be available at Tatum Park and should be booked with the caterer in advance, or taken at your choice of motel, if staying off-site.
There is a variety of accommodation styles available at Tatum Park and a number of motels in the area. Some options are:
Tatum Park – The Conference venue offers comfortable budget accommodation of single, twin or family rooms with shared facilities. There is also a camping ground with in-ground pool, toilet/shower facilities and power points for campers/camper vans.
Phone: 0800 11 30 80
www.tatumpark.co.nz
There are numerous motels in both Levin and Otaki – a few are listed here for your information. We suggest the use of motels in Levin as opposed to Otaki as the traffic on SH1 through Otaki is often bottlenecked at the week-ends. Having said that, Byron's Resort at Otaki beach offers a great holiday location.
Levin accommodation:
Bentons Motel, ph 06 367 8282
www.bentonsmotel.co.nz
Totara Lodge, ph 06 368 4114
www.aatravel.co.nz
Bassingers Motor Lodge, ph 06 367 0048
www.bassingers.co.nz
Otaki accommodation:
Byron's Resort – Otaki beach, 06 364 8119
www.byronsresort.co.nz
For B and B accommodation, try this website:
www.naturecoast.athomenz.org.nz
Brenda Farrell, a member of the organising committee also has B and B accommodation.
Have a look on: www.cobtreefarm.com
Suggested Pre- and Post-Conference Activities and Attractions
Attractions and Activities from Horowhenua to Wellington - more information...
Conference Speakers
Topics and speakers confirmed to date include:
HortResearch is preparing a paper on trees and sustainable land use, carbon capture by trees and, in particular, carbon storage in the soil and the impact of soil carbon on soil functioning. Speaker to be confirmed, though it is likely that Ian McIvor will give the presentation.
Dr Andrew Tate (NIWA) will present a talk on climate variability and climate change and the potential impacts on tree cropping.
Bill Ireland, a physicist formerly with DSIR/PEL and Industrial Research, will talk about his frost prediction model and will provide useful advice to those who wish to set up their own systems.
The Waimea Nurseries team will present an update on research and development relating to pipfruit, stonefruit, feijoas and olives.
David Klinac, NZTCA research coordinator, will provide a research update on Karaka.
John Clearwater will provide an update on his research on the fruitdriller caterpillar.
Clive Higgie of Paloma Gardens (five acres of formal garden and arboretum that contain plants from all over the world) will talk about plant hunting.
Graeme Harris will talk about approaches to marketing, based on his experience as a director of the successful olive oil company, Kapiti Olives Ltd, and advertising executive and marketing adviser for the national olive growers association.
Murray Redpath, national president of NZTCA will give us an update on hazel research.
Jon Tanner, CEO of Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ), the umbrella organisation for organics in New Zealand, will bring his experience in research, international trade and rural development to the conference and provide an update on organic consumer trends.
Ian Thomas, the first chairman of the NZ Farmers' Market Association, will talk about farmers' market developments and provide advice to vendors.
Conference Activities
Friday 27 March 2009
am – Management and Research and Development committees meet.
1pm – Branch Delegates meet
4pm – AGM
5:45pm – official conference opening, then social event and meal (included in registration fee).
The AGM Agenda and reports will be available on the website closer to Friday 27th March.
These documents will be displayed on a notice board on the day at the venue.
Whilst there is no formal pre-conference trip, members who are not attending meetings are encouraged to explore the Kapiti and Horowhenua region (www.horowhenua.org.nz; www.kapiti.org.nz).
A list of interesting places to visit (including the Southwards Car Museum and Nga Manu Sanctuary) will be posted at the registration desk and on this website.
Field Trips
Saturday 28 March 2009
Field Trip 1
Cobtree Farm. Brenda Farrell
Brenda Farrell calls her property Cobtree Farm. This is because she has always wanted to grow hazel nuts, particularly English cobnuts. She only has about 10 cobnut trees, as, being a table nut for eating raw, they would not have as much commercial appeal as the more common round hazels that are easily blanched. She has one hazel block of 200 NZ Whiteheart trees and another block of 200 Tondo de Romana and Tondo de Giffany (Italian varieties). A third block is a mixture of 70 trees of mixed varieties, including the cobs. These were her original plantings to see which were best for this area.
The cobs and the Italians are by far the biggest croppers. The Whiteheart were initially a little disappointing, but there was a marked improvement this year once she did some vicious pruning, and she is hoping that next year will be even better. March should be in the middle of nut harvest.
She is able to sell all her hazels at markets and at the Nut Shop in Wellington. She does some added value, by cracking and roasting. It is very time consuming but pays off as they sell out very quickly.
Brenda also has a small chestnut orchard of 24 trees. It is interesting that the pollinators are by far the heaviest croppers, producing large juicy nuts. However, she has not been able to find a market for them.
She sells a few to people from Europe who love them, but many New Zealanders do not know what to do with them, so she has not bothered to harvest them for the last couple of years (leaving them for the wildlife).
On Cobtree Farm you can also see the diverse home orchard, some gevuinas, as well as some alpacas which she breeds. In March there should be a couple of babies.
Sabzi Organics.
Peter Macdonald and Rose Boyle
Sabzi Organics (www.SabziOrganics.com) in rural Horowhenua, was originally a 13-acre grazing block.
Co-owners Peter Macdonald and Rose Boyle have converted the property to a diverse organic property which became ‘Certified Organic’ in January 2004.
The company’s name and brand, Sabzi Organics, is derived from the Persian word for ‘eating greens’ (sabzi khordan).
The major certified organic fertility inputs they use are compost, lime, reactive phosphate rock, basalt-rich volcanic rock dusts, seaweed sprays, comfrey and compost teas.
Livestock are important fertility enhancers and pasture groomers in an integrated organic system. Peter and Rose currently run a couple of kune kune pigs as orchard fl oor cleaners, and also fatten a few cattle each season. They also managed a small herd of Boer goats for three years to help overcome a gorse problem in a woodlot area without resorting to sprays.
Sabzi Organics has developed a boutique mixed vegetable and fruit growing business specialising in direct delivery and the organic retail sector. Their main fruit lines are certified organic feijoas, plums, figs, lemons and limes. Their main nut line is certified organic hazelnuts. They also produce seasonal vegetables.
Peter and Rose are enthusiastic and knowledgeable advocates for growing crops organically, and those attending will gain valuable insights into the ‘how’ of growing as well as marketing your products.
Hanui. Don and Louis McIntyre
Don and Louis (and their children) are passionate farm foresters. They were awarded North Island Farm Forester of the year in 2003.
Their 130ha property, Hanui, has been in the family since Don’s father bought it in 1954. It consists of high terrace fl ats dissected by steep gullies, and is close to the Tararua ranges. Whilst salt-laden norwesters are the predominant wind, the farm is within the infamous narrow strip west of the ranges that suffers infrequent damaging winds from the east and southeast. The property name, Hanui, can be translated as ‘big wind’.
Woodlots have been planted in the steep gullies and maintained to a very high standard. The production thinnings and some of the harvested trees have been milled on the farm. Elsewhere on the flats a range of shelterbelt species are planted to good effect.
Don and Louis established one steep escarpment near the house in native trees, using seedlings that they raised themselves. This was registered as a QEII covenant in 2004.
Radiata pine is the main woodlot species, but substantial areas of other species have also done well. Of particular interest is a stand of Chinese fir, Cunninghamia lanceolata, one of the few coppicing conifers. There is also a range of eucalyptus species (globoidea, maculata, muellerana), poplar, redwoods and Cupressus torulosa and lusitanica.
The July 08 storm damaged parts of the farm quite badly. As always, there are lessons to be learnt in risk management of woodlots, and Don and Louis’ experience and insight will be particularly valuable to those who wish to learn more.
We are hoping that someone from the QEII National Trust will be attending to talk about covenanting land.
Field Trip 2
Victoria Line. Mike and Frances Beech
Mike and Frances Beech have a small property but a huge range of fruit trees, which includes many heirloom plum and apple varieties plus a wide range of soft fruits. The property is run on organic lines, though it has not been through the formal certification process.
The Beech’s property is a ‘museum’ of almost every plum variety that is available in New Zealand. They have around 60 varieties, old and new, including Purple King, Luisa, Watson, Fortune, Santa Rosa, Gem, Angelino and Kereru Gold.
Ironically, the property’s name, ‘Victoria Line’, is the name of an older plum variety that is no longer grown in New Zealand.
Mike also has around 105 varieties of apples (including many older, and some rare varieties), many pear varieties (Beurre Brown, Beurre Diel, Worden Seckel, as well as Nashi varieties). As if that is not enough, the Beeches also grow hazels, apricots, greengages, prunes, feijoas and prunes.
You will be impressed by Mike’s knowledge of growing, marketing and propagating.
Wirihana Whanau C2 Trust Block.
Wally Dyson
Wirihana Whanau C2 Trust block is behind Lake Horowhenua. Wally Dyson was a trustee for many years and the owners encouraged him to experiment with tree crop plantings on the land.
Part of the land includes the Pakipaki bush, an area of dune bush that was noted for its diversity of species in the 1800s. The only matai growing in this class of sand country in the Manawatu exists in this reserve.
Outside the reserve, Wally Dyson and Peter Kora have extended the forestry with a range of exotic and native species. Puriri, totara, kahikatea and kauri in particular are thriving in the range of microsites available in manuka shrubland.
On other sites, collections of weaving fl axes have been planted. Gevuina were doing well on the mineral sands but deer have recently damaged many of them.
Ginkgo, figs and plums have also been tried in various spots but have not been successful, partly due to heavy frosts.
Surprisingly heavy frosts have been recorded in hollows near the coast, and this limits many species. Slightly higher up the dunes, however, frost-tender puriri thrives.
In another area, a pine nut trial comprising selections of P. pinea, koraiensis, coulteri, torreyana, ayachahuite var Veitchii and armandii are doing exceptionally well.
Included in the trial are seedlings obtained from Prof Richardson (ex Motueka) who had selected low-growing forms to ease harvesting.
A diverse range of stringybark eucalypts, cypresses and wetlands also feature on this property.
Wally was awarded an environmental award for work on this property.
This is sure to be a fascinating field trip, and because of the size of the block, is likely to require transport on site via tractor and trailer. As part of the field trip we will have an update on pine nut research from Wally and Eric Cairns.
Field Trip 3
Andy and Carla Boag.
Walnuts, and Almonds
Andy and Carla’s attractive five-hectare property is planted with walnuts which have been there for seven years. They have planted the Rex variety. They also have around 100 olives trees (Frantoio) from which they produced 40 litres of oil this season, and a range of other nut trees: almonds, hazels and macadamia.
Their site is unique. Their home is a converted church, and they have a magnificent view looking over the orchards and gardens of Te Horo and Otaki to the coast and Kapiti Island.
The site for the 350 walnut trees has provided particular challenges.
The ground was deep-ripped initially to maximise drainage. They also discovered that new shoots were being munched by codling moth from the neighbouring apple orchard – a problem they addressed via a suitable spray programme. Carla is an advocate for the health qualities of walnuts. “It is a great brain food and I eat some daily.”
Andy and Carla are excited with the progress of their almond trees. While they have a small number of trees, they are thinking of finding ways of squeezing more into their site.
Diana Loader will talk on-site on research and development relating to walnuts.
Te Waka Grove.
Graeme and Chris Harris
Graeme and Chris purchased their 27-
acre block in 2000, and after many months of clearing old unkempt pine shelter belts, they planted 1000 olive trees during Labour Weekend. This now makes the trees eight years in the ground. The next year they planted another 1000 trees.
Right from the start they never saw their grove in a romantic lifestyle way, which is why they joined up with 4 other olive growers in 2002 to form Kapiti Olives Ltd (www.kapitiolives.co.nz). This gave them all the volume to become a commercially viable producer and marketer of olive oil. There are now three shareholders and between them they have around 6,000 trees.
The fact that Kapiti olive oil has won many awards over the last four years is the result of hard work, careful planning and the bonus that Te Horo’s local soils and climate produce unique and highly desirable flavours in the oil.
Graeme and Chris look forward to showing treecroppers around their grove, introducing visitors to their seven different varieties of olive trees and explaining their marketing strategy.
During the visit, Helen Walshaw, local olive grower and a director of Kapiti Olives Ltd will take us through a tasting session at which she explains how to assess olive oil quality. We will have the opportunity to apply our newly acquired skills by sampling a small selection of olive oils.
Te Horo Olives.
Elaine Stevens and Mary Harris
Established in 2000 by Mary and Elaine, Te Horo Olives (www.tehoro-olives.co.nz) is situated on the stony, silt loams of the Otaki River flats where the climate is conducive to the production of high quality extra virgin olive oil with exceptional flavours.
The first trees planted were the cultivars Barnea, Manzanillo, Picholene and Picual. Planting continued over the next two years with the addition of Frantoio and Koroneiki, reaching a total of 1200 trees.
The olives are processed on site, using a Pegaso 500 continuous process centrifugal press imported from Officine Meccaniche Toscane, Italy.
Te Horo Olives offers a processing service to growers in the region and will cater for both conventional and organic growers. The service is operated from a purpose-built press house meeting all food safety/ hygiene standards. Their objective is to process the olives within 24 hours of arrival to ensure the quality of the oil.
Until Mary and Elaine established their press, only small-volume presses were available in the region. Having access to a large-volume process has been a timely development for the region as the trees on many local groves approach maturity.
Elaine and Mary market their oil under the Te Horo Olives label.
Sunday 29 March 2009
Field Trip 4
Ron and Jill Humphreys.
Orchard and Kuku Kitchen
In many ways, Ron and Jill’s property is a ‘typical’ treecroppers’ property – a wide range of fruit and nut trees, with evidence of that treecropper spirit of trying out the ‘new’. For example they use the espalier system for their apple and plum trees and a netting system for the apples and plums that is ‘bound’ by threading bamboo stakes along the edge of the netting.
They have a range of citrus trees growing, mainly lemons, limes, lemonades, cumquats and Seville oranges, nut trees (including gevuinas and chestnuts), berries (including blueberries, and black currants) and plums (Omega, Luisa, Damson).
They also have loquats, crabapples, persimmons, figs, peaches, grapevines and quince. Although not registered as organic, Ron and Jill stick as closely as possible to organic and “no-spray” techniques.
This year Jill and Ron are planting 30 passionfruit vines, a crop that does well on their site.
A major impetus for their growing programme is the commercial kitchen that is on their property.
Through this they create product for their ‘Kuku Kitchen’ brand, and successfully market the results in the Horowhenua, Kapiti, Wellington regions.
Jill is always trying different combinations of produce to make delicious conserves, jellies and chutneys, such as Damson plum jam, apple and mint chutney, rosemary wine jelly and Seville orange marmalade Fortunately, we will have an opportunity to sample some of their products. And being able to grow product for their business is a major advantage, lessening the need to source produce elsewhere.
Lavender Creek Farm
Susi and Vaughan White
Susi and Vaughan (www.lavendercreek.co.nz) moved to the lavender farm in 2001. Susi is a registered nurse and owns a health food store in Wellington. Her interests are holistic health and healing.
She enjoys making lavender products from the lavender oil produced on the farm. They include lip balm, hand cream, shower gel, lavender oil and sleep aid.
Vaughan is a research scientist and very interested in growing organic grapes and winemaking.
The five hectares they live on includes 7000 lavender plants, grapes, olives, and coloured sheep. In 2002, Lavender Creek Farm won The Australian Lavender Growers’ Association Inc (Talga) award for best lavender oil.
On site they have modern B&B accommodation in a Tuscan-style building, and a press from which they produce oil from their lavender plants. They also provide a pressing service for other lavender growers.
Wendy and Phillip Hutchinson
Tamarillos and Cherries
When Wendy and Phillip bought their property the whole crop was kiwifruit. They soon realized that the crop was uneconomic on their site (as it is in much of the Kapiti region), and converted four acres to growing apples. They found that apples were similarly uneconomic. Their ‘journey’ to grow that elusive best crop has taken them to growing tamarillos and cherries. They are very happy with how the tamarillos are performing, while it is not yet clear just how well cherries will grow in the region.
They have about 1000 tamarillo plants which are planted in small, well-sheltered blocks, some of which are protected by a canopy for wind protection. They grow the Lairds Large variety, and they are growing true to form!
The plants are on mounded soil which means they are well protected from potentially wet soil. They prune their plants hard each year, and they get excellent new season’s growth which is required for fruiting.
In essence, they prune to encourage the formation of large fruit, rather than volume. They protect their fruit from the occasional frost by spraying Vapourguard and/or urea on the trees.
The tamarillos are irrigated, using a computerised system. The Hutchinsons have their own sorting and brush unit on site, which enables them to prepare the fruit for marketing. Their fruit is destined for the local market, and they have no problem selling it.
Growing cherries poses different challenges. They have five varieties, including Compact Stella and Roseanne. The trees are still young – around 4-5 years old.
All the cherry trees are planted in individual planter bags as a way of minimising tree vigour and encouraging the growth of the fruit. Unfortunately the roots of most trees have pierced the bags, and this has resulted in excessive foliage growth. At the time of writing this, blossoming is spectacular.
However, Wendy and Phillip have doubts concerning pollination and whether it is too cold during the pollination period.
The Hutchinson’s property is a very good example of a well-managed and maintained property. You will enjoy hearing how Wendy and Phillip have addressed the challenges of establishing a treecrop for the first time.
Field Trip 5
Stanmore Farm: Kate Gibbs
Grape and Olive Propagation
Stanmore Farm (www.stanmorefarm.co.nz) at Te Horo is a nursery committed to providing premium quality grafted grapevines and olive trees. They supply vines throughout New Zealand.
Viticulturalist Kate Gibbs is nationally recognized in the wine industry. In 2004 the Farm won the Kapiti-Horowhenua Land-Based Business of the Year Award and the Excellence in Marketing Award. Stanmore Farm is now also doing a lot of local vineyard development and management, such as the new Bishops Vineyard in Ohau.
The Farm also produces excellent berry fruit, and has recently developed a new range of jams which are in New World Supermarkets under the ‘Orchard Delight’ label. The coastal climate creates a combination of intense sunlight and vigorous temperature changes that induces the perfect combination of sweetness and tart in the ripe fruit, and for creating high levels of the all-important antioxidants as evidenced by the wonderful rich colour of the berries.
This was a highly successful field trip when the Wellington-Horowhenua branch hosted the national conference in 1997, and we expect this trip to be at least as interesting and worthwhile this time round.
Kapiti Gold Organics.
Ray and Jean Hollis.
Ray and Jean’s organic property has been fully BioGro certified since 1998.
They have over 600 olive trees. To meet growing and future demand for their organic olive oil they supplement their oil with certified organic olive oil from other growers, where possible in the Kapiti region.
They market their oil under The Organic Olive Oil (TriO) label.
They have also planted 1000 feijoa trees, a block of 90 or so figs, 40 pear trees, and over 100 disease-resistant grape vines for table grapes. All are producing well and sold mostly as fresh fruit to a range of retail outlets and markets, particularly in the lower North Island. They also supply a large volume of feijoas for the processing market.
A new development for Ray and Jean is the production of jams (feijoa, plum and fig) and chutney (feijoa) under the Gabby’s Organic Kitchen label. They plan to extend their range to include table olives and gherkins grown on their own property.
Ray and Jean have been at the forefront locally in promoting research into growing treecrops organically. They were one of the sites for NZTCA research into olives, and one of the lower North Island sites for growing figs (under the supervision of Eric Cairns).
More recently they have planted three of Waimea Nursery’s new varieties of feijoas (developed by NZTCA’s Roy Hart) which show promise as early season varieties, earlier than the standard “Unique” variety.
Ray and Jean’s enthusiasm for research and development has carried over into a grower-initiated compost trial based on 72 feijoa trees of the Triumph variety. A third of the trees receive no compost, another third two buckets each, and the final third four buckets each, twice yearly.
During the field trip there will be a report on the compost trial, a Waimea Nursery talk about the new feijoa varieties, and opportunities to consider the challenges associated with growing crops organically and how Ray and Jean attempt to meet these challenges.
Field Trip 6
Bill and Linda Pomroy
Hazelnuts
Bill and Linda Pomroy are in Scotts Road near Linton. In contrast to the McIntyres (Field Trip 1), their property is very sheltered and rarely receives damaging winds. Bill and Linda are leading hazel growers for our region. They are knowledgeable, freely share their information and set high standards of orchard management.
They planted hazelnuts when they first bought the property in 1989, at a time when little was known about the performance of the various varieties.
Bill is of a scientific bent, being an academic veterinarian at Massey University. In the early 1990s, an important hazelnut pollinator trial had been set up by Bruce Bullock at nearby Aokautere, but due to funding constraints and staff cuts, HortResearch were keen to terminate the trial. Central Districts Tree crops contributed to ground rental for two more years and working bees assisted with pruning, boron application and nut counts.
Bill played a pivotal role in coordinating, recording and analysing the trial data. The results of the Aokautere trial modified his choice of varieties for his own block, which now consists mostly of Barcelona and Butler with Merveille de Bollwiller and Alexandra as pollinators.
The nut crop is usually sold through the hazel nut cooperative in Christchurch. Bill uses a variety of shelter tree species including casuarinas, poplar, alders, blackwood, Eucalyptus fraxinoides and Banksia integrifolia.
Murray Redpath will give a research update on hazels on site.
Stewart and Carol Dixon.
Fig Trial and Young Apples.
The Dixon’s two-hectare property is a ‘project in progress’ with lifestyle rather than commercial goals in mind. Since joining NZTCA a few years ago, the Dixons have accumulated a range of fruit and ornamental trees that they’ve planted around the property (a miniarboretum in the making), and developed a few specific interests.
The property is home to an interesting fig trial under the watchful eye of Eric Cairns. For this trial the focus is on different training systems: Y-shaped structure, using four wires side by side, and using two tiers of two wires. The varieties being trialled are Harcourt Park, Brunswick, Robyn and Vlassoff.
During the field trip Eric will provide an update on the research here and on other sites within the region. The Dixons also have a few other fig varieties courtesy of Eric. Brunoro Black is a favourite dark fig.
Stewart has recently planted a small plot of Robinias. Robinias fix nitrogen, grow fast, provide great bee fodder and firewood, and provide durable in-ground posts. It’s said that you can cut a post out of the tree before lunch, hang a gate on it after lunch and forget it for 100 years!
A major interest for the Dixons is their 100 or so apple varieties, which include heritage and cider apples.
They started their collection about four years ago, so most trees are still immature, although they have ten varieties of 35-year-old trees planted by the previous owner.
Many of their apples are from the collection of Maurice and Yvonne Dellow of Otaki who have since sold their rural property.
One of the Dixons biggest challenges is how to keep the grass under control without resorting to sprays. Like many properties in the Levin area, their site was affected by winter storm damage, and they now have a very healthy supply of firewood, and a few scars to show for the experience.
Amendments
Please note that if there are unforeseen events (eg property sales) that require changes to the field trip programme, members will be advised via the NZTCA website (here) or emailed directly.
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