Field Days & Meetings
* Visitors welcome at all our functions.
This list of events is typical of what you can attend to learn about tree cropping.
Events are advertised by your local branch newsletter, which is included in your membership fee.
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 - Important note:
July 2010
Annual Tree and Plant Sale
Saturday 3 July Wet or Fine
10 am to 1 pm
Venue: Hamilton Gardens, Camellia Carpark
Enter Gate 2 from Cobham Drive. A short distance down, on the left, is the entrance to a large sealed area, with room for buyers and sellers to park.
Everyone welcome: gardeners, lifestyle and small block holders, farmers, nurseries. You can buy or sell, or do a little of both, look, talk trees and ask questions.
Buyers
Anything could turn up for sale on the day. First in - first served so don't be late! There will strictly be no sales prior to 10 am.
There will be a solid backstop of good quality grafted fruit and nut trees of all sorts, new and old varieties — including many varieties of citrus, apples, pears, plums, prune plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, feijoas, almonds, chestnuts, hazelnuts, berryfruit, ornamentals, farm trees and natives for shade and shelter, growing-on lines. Usually there are some more unusual cropping trees, such as pinenuts, pomegranates, carobs, macadamias, casimiroas, olives, water chestnuts, low chill apricots, persimmons and avocados.
Sellers
Set up and sell from your car-boot, trailer, ute or pavement. This is a great way to sell any self-sown or propagated trees or shrubs, seedlings, herbs, garden plants or any excess produce. Sellers should be in place by 9.30 am.
Commission on Sales: There are no site charges but a 10% commission on all sales is payable by sellers on the day, so please make sure you report to our treasurer Maurice Denton at the Tree Crops information tent before you leave. This money will be used for Tree Crop trials and projects within our Waikato Branch area.
June 2010
Winter Solstice
At Nick and Ros's, McClure St., Pirongia
Saturday 12 June
| 12 am | Get together for a shared lunch. |
| 1 pm | Tour of property. |
| 3 pm | Talk by 'bee-lady' Marcia, and discussion. |
| Bring a chair, some food to share, and plate/bowl/mug/eating utensils. | |
| Tea/coffee will be provided by the committee. | |
The owners are landscape architect Nick and conservation architect Ros. The property was a flat bare dairy farm paddock with a Lawson pine windbreak on one side (since milled) on the outskirts of Pirongia when they bought it twenty years ago. In 1990 they had a run-down circa 1870 heart timber (totara and kauri) villa-style homestead called Auburn relocated from a farm just over 3 km away. This characterful building was among the first houses built in the Mangapiko Parish after the Waikato land wars. It is a renovation in progress.
Initially they grew Christmas trees as a cash crop. They have subdivided the land down to a six acre section, now extensively planted with orchard (particularly damson plums) and specimen trees (including a Bunya Bunya pine), including some grown from plant material from the original homestead's Mangapiko site. Some native regeneration has been encouraged. They also have a grove of walnuts which were part of a Tree Crops research project.
Marcia is most passionate about bees and their importance in pollinating our crops. She'll suggest trees we can plant for them, as well as discuss Colony Collapse, which is decimating bee populations in the Northern Hemisphere. She'll also tell us about her "top-bar" hive.
May 2010
Tirau Weekend of Workshops (WoW) 22 - 23 May
Maurice Denton and Maxine Fraser are presenting a workshop:
‘Year-round fruit in the Waikato’;
Planting for year-round fruit for home consumption. Aspects include planning, sourcing, growing and maintaining an orchard for produce 12 months of the year.
| When: | Sunday 23 May, 9 am to 12 noon. |
| Cost: | $15, with a maximum number of 30 people. |
| To register, contact Diane | |
There is also possibly a grafting workshop by John Dean and Jim Peele.
For more info on other workshops, have a look at the website: http://tirauwow.homestead.com/index.html. The full programme is due by April 10.
Good atmosphere, good company, good food and learn something new, have a go at something different or make something special. Outdoor pursuits, the forgotten arts, the hobby you always wanted to try, skills and crafts like you have never seen before... over 100 unique and interesting workshops will be on offer throughout the weekend to stimulate and entertain.
Field Day at Rob and Di’s,
Woolrich Rd, Te Kowhai
Saturday 16 May 10.30 am
Directions: Woolrich Rd is off Horotiu Rd, first on the right south of Te Kowhai OR second on the left North of Whatawhata.
| 10.30 am | Get together for a cuppa and chat. |
| 11 am | Tour of property. |
| 1 pm | Lunch followed by a further look around. |
| Bring a chair, lunch and a mug. Tea/coffee will be provided by the committee. | |
Yes, you may have been here before. At the 2006 Christmas function, the property was in the early stages of development. Discussions were around planning, planting, wind and micro-climates. The 11 acres are being developed into a park with ponds, woodlots and a lot of exotic trees. The house has been built, berry garden, vegetable garden and citrus grove have been established, plus plantings of hazelnuts, plums, apples and olives.
Join us in discussions of: future development; wind shelters; edible jungles; beneficial fowl (chooks, ducks etc); integration of productive trees into gardens; mistakes we have made; and what else we can try.
April 2010
Field Day at Peplers’, Te Kauwhata
Sunday April 18 12 noon
Hosts: Belinda and Tony — Visit www.peplers.co.nz
Directions: From SH1, take the Te Kauwhata Rd turnoff and Peplers orchard is at 78 Travers Rd which is the second road on the left.
| 12 am | Get together at the orchard for a cuppa and chat and lunch. |
| 12.30 pm | History of homestead, orchard, packing shed and a tour of the orchard. |
| 1.30 pm | Tour of processing facilities and shop (5C Main St, Te Kauwhata). |
| There will be tasting of products and a full range available for purchase. |
Bring a chair, lunch and a mug. Tea/coffee will be provided by the committee.
Peplers focus on old-fashioned recipes. A team of grandmothers (‘nana-technology’!) make their range of Peplers jams, mustards, chutneys, sauces and vinaigrettes. Among the most popular products are the vinaigrettes (black raspberry, tamarillo, mango, strawberry and white wine).
The business was started by Belinda’s aunt and uncle, June and Colin Pepler, about 25 years ago. Belinda and Tony are carrying on with the vision whilst adding their own flavours, including a hot new range with chillies. They “bought a couple of acres” and replanted the old orchard with black doris plums, quince and crab apples. “They are those old-fashioned fruit you can’t buy commercially” says Belinda.
More than 300 different ingredients are used across the range of products, many of which are grown in their orchard or sourced locally.
Some of the details above were extracted from the article ‘Just like nana makes’ by Kate Monahan, published in Tempo, Waikato Times, Wednesday February 24, 2010.
2010 March 25th ~ 28th —
2010 NZTCA NATIONAL CONFERENCE - Christchurch - more details...
July 2009
Tree and Plant Sale 2009
Venue: Hamilton Gardens, Camellia Carpark
Enter Gate 2 from Cobham Drive. A short distance down, on the left, is the entrance to a large sealed area, with room for buyers and sellers to park.
Everyone welcome: gardeners, lifestyle and small block holders, farmers, nurseries, hobby propagators. Tell your friends and neighbours about it – you don't need to be members to attend. You can buy or sell, or do a little of both, look, talk trees and ask questions.
Buyers
Almost anything could turn up. We make no promises so it pays to come along and check out what appears on the day. First in first served. Don't be late!
There will be a solid backstop of good quality grafted fruit and nut trees of all sorts, new and old varieties – including many varieties of citrus, apples, pears, plums, prune plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, feijoas, almonds, chestnuts, hazelnuts, berryfruit, ornamentals, farm trees and natives for shade and shelter, growing-on lines. Usually there are some more unusual cropping trees, such as pinenuts, pomegranates, carobs, macadamias, casimiroas, olives, water chestnuts, low chill apricots, persimmons and avocados.
Sellers
Set up and sell from your car-boot, trailer, ute or pavement. This is a great way to sell any self-sown or propagated trees or shrubs, seedlings, herbs, garden plants or any excess produce. Sellers should be in place by 9.30am.
Commission on Sales
There are no site charges but a 10% commission on all sales is payable by sellers on the day, so please make sure you report to our treasurer Maurice Denton at the Tree Crops information tent before you leave. This money will be used for Tree Crop trials and projects within our Waikato Branch area.
For more information, contact:
Rob Potter (Chairman)
Maurice Denton (Treasurer)
Maxine Fraser (Secretary)
February 2009
Field day / AGM / BBQ
Saturday 28 February 2009
Where
At Maurice’s & Margaret’s lifestyle block, State Highway 1, Tokoroa.
- This is 16.4 km from the Putaruru roundabout, on your right as you travel south.
- Coming from the south, it is 6 km from the Tokoroa Information Centre.
- Watch for our Tree Crops sign.
- Traffic from the north – take care when crossing this busy highway.
Programme
10.30 Arrive, cuppa, introduction to the property.
11.00 Walk-about starts. There is heaps to see, so don’t be late.
12.30 Lunch. Hogget on a spit should be nicely cooked by then. Please bring contributions for a shared lunch (salads/desserts). BYO plates, mugs, cutlery. Committee will supply tea, coffee & fruit juices.
1.30 AGM (See agenda enclosed with this newsletter.)
2.30 (or sooner). See more features…..
Plus 2 boxes of donated 2nd hand books on tree crops and gardening for sale. (Proceeds for Branch funds.)
Plus Some donated plants available for purchase, proceeds for branch funds – bring some money!
Property features
- Approx 15 acres of fruit trees, nuts & berries, aged anywhere between 20 weeks and 20 years.
- Maurice has been “testing the boundaries” – finding out just what can be grown in his climate of frosty winters and hot summers.
- Some unusual items are included in his plantings.
- Most of the area is also grazed by sheep, so you can check out what is needed to successfully protect plants from animals.
- To protect crops from birds Maurice has a netted area plus a berry house.
- Some protection from frosts is provided by natural shelter. There is also an innovative retractable cover.
- Hopefully the nashi should be ripe & ready for tasting.
- Maurice has a range of equipment (usual & unusual) which (mostly) enables him to cope with the work.
Above: An unusual tree on the property. Will it fruit?
This day will be a busy one filled with a wide range of interesting features for members whether from the north or south. For the 3Ts group – we haven’t seen many of you lately – here’s your chance – this field day has many features applicable to your properties.
September 2008
What's New?
A member found a very productive old apricot tree at a Hamilton property. We will propagate from this tree to see how the next generation performs.
We managed to secure scionwood from the new, unusual, red-fleshed apple 'Tropicana' featured in the June 2008 TreeCropper, and are getting some grafted.
Fuyu non-astringent persimmons were in hot demand at our Tree Sale. So we will propagate some Jiro, another non-astringent variety.
We had an enquiry re the Black Chokeberry, so checked. Their fruit makes delicious pies and jellies. We find that plants are available from Appleton's Nurseries.
The Goji Berries we distributed have disappointed many who got them. However, some members have theirs fruiting, so it seem most of us just didn't understand how to provide suitable conditions and care.
We investigated what we thought was a big old olive tree fruiting heavily near Hamilton. It turned out to be our NZ native, Maire, which is closely related to olives. Sadly, the fruit when pressed failed to deliver a significant quantity of oil.
Meanwhile, Dr David Klinac is researching our karaka as a potential nut crop. Special processing techniques will be needed to eliminate the poison factor. Our Branch contributed $1000 towards this research.
We are conducting research to identify less blight-susceptible walnuts suitable for the Waikato. (See page 3.)
We think the Waikato, especially South Waikato, presents a great opportunity for commercial hazel production and processing. We will be supporting hazel guru Murray Redpath in a new hazel research project next year.
Tree Sale 2009 - Building on the success of the 2008 sale, we are planning for a bigger, better sale next year, on Sat 4th July 2009. Your small committee needs the help of ordinary members to help with setting up and manning stalls. If you think you can help on the day, or if you have a ute or trailer available for transporting trees or gear, please let us know. We need to know well in advance if we can get a few extra helpers, before we order extra trees. Please contact Jim or Maurice (contact details at end of newsletter).
-from Waikato & Thames-Coromandel Branches newsletter, October 2008, Page 10
- When:
- Monday 22 September, 7:30pm
- What:
- Grafting Workshop with Stuart Rentoul
- Where:
- Hill Laboratories, 1 Clyde St. Hamilton. Park in Hill Laboratories car park on the right.
- Details:
- You will be amazed how easy it is to master the basic skills of grafting. Experienced nurseryman Stuart Rentoul will be our demonstrator, ably assisted by Maurice Denton. You graft, you take home. There is no charge and visitors are welcome. If there is surplus rootstock at the end of the evening, it will be available for purchase, so bring some gold coins. Extra grafting tape will also be available at about $5/roll.
What to bring:
Secateurs
Grafting knife or something sharp such as a stanley or craft knife (with a new blade).
Scionwood - It’s still not too late to collect scionwood. If you’ve got some old or unusual varieties of trees please bring some scionwood to share. See June newsletter p10 for details. There will be some scion wood available if you haven’t got any.
We Supply:
Grafting tape
Apple & pear rootstock
July 2008
Tree and Plant Sale 2008
Supported by nurseries and growers from a wide area
10% commission on sales to the Tree Crops Association to fund tree crop research
Something for everyone. Fruit & nut trees. Shrubs. Produce.
Trees for shade and shelter. Growing-on lines. Natives.
Where
Hamilton Gardens Camellia Carpark Enter Gate 2 from Cobham Drive, nearly opposite Grey Street. A short distance down the drive, on the left, is the entrance to the carpark. This is a large sealed area, with room for buyers and sellers to park.
Social Occasion
Even if you don't intend to buy or sell, come along anyway. Dally a while, browse, chat and have a snack.
Who Can Come
It is open to all. Tell your friends and neighbours about it – they don't need to be members to attend. You can buy or sell, or do a little of both, look, talk trees and ask questions, or just come to find out what it is all about.
What to Bring
Practically anything! Grafted fruit and nut trees. Cuttings of trees and shrubs. Seedlings of all sorts. Garden plants.
What you can buy
Almost anything could turn up on the day. But there will be a solid backstop of good quality grafted fruit and nut trees of all sorts, new and old varieties – including many varieties of citrus (including acid free), varieties of plums, heritage and high health apples and hazelnuts, ornamentals, farm trees and natives.
The Unusual
Usually there are some more unusual cropping trees, such as pinenuts, pomegranates and carobs. On occasions we have had macadamias offered, casimiroas and olives. There could also be low chill apricots, persimmons and avocados. We make no promises, but sometimes it happens, so it pays to come along and check out what appears on the day. Remember, always expect the unexpected!
June 2008
Visit to the Greenspace, 1pm Saturday 14 June
Te Aroha St., Hamilton
The Greenspace is the home of a business developed by Tree Crops member Annie and her husband Dave. Together, they have modified a character bungalow into a unique meeting and business environment that is a blend of eco-friendly design and high-tech features. Outside, Annie has worked with permaculture principles to integrate tree and berry crops with salad and other vegetables. Come and have a look, see a video of how the bungalow was modified, the gardens developed and what they look like now. Annie is keen to hear how the young trees can be pruned to fit the site. Tea and coffee provided.
May 2008
BioChar, Composting, Citrus Pruning
1pm Sunday 18 May
Meet at McInnes Place for a demonstration of how to easily produce biochar from prunings and a compost-based winter garden, followed by afternoon tea and a discussion on pruning of a variety of citrus in the Waikato at Glen Lynne Ave. Access to the McInnes Place section is steep, assistance willingly provided. Bring raincoats if the day is wet.
Ever wanted to see a P-lab? Before you rush off to contact the police, Alfred hastens to add that it is a pyrolysis lab! Pyrolysis is the name for the process used to manufacture biochar, which is promoted as one of THE big options for reducing global climate change. Hear the whys and wherefores and see how it can be a simple DIY project, using up all those old prunings hanging around your section. Alfred also runs a large compost-based winter garden in this gully section and has some experiments underway on pruning a variety of citrus to discuss over afternoon tea.
April 2008
Friday 25 - Sunday 27 April 2008
Eastwoodhill Road Trip – ANZAC Weekend 2008 -
Join the luxury coach from Hamilton (via Tauranga) to the autumn glory of Eastwoodhill Arboretum - more details...
March 2008
2008 March 28~30th - NZ Tree Crops Association National Conference, CROMWELL!
February 2008
Hi Folks,
It's our AGM on 24 February, at Bethy's place near KioKio. On wet or fine.
The day begins at 10:30am with a cuppa and tour of her property.
23 February is the Goodlife Expo at the Hamilton Gardens. Check your latest newsletter for details of both events.
Please don't forget the AGM.
See you there.
Regards,
Jim.
January 2008
Walnut trial day - Saturday 12 January
Nick and Ros's place, McClure Street Pirongia - beginning with lunch and a discussion at 12noon.
Bring your own lunch. Your branch will provide tea and coffee.
Check your December newsletter for more detail.
November 2007
Hi Folks -
The 25 November is the day of our end of year function and final field day of the year.
The day starts at 10:30am with a cuppa. We tour the property at about 11:00am followed by lunch at approximately 12:30pm.
Maureen is our host. She lives at Maungakawa Road, Te Miro. If you are coming from Hamilton, she is on the left about 3km past the Te Miro School. Tree Crops signs will identify the location.
The committee will provide some wine, some fruit juice, 5kgs of sausages, some condiments, and tea, coffee and biscuits. There will also be a spit roasted lamb.
This is a pot luck event, so please bring two courses. Please be generous with portions. Don't forget your eating and drinking equipment and some of your favourite tipple if you wish.
For more details refer to Page 2 in your November(December) Newsletter.
Hope to see you there,
Cheers,
Jim.
October 2007
Saturday 13 October. Tree Crops FD.
Our field day at the property of Roland and Annette, Robertson Road off Whatawhata Road 3km out of Dinsdale begins at noon with lunch (bring your own). Tour of the property begins at 1:00pm sharp. Check your September newletter for details.
The committee will provide tea and coffee. Bring a cup.
You will also be able to purchase the Mortimer's book "Trees and Their Bark" for $10 a copy.
Hope you can make the field day.
Jim.
September 2007
Hi Folks,
Have you collected your scion (grafting ) wood for our grafting evening? If not you may still have time.
Do you have any old varieties of fruit trees in your area that are still producing good quality fruit with little or no human intervention? If so please see if you can acquire some scion wood from them for your own use and for sharing with others at our grafting evening. Your committee has been asked if our Branch would be interested in assisting with sourcing and planting high health easy care fruit trees on public land in parts of the Waipa County, a request we are giving serious consideration to. Historical Societies often have knowledge of such trees.
Collecting Scion Wood.
You will need:- secateurs, rubber bands, plastic bags (bread bags are ideal), waterproof labels and a marking pen.
Choose healthy wood that has grown during the past growing season. Check to see that the buds are all in good condition and are not about to burst into life. Water shoots which grow straight up make good grafting/scion wood. Trim your shoots to about 250mm-300mm in length. Shorter lengths are fine too.
Bundle and label shoots from each tree as you go. Place in your pastic bag until you have enough to loosely fill the bag. Wrap the cut ends in soggy absorbent paper such as newspaper, place back in your plastic bag, soggy paper end first, tie off the bag and place on a shelf in your fridge door as soon as possible. Your grafting wood is less likely to be damaged stored in the door of your fridge.
We expect to have root stock suitable for grafting pip and stone fruit, but unfortunately we cannot guaranty this.
Time is running out fast for collecting scion wood. The weather over the next few days is supposed to be free of rain, so if you can , do your collecting then.
Hope to see you at our grafting evening on a Monday evening around the middle of September. Details in our next newsletter.
Jim.
July 2007
Tree and Plant Sale 2007
Saturday 7 July 10.00 am — 1.00pm (approx)
- Everyone welcome (Tell your Friends)
- Many types of trees & plants
- Bring and buy
- Bargains galore
- Some unusual items
- Supported by nurseries and growers from a wide area
- 10% commission on sales to WTCA to fund local research
- Our sale will take place wet or fine.
Stall holders set up from 9:30am
Hamilton Gardens Camellia Carpark – Gate2
Enter from Cobham Drive, nearly opposite Grey Street. A short distance down the drive, on the left, is the entrance to the carpark. This is a large sealed area, with room for buyers and sellers to park.
- Something for everyone!!
- Fruit & nut trees
- Shrubs
- Produce
- Trees for shade and shelter
- Growing-on lines
- Natives
Social Occasion
Even if you don't intend to buy or sell, come along anyway. Dally a while, browse chat and have a snack.
Who Can Come
It is open to all. Tell your friends and neighbours about it - they don't need to be members to attend. You can buy or sell, or do a little of both, look, talk trees and ask questions, or just come to find out what it is all about.
What to Bring
Practically anything! Grafted fruit and nut trees. Cuttings of trees and shrubs. Seedlings of all sorts. Garden plants.
What you can buy
Almost anything could turn up on the day. But there will be a solid backstop of good quality grafted fruit and nut trees of all sorts, new and old varieties - including many varieties of citrus (including acid free), varieties of plums, heritage and high health apples and hazelnuts, ornamentals, farm trees and natives.
The Unusual
Usually there are some more unusual cropping trees, such as pinenuts, pomegranates and carobs. On occasions we have had macadamias offered, casimiroas and olives. There could also be low chill apricots, persimmons and avocados. We make no promises, but sometimes it happens, so it pays to come along and check out what appears on the day. Remember, always expect the unexpected!
Commission on Sales
10% commission on all sales will be payable on the day. This money will be used for Tree Crop projects within our Waikato Branch area. No site charges.
June 2007
- When:
- Saturday 23 June (our shortest day). Arrive from 12.00 noon.
- What:
- Mid-winter Feast
- Where:
- View Rd, Te Kuiti - will be signs posted
- Details:
-
- Festive pot luck (shared) lunch.
- Bring a main course and nibbles or a dessert. There are some facilities for reheating food.
- If possible bring along something to share which you’ve made from your own tree crop, eg fruit cake, mead or whatever.
- Bring your favourite tipple, be it wine (homemade or otherwise), or juice.
- The committee will provide tea and coffee.
- Bring your own mugs, plates, cutlery and serving spoons, etc.
- After lunch there will be an opportunity to stroll round the top-of-the-hill paradise and see their great collection of tree crop species, including sub-tropicals. This will surprise many who think of Te Kuiti as part of the “Cold South”.
Background Our hosts were two of our very early good keen treecroppers, John being Waikato Branch Chairman and Pauline tree recorder. They travelled hundreds of kilometres, locating, assessing and recording nut trees and talking to owners. With no such things as grafted nuts available from nurseries, growing and grafting our own was the only way to get trees, but first we had find them. John was one of the very few to successfully graft walnuts in his homemade grafting box. They started out as commercial potato growers, moving on to berryfruit, spray contracting and finally beekeeping. (There are hives on the property, so allergy sufferers should bring their antihistamines.)
Celebration Bear in mind that this is a fun day, a mid-winter celebration, so come prepared to enjoy good friends, good food, and good treecropping.
2007 April 13-15th Tree Crops Association National Conference 2007, in review