Contents 2 From the editor 4 President’s report 5 Citrus census 10 Colourful new leaf growth 12 Subtropicals to market 18 Edible weeds and greens 22 Loquats 26 Branch research trials 27 Measuring anthocyanins in honeyberries 30 Field trip to Gloriavale 34 Grafting glove trials 38 Blackcurrants as performance enhancers 39 Pips & Pieces
Contents 2 From the editor 3 President’s report 5 Your emails 6 Hazels & hotboxes 8 Foraging for native seeds & berries 13 Northland field trip 14 Nelson preserves day 16 Cherry guavas 19 Dr Don McKenzie Award recipients 20 Pest plant: Darwin's barberry 21 Jelly palm 24 Harricado avocado 26 Creating a rain garden 31 Lavendar Creek Farm 34 Dick Roberts Photo Competition 37 Knowledge in a nutshell: Neil D & Barbara S 40 Te Horo Harvest Farm 44 Heritage orchard collections 47 Pips & Pieces
Nomination for Don McKenzie award, awarded annually to a member who has made a ‘significant contribution to Tree Crops.’ Nominating Branch: Waikato Bob and Ann have been long time members, and invested time, effort and love into local Nelson Branch and at a national level. The current membership system only goes back to 1988, so finding a date that Bob and Ann joined was difficult. The best we can tell is that they joined in 1986, when there was a three day visit to Marlborough by Nelson branch. And even from that date they were enthusiastic, helpful and generous members, [...]
The annual Tree Crops photo competition in memory of professional photographer and dedicated tree cropper Dick Roberts was presented at the 2023 NZTCA Conference in Otaki. Congratulations to Linda Stopforth (Wellington-Horowhenua) for taking both 1st and 3rd placings and to Annette Ah Chee (Waikato) for runner up. National president David Whyte presents Linda Stopforth with Dick Roberts trophy. Forming Medlar Fruit - 1st Linda Stopforth of Wellington-Horowhenua Australian bush tucker in NZ - 2nd Annette Ah Chee of Waikato Ladybird on hazelnuts - 3rd Linda Stopforth of Wellington-Horowhenua
Contents 2 From the editor 3 President’s report 5 Your emails 6 Elderslie Estate 12 Forage fodder 17 Robb's field trip 20 Chestnut timber, truffles & extraction 25 Jim Dunckley Heritage Orchard 27 Apple varieties to grow 30 Table grapes 36 Index 38 New dragonfruit varieties 39 Pips & Pieces
By Anna-Marie Barnes This article was originally published on lifestyleblock.co.nz. Most Kiwis are familiar with blackcurrants – those pungent, tart, vitamin C and antioxidant-loaded black spheres (even if it is via over-sweetened Ribena drinks consumed as a child). Blackcurrants are cold-hardy and prolific, ripe about now in mid-December, and certainly worth having in the garden for cooked desserts, cordials and preserves – though in my experience, only the toughest of the tough can eat mouth-puckering blackcurrants fresh in any great quantity. Did you know that blackcurrants have some lesser-known relatives which are much milder on the palate and can even [...]
By Anna-Marie Barnes This article was originally published on lifestyleblock.co.nz. I’m pretty sure kiwifruit takes centre stage as New Zealand’s national fruit, but I reckon the feijoa runs a very close second. Supermarket shelves, greengrocers’ bins and roadside stalls are bursting with these fragrant green grenades in autumn, not to mention the many hundreds more littering lawns throughout the nation. You either love or hate the floral-medicinal flavour of these fruits, although like olives, capers and anchovies, an acquired taste can develop over time. My Mum never partook in the feijoa frenzy when I was a child, but during the [...]
By Anna-Marie Barnes This article was originally published on lifestyleblock.co.nz. I have a busy weekend ahead of me – my first case of apricots has arrived from Central Otago and predictably, the mercury is still hovering around 29°C at 4.30 pm. I’ll be spending most of my weekend in the kitchen, engulfed in a cloud of steam, with a sticky bench and even stickier complexion. Is it worth it? Absolutely. In the depths of winter, nothing can brighten a dull day better than the glow of bottled apricots with your morning cereal, a tubful tucked into a packed lunch or [...]
By Anna-Marie Barnes This article was originally published on lifestyleblock.co.nz. I spent a good chunk of my summer break up a ladder and on the carport roof picking plums and lowering laden buckets down via a rope to my parents, waiting expectantly below. It’s become somewhat of a ritual and we make deliveries of bags and boxfuls around the neighbourhood afterward, as there is far more fruit than we can handle. The trees are seedlings, resulting from stones hurled out the back door and into the undergrowth in summers past. We’ve ended up with an Omega-like wannabe that’s ripe in [...]
By Anna-Marie Barnes This article was originally published on lifestyleblock.co.nz. The dark red, velvet-skinned, late season peach beloved of many a Kiwi has recently undergone a name update, bringing it firmly in to the 21st century. Sanguine peach, blood peach, Pêche de Vigne (peach of the grapevine; vineyard peach) or simply, as I heard recently – purple peach – call it what you may, this fruit holds a special place in the hearts of countless New Zealanders. I’d like to contribute a suggestion of my own – given this fruit’s ability to produce quick-maturing trees that come reasonably true from [...]
