Franklin Branch

2014 Grafting Workshop

Sunday 17th August, 10:00 am start at Ian Laing’s barn.

MM6 rootstock will be available at $3 each.  This is your chance to learn to graft with expert assistance and then take home and plant your new trees.

Please bring scion wood for the tree you are wanting to grow – save the wood of the same thickness from any prunings in July.

We will have some donated scion wood but varieties won’t be known until closer to the date.
 

Visit to David & Tiffany’s – Sunday 27 July 2014, 1pm.

Waikato Branch Field Day.
Ohinewai North Road
More information see Waikato Branch event.

Lifestyle Block books available, so please bring some money;
How to Care for your Poultry
How to Care for your Poultry Vol 2
All you need to know to make beautiful Breads

[Web management apologises for omitting this event from the All-Events Calendar]

2014 Franklin Pruning Workshop

Saturday July 5th, 1.00pm – meet at Pukekohe High School.  The Glasgow Road entrance has easy access to the orchard.

We will spend 1 to 1.5 hours here pruning Persimmon, Pears and Kiwifruit. Please everyone, bring your own secateurs/loppers and have a go (ladders are not required).

Then it is on to Ian Cooper’s place at Upper Queen Street for a look around the orchard (plums, avocados and the opportunity to prune some pears and apples), the glasshouse (bananas have bunches at the moment) and to have afternoon tea.

Field day will go ahead regardless of the weather.  Car pooling available from the school.
 

Sunday smallBlock Seminar

Sunday June 22nd, 10.00 am for setup, doors open at 12 noon.
Puni School Hall, 343 Waiuku Road, Pukekohe

This second seminar series is for people who want to get more out of their lifestyle block.

We will again have a good turnout from non-TCA people and need your assistance on the day for set up (from 10:00 am) and for looking after visitors to the seminar (from 12 noon).

Please let Raewyn know how you can help:

 

Franklin Branch August 2014 Grafting Workshop

We plan to hold our Apple grafting workshop this August, date still to be advised.

We will have rootstock available at $3 each.
This will be MM106, a medium size tree and the rootstock will be approximately 6 to 8mm diameter (pencil thickness).

This is your chance to learn to graft with expert assistance and then take home and plant your new trees.

Please bring the scion wood of what tree you are wanting, save the wood of the same thickness from any prunings in July.
We will have some donated scion wood but varieties won’t be known until closer to the date.

We will keep you updated but if you want to let us know how many rootstocks you need, please email me.
This is to ensure we have enough for everyone.

Heather Douglas

Franklin Branch visit to Auckland Botanic Gardens

Sunday May 4th, 1.00pm – meet in the main Visitor Centre.

Botanic Gardens – with Nicky Reynolds. 
A tour through the Subtropical section and the nurseries. 
We can also purchase plants from the sales table.

Anyone who wants to go early can have lunch at the Miko Cafe before, very good food. 
There will be plants for sale, please bring cash.

AT: Godfrey and Jackie’s – Gordonton Road at 1:30pm on Sunday March 16

Godfrey and Jackie Larsen (long-time chestnut growers) specialise in running a “pick-your-own” orchard.

‘Chestnuts at Gordonton’ – will be an opportunity for people to walk around and see chestnut trees, some harvest equipment and grading facilities.  Those who want may also be able to do some “pick your own” as the season may have already started.

There will also be some samples of chestnut flour, crumb and other products on display and a talk about the various R&D trials taking place this year.  Some NZTCA members may like to be involved with (if only as a taste panel!).

For those that are especially interested, we can then go to the “factory” we use for our chestnut research trials at Gordonton Rd (about 5 mins drive away).  This is where we have the various shelling and crumbing machines and the fig block described in a recent TreeCropper “Help wanted” article.

We may not have all the machines set up and running but we can show you some of them and photos of them in action along with samples of the products they produce, some of which you can take away with you and experiment with yourselves.

(NB: parking is limited at the factory site, however, so depending how many people are interested we may “car pool” from Godfrey’s)

Others who may not be so interested in the factory side of things (its very basic…don’t get too excited) might like to head on down the road another 5 minutes and visit the Zealong Tea Company, a very impressive NZ-run asian-style tea growing and processing operation.  It is well set up for visitors with good catering facilities, tea rooms, food etc as well as a “statue garden”.

Nearby to both Godfrey’s orchard and the factory, at Gordonton township itself, is “The Farm Shop” which will also be of interest to treecroppers.  It’s like a farmer’s market selling locally farmer produce exclusively but in a shop format.

David Klinac