Nelson Branch

Branch contact - nelson@treecrops.org.nz
The national calendar of events below shows events for all branches.

The posts below show archived events and news that were mainly published prior to the switch to using one events calendar for all branches.

Nelson Branch – Richards Orchard

Richards Orchard — Sat 28 March — 1 pm

Katrina says:
“I hope to have 20-25 apple varieties on hand for a tasting session, maybe more.
These might include Adam’s Pearmain, Akane, Belle de Boskoop, Bramley’s Seedling, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Criterion, Dayton, Dunn’s Seedling, Fiesta, Gala, Geheimrat Oldenburg, Gewürtzluiken, Golden Delicious, Idared, Jonagold, Jonathan, Liberty, Lobo, Monty’s Surprise, Royal Gala, Sir Prize, Spartan, Takapuna Russett and Telstar.”
“We are a small family owned orchard with a commercial export crop of apples (leased out) and a roadside stall. Eric (Grandfather) bought the orchard in 1944, having picked fruit here in 1938. My parents John and Brigitte took over in 1969. They are foundation members of Tree Crops and over the years have planted fruit, nuts and timber trees of many kinds, some in the orchard and some in our “lifestyle” farm. I have been involved in running the stall since 2004. Our webpage at www.fruitstall.co.nz has photos of our fruit and descriptions.
“From January to August/September, we progressively sell about 60 kinds of apples, about 20 pears, 30 or more varieties of plums, plus greengages, quinces, damsons, zwetschen (prune) plums, and some stone fruit. Many of our apple varieties were collected by John and Brigitte from DSIR Research Orchards in the 1970s, some are more recently acquired, and some are seedlings.” [Abridged for privacy]

Venue: 668 The Coastal Highway, between Bronte and Trafalgar roads.
Look for blue signs.
Parking at the apple stall. The visit will include the adjacent orchard.

Contact: Katrina. We can provide cups of tea/coffee but people should bring folding chairs as we are short on seating. If it rains we can move inside one of the sheds.
Sales table/auction!

Nelson Branch – AGM in Moutere Hills — February 2015

AGM in Moutere Hills — Saturday 28 Feb — 6 pm

The AGM will be held at Jennie and Tony’s property.
Wet or fine. Potluck supper, BYO finger food. Tea and coffee provided.
Bring plates and something for the sales table too!
Venue Moutere Highway. Chairman Bob promises a brief meeting.
You might like to bring a deck chair and sun hat.

Tony says:

“Our property is a 40 acre Moutere Hills block, on the Moutere Highway in Harakeke. Property was bought as a bare grazing block with scrub growing on the steep hill sites bordering the Highway. We have owned the property almost three years.
Although the majority remains in grazing (Perendale sheep and some cattle), we are gradually increasing the tree coverage, being it gullies set off for native revegetation, home orchard, slip control plantings or oaks of various description. It is certainly still very much in its early years and further plantings are still planned for.
Currently though we are very much focussed on getting our second adobe block (mud brick) house up, which has been a project and a half by itself (but that is a different story). Hopefully by the time of the AGM we should be all enclosed and at a finishing stage, but likely still living in the shed on-site.”

Event cannot be listed in national All-Events calendar until date and time are advised please

Nelson Branch – 2014 Christmas function, olives plus

Christmas function — Saturday 6 December — 5 pm

Lyn and Tim have kindly offered to host this. We will start with a property walkabout followed by the usual shared meal. Branch to supply sausages and fruit juice, attendees to bring salad or dessert (or both) to share and own BYO drinks. And of course a sales table contribution.

Lyn says: “The property is mainly in olives, these are the Tuscan varieties Frantoio and Lecchino which are pressed for oil. There is also an area we are converting to a fruit and nut block, which currently has almonds, apricots and feijoas. There is a house orchard with a variety of trees and plans for expansion as pine trees are removed. We also have free range chooks and a productive veggie garden. The whole property is a work in progress. Come and see the pleasures and pitfalls of growing on sandy soil by the beach!”

Venue is Broadsea Avenue, Ruby Bay (turn off Stafford Drive into Tait, then Broadsea).
If wet weather then Sunday 7.

Nelson Branch – Jester House – permaculture, crop rotation and their trees

Jester House — Saturday 8 November — 2 – 4 pm

The Jester House café was started in a converted 1920’s cottage by Judy and Steve Richards in November 1991 and was the first rural café in the Tasman district. It has since been rebuilt in a ‘modern medieval’ theme using post and beam construction with light earth infill. There are many green features, plus garden sculptures and art work.

The café is open from 9.00 am until 5.00pm seven days a week, serving breakfasts, lunches and teas. Everything is made on site including all the breads, cakes, sauces and dressings to ensure the flavours are unique to Jester House. You can have lunch there beforehand (best to book a table on 03 5266742) if you wish, or buy a drink and socialise a bit afterwards.

Venue is Jester House, 320 Aporo Road in Tasman.
Please gather promptly on the lawn by the wishing well by 2pm then Steve will take us through to the private garden. He will talk about permaculture, crop rotation and their trees.
www.jesterhouse.co.nz

Nelson Branch – Hydroponics with Herbs, then Macadamias

Hydroponics with Herbs then Macadamias
Sunday 7 September 1.30 pm

(1) Mike and Caroline are the owners of Fresh and Fancy Hydroponics which supply a variety of lettuces and herbs to restaurants and grocery stores from Nelson to Takaka. They average 4000 lettuces per week in the winter to 7000 lettuces per week in the summer months. This doesn’t take into account the wonderful selection of herbs that are also grown hydroponically.
They have three main glass houses as well as outside gullies. Our host, Mike, will be happy to give us a quick tour which will take about an hour.
Venue: corner of Maisey Road and Highway 60

(2) As this is a short tour there is an add on so we can have our usual social cuppa plus sales auction (don’t forget to bring something – produce, seeds, plants, chutneys etc etc).

About 3pm second venue is Ann & Bob’s, Mapua Drive.
Take the Mapua exit off the SH60. Up a small hill and at the top on the seaward side is their entrance by a sign (Woodturners). There is limited parking at the house but there is ample space on the Left Hand side of the road.

Nelson Branch – Olives and Pressing

Olives and Pressing — Saturday 28 June 1 pm wet or fine

Warren and Katherine will be pressing of 30kg of Frantoio and Lecchino olives (from Tim and Lyn). Venue: Westdale Road, plenty of parking up the driveway.

Pressing Olives
While the olives are going through the second stage “malaxing” that would be a good time for everyone to have a look around the property. Hot scones, etc for afternoon tea!
Warren and Katherine were farming and teaching in lush Southland until two years ago. They purchased this 2 ha property with 100 young olive trees, 40 young Hass avocado trees and three beds of Lily bulbs.
They have planted a variety of fruit trees and berry bushes and developed a small vegetable patch and compost bins.
Still all a work in progress!
Learning to cope with the clay soil.
They also have 10 pet breeding ewes brought up from Southland, a ram, 3 hens and the old sheep dog Meg. Sales table too.

Westdale Rd is a loop on the seaward side of the Coastal Highway SH60. One end is about 3 km from the Mapua exit and the other 9 km from Richmond (Three Brothers Corner). Playhouse sign at each end.

Nelson Branch – Songlines Arboretum

Songlines Arboretum — Saturday 3 May 9:30 am but see note below

James Mathieson has been developing an arboretum near Tadmor for some years.
We last visited in April 2010.

Venue is Bushend Road, Tadmor.

Update: Date is confirmed to be Saturday 3 May !

Nelson Branch – Hazels and Machinery

Hazels and Machinery — Sunday 6 April 1 pm

Phil and Irene have been growing hazels for nearly 9 years and selling them for about six.
Mostly Whiteheart, plus M de Bolviller, Tonda, Barcelona.
There are 860 trees and some useful processing machinery.
Tea and coffee after, with a sales table (auction) of tree crops stuff.
Venue: Main Road South (a kilometre or so south of Wakefield Village on SH6).

[Web management apologises for overlooking newsletter 14/1 until the day after this field day]

Nelson Branch – Foxhill Delights field day

Foxhill Delights — Sunday 2 March

Philip Calder and Fran Nicoll have a fascinating mix of trees, veges, history and herbs. Things to look at include: shelterbelts and tree species; growing firewood and fodder; native regeneration; fruit and nuts (success and failure); organic or not; Dexter cattle; nursery herbs for sale and maybe (for the blokes) a machinery demo.

There’s about 4 ha of hill and flat, a mini village with a cottage dating from the 1880’s, plus croquet lawn. Eucalyptus nitens for firewood plus a few regnans; Nothofagus obliqua (Roble beech) for timber and 150-year totara.

For those interested, start at 11:30 with a look at the 4 acres of garden (BYO lunch). The rest of the field day will start about 1 pm.

Venue is on Wakefield/Kohatu Highway and there’s a sign at the gate for Country Garden Nursery. Go about 5 km south of Wakefield on SH6. Once over the Wai-iti River bridge you will see the green Foxhill road sign on the left.
Take care turning as it is a busy road.
Park on the grass outside.

Nelson – AGM near Mapua

AGM near Mapua — 15 February 2014 — 6 pm Saturday

The Nelson Branch 2014 AGM will be at Ev & Lindsay’s.
Venue: If coming from Mapua area, go to the top of Seaton Valley road and turn left into Chaytor Rd.
If on the Coastal Highway (new bypass part), turn off into Stagecoach Rd, then quick right into Seaton Valley Rd and another quick right into Chaytor.
Drive down as far as 3 letterboxes and sign that says “end of public road” – there should be room there for 4-5 cars parked on diagonal. Go further down to number of venue.

The property is 1.5 ha area north-facing previously pine forest, clay plus topsoil/gully.
See trial almonds, macadamias, espalier apples.
New peach and nectarine trees, pizza oven and more.
There will be a sales table of course.

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Nelson Branch