Nelson Branch

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
 

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.
 

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.

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.