The Orchards

The Orchard Before Espaliering

We began planting fruiting trees and shrubs immediately after setting up the vegie gardens. Careful consideration was emphasised for their location in relation to sun patterns, drainage, frost aspects and wind patterns. Our climate, with its wet summers and frosty winters, somewhat restricts the number of suitable fruiting species, but still allows us to grow a multitude of fruits for year round use.

The Abundant Citrus Orchard

Pome Fruit Espalier Layout

Berries do very well in our climate, along with citrus. Stone fruits and pome fruits are a year by year proposition depending on how much rain we get during the fruiting season. In planting the fruit trees, we allowed maximum space for airflow and sunshine in our humid summers. The main problem for fruit growing in our region is, however, birds. We considered this in our stone and pome fruits planting and intended to net each tree individually as the fruit developed. We did not realise that the birds would strip the tree of its fruit even in the blossoming stage. This made us reconsider some of our plantings and set forth some changes.

Espalier Tree Training Training the Espaliered Trees

We decided to place all of our stone fruit in a completely enclosed cage. To make maximum use of the cage, we also planted more berries, currants and dwarf fruiting trees. After much deliberation and research, the pome fruit plantings were changed to an espalier design. This allowed for easier netting, more trees for the same area, maximum airflow between the rows and easier harvesting. Some of the five year old plantings that were already pruned to a vase shape were then pruned radically to the espalier design.There are five rows spaced three metres apart, with dwarfing trees on each alternate row. Time will tell whether this method of orchard design is successful in producing abundant fruit.

The Completed Espalier

At the present time, the fruits we are getting copious amounts of include; all berries, citrus, figs and kiwifruit. Fruits just coming into production (or ones that are producing only moderate amounts) include; grapes, plums, feijoas, tamarillos, currants, peaches, nectarines, guavas, persimons, pears and apples

Our Mixed Orchard