MULCH!
With a super-El Nino weather pattern forecast for NZ this summer, mulching for moisture retention and root cooling is essential for Eastern regions in particular. Use peastraw in a donut shape about 10cm thick around your fruit trees and berry plants, keeping the mulch away from directly contacting the trunk (it can burn the bark).  It is best to apply the mulch after a good spell of rain or a deep watering. Mulch should be used for trees in the ground as well as those in pots.

To keep deciduous fruit trees to an easily pickable height, pruning in Summer is recommended.  Now is the perfect time for the first round of Summer pruning (with a second round in February).  Take a pair of shears and trim off half of the new growth. You will see the new growth has green bark, compared to the brown bark from the previous season.

A regular process of tying and trimming new growth on espaliered fruit trees is essential to manage size and form.  Shorten vigorous upright growth that interferes with the desired form.  When tying down horizontal branches, keep at least the end 20-30cm untied and growing upright, as tying the entire branch down will stop growth altogether (which should be done when the branch reaches the desired width). Regular clipping through Summer is much more effective than an annual Winter prune. 

Strategic planting of certain varieties in your home orchard will allow early Summer harvesting. Loquats have a very short season in late November to early December. These tropically looking trees are actually hardy to -9 degrees, so can be planted in most regions of NZ.  Early blueberry varieties like Marimba and Misty start ripening now – keep blueberry bushes well covered with nets to get the berries before the birds do.

It is a busy time at the nursery with lots of action across all aspects of the production process:

Give the gift that keeps giving this season, with fruit tree-themed Christmas presents.Create a feijoa gift pack, with a tree (or two, as best for cross pollination), Little Beauties dried feijoa snacks and a jar of feijoa chutney. Wrap with brown paper and a sprig of a fresh feijoa flower to decorate (idea pinched from Annabel Langbein). Make citrus the theme with lemon or lime tree and a jar of Moutere Gold Citrus & Passionfruit Curd. For a wine lover, choose a grape vine to go with their favourite tipple. For cold and warm regions alike, olive trees will thrive - gift an olive tree with a bottle of Al Brown's olive oil (from The Village Press). Olives are a symbol of peace, which may be an appropriate theme! And if these don't float your boat, how about one of our Grow It Yourself fruit tree books, along with some garden store vouchers to buy the tree(s) of their choice?  

As the harvests are finishing and leaves start changing colour, it will be time to start thinking about the Autumn tasks in your home orchard. 

Fruit harvesting continues through March and April with a huge range of varieties and fruit types ripening. In Nelson we will be harvesting: 

With the cooler weather, soil temperatures start declining and moisture levels start increasing, making Autumn an excellent time of year to plant.

February and March are one of our key points in the production cycle of fruit trees, where the varieties are 'budded' onto the rootstocks (which were planted in the field nurseries last Winter). This year we have a team of 30 'budders' which are busy with this task - it's all hands on deck for this peak time of year.