A welcome winter chill, including heavy snowfall overnight has given the Stanthorpe apple harvest a much needed boost. “Apples love cold conditions, and we actually haven’t had such a cold winter,” says orchard owner David Sutton, who grows the fruit for his cidery and juice factory onsite. The snow will mean that the flowers on the trees will be stronger, and produce better quality fruit, according to him.
The snow was widespread, and has fallen on orchards supplying major
retailers, so the strong flowers expected in September will be welcome by the industry. “Temperatures are not moving much above 4 or 5 degrees all day. Of course, the added soil moisture when the snow melts is always welcome,” adds Stephen Tancred, Senior Horticulturalist with local agronomy firm Orchard Services.
retailers, so the strong flowers expected in September will be welcome by the industry. “Temperatures are not moving much above 4 or 5 degrees all day. Of course, the added soil moisture when the snow melts is always welcome,” adds Stephen Tancred, Senior Horticulturalist with local agronomy firm Orchard Services. If the cold weather continues through July and into August, Mr Tancred says the orchard ‘chill hour’ requirements for Stanthorpe will be met early, and harvest will be a little early, and more evenly spread if that happens. That’s not a problem and may be an advantage, according to him. “The bitter winds that came before this snow and the wet cold weather is preventing any pruning of trees going on, but all the ‘shed work’ is up to date.”
Because most apple orchards are now covered by hail netting, Mr Tancred says that growers might be slower to roll up the nets, as snow
is such a rare occurrence in Stanthorpe. “We haven’t designed our nets to be rolled up, but thankfully the snow only got to be about 5 cm thick on the nets and not much damage resulted.” Snow was up to 10 or 15 cm thick on the ground in the higher parts of the district and about 8 cm thick in town at its peak about 3 am this morning. According to him only two or three farmers in nearby Amiens experienced significant hail net damage. “The nets that were damaged tended to be the older ones that were probably due for replacement over the next few years anyway. Of course it’s an unexpected cost but these things are just part of farming.”
is such a rare occurrence in Stanthorpe. “We haven’t designed our nets to be rolled up, but thankfully the snow only got to be about 5 cm thick on the nets and not much damage resulted.” Snow was up to 10 or 15 cm thick on the ground in the higher parts of the district and about 8 cm thick in town at its peak about 3 am this morning. According to him only two or three farmers in nearby Amiens experienced significant hail net damage. “The nets that were damaged tended to be the older ones that were probably due for replacement over the next few years anyway. Of course it’s an unexpected cost but these things are just part of farming.”Winter crops will be marginally affected by the snow, according to Mr Tancred, but the boost to tourism in the area, to see the first snow in 31 years, will make up for any losses. “Some strawberry plants, leeks and cabbages may be snow covered for a day but they are winter crops and can stand that! The tourists are bringing their wallets and that’s always welcome in a rural community,” he says.
For more information:
Stephen Tancred
Orchard Services
Phone: +61746811324
E-mail: stephen@orchardservices.com.au
Website: www.orchardservices.com.au