A well-established feijoa orchard located on the fertile volcanic soils of Northland's Kerikeri is to be sold at auction at the Bayleys Whangarei office on November 25. Nurturing the Far North orchard since its initial development, owner Paul Crowe credits his success with the fruit to "just doing the basics right, and sustainable orchard practices".
Bought eight years ago as a blank canvas, the property now boasts 1500 six-year-old trees. The orchard at 145A Waimate North Rd - about 8km from Northland's largest town centre, Kerikeri - is on a freehold site of 4 hectares, being marketed for sale by Bayleys sales staff Alan Broadbent and Vinni Bhula.
"There is an excellent opportunity for the new owner to capitalise on value-added products, from chutneys to jams, ice-creams, pulp and juices, dried fruit, and wine; the current market for these products is huge and is largely untapped," Bhula said.
"When I purchased the property in 2009 there was a gap in the feijoa market for large and quality early season fruit," Crowe said.
"As the typical feijoa season in New Zealand runs from April to June, there can sometimes be a short period where the market can become over-supplied with fruit for a week or so I sought to produce early-ripening fruit which would be viable from the very beginning to end of the season."
Careful varietal selection has played an important role in the success of the orchard. Crowe grows three main varieties of feijoas, Kaiteri, Kakariki, and Anatoki, which are known for large size, great eating qualities and being early cropping.
Also present in smaller numbers, is a fourth variety, Apollo, known for producing large, early to mid-season fruit.
The 2015-16 season is reporting a 23.5 tonne haul of fruit and future projections in excess of 30 tonnes of marketable fruit, he said. All fruit is sold through Fresh Direct.
Source: nzherald.co.nz
