LOWER NORTHLAND
FIELD TRIP |
Warkworth - Saturday 19 Feb 2005
Southern Paprika Ltd
Our first visit of the day was to Southern Paprika Ltd., just
out of Warkworth. Manager Paul Stevenson showed us around.
They are growers and exporters of hydroponic capsicum. The
company was established about 7 years ago.
This is an extremely large-scale operation with 10 Hectares
under glass. 50,000 plants per house. They employ approximately
50 Staff.
The plants are bought in and planted in cocoa peat in June
and taken out in mid March.
Water from all the sheds and houses is recycled through a
UV machine. There is a 31,000 cubic metre dam on site and
a bore for backup. The houses are heated in winter.
The major pests are the western flower thrip and the two spot
mite who are controlled by Match and Success and Confidor
put through the system.
Fusarium is also a problem.
We were shown their new packing machine, that can pack about
4 to5 tons an hour. That week they had sent out about 100
tons of capsicums, which are checked by MAF on site before
transport to the airport.
The scale of operation left us breathless. Definitely has
the wow factor. Seemed to have everything in the high tech
range.
Mariposa Palm Cafe
Morning Tea stop was at Mariposa Palm Café
formerly Leo Rousels Longwood Palms.
Here owner Grant Robinson treated us with magnificent
muffins and then guided us around his Palms & Subtropical
display. A special tip for Palm propagation – sown under
used coffee grounds. The healthy young seedlings were in abundance
under the Palm that the café used to empty their coffee
pots.
Tumbleweed Coastal Plants
John and Wendy Davies at Tumbleweed Coastal
Plants started in the Matakana Village but out grew the site
in two years and now have their Garden Centre a short way
out of Matakana. They specialise in hardy coastal plants fitted
to the region and their garden centre has the feel of the
coast and sea with old ropes and chains and dinghies. They
also have a large range of concrete garden art, water features,
garden furniture and seaside decorations. They also do landscaping
and grow plants for their Garden Centre.
Home Fresh
Next we visited Charlie at Home Fresh. Home fresh are growers
of Hyroponic lettuce and tomatoes. They were growing Red coral,
frill coral, green coral and butter crunch lettuces. They
sow their own seed in vermiculite, about 160 trays per week
in plugs. The plants spend about 4 weeks in the houses and
are then planted out in the pipes in pumice. There they stay
for 4 wks in summer or 12 weeks covered in plastic in winter.
No tomatoes were being grown at the time as they had problems
with white fly. They use bore water which is cleaned by an
ozone water cleaner and is pumped up to the top of the sloping
property where it gravity feeds to the bottom. They use a
dosmatic to regulate the fertilizer. They have a staff 8-16,
Sell through there own shop and send produce to Auckland and
to local cafes.
Glen Dougal Nursery
We were welcomed by Doug Alley and his two faithful
dogs, for a look around his nursery and landscaped acres.
Doug is a very sincere gentleman with many a story to tell.
He obviously enjoyed having company and showing us the areas
he has developed over many years. The Nursery of trees and
shrubs had been a source of selection for the local land developers.
Time and technology were obvious by their absence.
Special thanks to Brian for organizing such
a substantial lunch. We all enjoyed our picnic under the trees
overlooking the lily pond. Doug then showed us around the
property which he has developed with large lily ponds and
walkways. He has spent a lifetime of hard toil, done the hard
way.
Exotica
We started the afternoon with visits to two
small scale specialist nurseries. I heard the words unique
and “lifestyle” used by several members. The first
visit was Exotica and yes Shirley perhaps “Erotica”
for the Bromeliad lovers. Andrew Steen (some may have known
Andrew under his previous venture Mauao Flowers) grows NZ’s
largest selection of Bromeliads (2,500 – 3,000 varieties)
on just one acre. This includes the tasteful background of
large trees, Palms, driftwood and rock sculpture – a
feature of a well remembered display at the 2004 Ellerslie
Flower Show.
They do have a glasshouse facility at Point
Wells and much to Andrews’ wife’s disgust, they
also use the three upstairs bedrooms of their settler style
house to grow Bromeliads. The wide range of varieties suit
different conditions – full shade to full sun. Some
IPPS members observed that too much sun, burns the edges of
many varieties. Many Bromeliads only flower once, then produce
pups. Most of the varieties are for scientific evaluation
and re-production. One particular Bromeliad at the gate with
a bright red centre was especially memorable.
We are grateful to Karen who showed us around
in the absence of Andrew.
The Protea Patch
This Nursery is a specialist producer and wholesaler
/ retailer with a mail order facility as well. Tony White
and Wendy Marshall together with Sharon (previous owner for
some 13-14 years, and now working part time as propagator),
produce around 60 varieties of Proteacea.
Proteas have a unique dual root system –
wide spreading anchor roots for the natural arid desert environment
and secondary small bulb like roots to store water and nutrients
for growth and / or to survive drought periods.
Supposedly there are not texts describing Proteacea
propagation. Some key requirements are :-
1. Propagation timing – this season is running about
2 months late.
2. Plant vigor.
3. Expert assessment of propagating material – by eye.
4. Lifting of cuttings.
5. Patience.
The Protea Patch propagate nine months of the
year using “old school” techniques and no bottom
heat. It was a pleasure to observe the effective “new
member techniques” of our president Grant Hayman.
Morris & James
A welcome afternoon tea break at Morris and
James Pottery, Tileworks and Café. The beverages and
home made cakes were a delight. The individually hand crafted
pottery and unique glazes and textures emptied some pockets,
including mine.
Hyperion Wines
We finished the day in style at the boutique
“old cowshed” winery – HYPERION WINES. Hyperion
reminds me of a small French winery with its beautiful pastoral
environs – a great choice Brian.
The Bordeaux style 2002 Cabernot / Merlot /
Malbec was my choice, but all the wines are a good example
of their style. The vineyard has 6,000 vines planted over
about 2.5 hectares and produces around 1,000 cases of wine
annually.
John and Jill Crone experience significant price
pressures from tax (excess of $2.20 / litre or $1.60 per 750
ml bottle + GST) as well as supermarkets dominating retail
sales with wines from other countries – principally
Australia and Chile.
John says the ‘jury is still out”
on screw caps (easy to open) versus corks. There is newer
cork technology using cork pieces in the core which provides
more control of cork quality.
Finally it was very interesting to hear of IPPS
member experiences from previous IPPS field trips. All those
present agreed this was an excellent day out. Thanks Brian.
ITINERARY
- 8.15 am Meet at Walton Park Motor Lodge,
2 Walton Ave, Warkworth
- 8.30 am Bus leaves Walton Park
- Southern Paprika – state of the art
paprika producer
- Mariposa Palm Café & Nursery –
morning tea amongst palms and subtropicals
- Tumbleweed Garden Centre – unique coastal
plant specialists
- Home Fresh – growers and retailers
of hydroponic vegetables and herbs
- Glen Dougal Nurseries – be surprised!
– and enjoy a packed lunch here
- Protea Patch – specialist producer
and retailer
- Exotica – paradise for bromeliad collectors
- Morris and Sames – pottery tileworks
and café
- Vineyard Hyperion – one of Matakanas
best for a wee tasting to polish of the day
- 5.30 pm Bus returns to Walton Park
ACCOMODATION OPTIONS
- WALTON PARK MOTOR LODGE, 2 Walton Avenue,
Warkworth,
Ph 09 425 8149, Fax 09 425 8564, Web waltonpark.co.nz. Rooms
$95 to $115.
- SANDSPIT MOTOR CAMP, 1334 Sandspit Rd, Warkworth,
Ph/Fax 09 425 8610.
Cabins $50, campsite $13
REGIONAL INFORMATION
IPPS CONTACT & REGISTRAR
- Brain Frost
Phone 09 299 9085 (a/h) or 09 294 8771 (bus),
Fax 09 299 9084 or 09 294 8774
EMAIL jenny@rainbowpark.co.nz
Registrations
close 5 February - Registration form here
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