Retired folk again

Its been an interesting day - as Arkwright used to say in Open all hours. It probably started way back at field days but today we got to test out some zero turn mowers suitable for macadamia nut farming. Very tempted by the bigger one - there goes $15,000 and its not even morning tea time! We hope to try another one before making the final decision. We got our voting enrollment forms and I am wondering whether to change my occupation from teacher to farmer or even nutter.

While we were testing the worm farm arrived. This is so we can get a head start on organic fertiliser. It was a very blokey thing with no instructions - just an allen key. I'm sure I didn't put it together the most efficient way.

Well we finally got it functioning - after one disaster when we put the compost in and the bottom fell out. These 2,000 worms will take a few weeks to untangle and get into the serious business of producing compost.

Other activities have included clearing out the pantry- this is a little bevvy of spices which are dated earlier than 2015. (OK I do know that its 2016). The cinnamon sticks are the winner with BB2003 date!! Also lots of old wine books and university texts which are now out of date helped us fill up our second skip of rubbish. We probably have one more skip to go.

On Sunday disaster struck - Duncan saw a trip to the Galapagos Islands where one person pays full fare and the second person pays 25%!!!!! We had thought this trip  - although on both our bucket lists - was out of our price range. Today we have our cabin number - 337 and the bill for about $15,000!!! We were scraping the bottom of the barrel by afternoon tea time. However we will just have to cash in an investment due next month. Such fun spending the kids inheritance.

All this and more - at least I have booked by balloon flight - also on the bucket list for when we go to Perth next month. I think tomorrow might seem dull by comparison.

Growing up at Nixon St

While we were up in Hamilton we enjoyed time with our grandchildren - Theo now 4 1/2 and Claudia 9 months. While we were there Claudia had to go for her enrollment at the dentist so Jackie and Theo introduced her to the mysteries of cleaning her teeth (all 2 of them - razor sharp)

I thought I would introduce Theo to the mysteries of macadamia nuts by cracking a few with a hammer - not a good idea and a very expensive lesson for me. Thank goodness it wasn't Theo's eye. And Sean the glazier was a great source of entertainment.

Duncan always enjoys a bit of rough and tumble with the kids - however his meagre hair covering was sorely tested by this game!

Theo had just had his tonsils and adenoids out, but it didn't stop him talking and it was only in the morning that he seemed to be sore - although he was on fairly constant painkillers. So it was good that his appetite was returning.

Playing trionimos after doing a jigsaw puzzle.

Pesto, cheese and tomato crackers.

Playing Minecraft with Grandma. See that nice green dragon that gran made.

Claudia models the pretty jacket that Lyn knitted.

Claudia is into serious eating now. It takes quite a while to select, study and trial each new sensation. Isn't she a little poppet!!

Field days

On Wednesday 15th June we took a day off from the grandchildren to visit field days in Hamilton. We tried to blend in as well as we could - what a lot of farming types there were! (We noticed an almost complete lack of Maori) We wanted to buy a mower. the first stand as we entered was a mower stand, and so our search began. There was a huge range of agricultural machinery - just look at this paddock of tractors. And these were just the ones for people to try - there were heaps on the stands as well.

Waikato University is one of the main sponsors and so I had to record for Simon the Waikato stand where several scientists talked about the reasearch work they are doing. They were identified by the white coats and had  a very interested response.

Simon says this cow rear end normally lives in his office.

Of course every now and then we got diverted by food and wine displays, info on Perth (Heading there on July 21st), massaging back units and caravans. This one is so large it is basically a relocatable unit which would be very pleasant to live in.

But lets get back to the mower. By now we know we need a zero turn, steel fabricated (not moulded) with no or an adjustable roll bar, a service centre in Gisborne and good protection from flying macadamias. (See next BLOG). Duncan gets to try one out and the other three companies are promising us a trial on our own property next week.

We had in mind that we would need something like Todd uses at Ohiwa, and lo and behold, there are Todd and Nola. They  feel their mower needs replacing. They are going for a diesel one - oh dear we hadn't gone into petrol or diesel so we have to tramp back around them all and make further inquiries. By now we are starting to droop a bit and we decide to get away about 4 so we dont get held up by the 5 o'clock exodus. A very full day! but we learned heaps.

Macadamia Field Day

Last Monday we headed off to Torere which is just around the coast from Opotiki. Our hosts and co-operative cordinators are Vanessa on whose land the nursery and orchard stand, and who has done most of the plant trials over the last 25 years and Rod who does a lot of the physical stuff. They also have jobs in Gisborne. We are a mixed group - me and Duncan and 1 other grower, two garden enthusiasts and 3 older earthmothers - who not withstanding rolled up in a petrol car with Kathmandu boots and jackets.

Before we get down to the macadamias Vanessa tells us about the pohutukawa tree behind her. It has slumped down the bank and where the branches hit the ground it has let its aerial roots take hold and it now covers about 1/2 an acre. The Tree people keep coming back to verify all branches are from the same tree. It has been dated as 600 years old and is certainly older and bigger than the one in Te Araroa which we checked out on our way home. "Does it have a name?" asks earthmother. "No, its just a tree"

The branches form little caves of leaves. The Maori would mend their waka in its shade.

Depending on the variety macadamias will be harvested from May to November. All the varieties  Torere has are droppers - meaning that you dont pick off the tree you wait till they fall. There is an outer green husk - a bit like a walnut and once they drop it splits after a few days drying to reveal the really tough shell underneath.

The leaves can be quite spiky and prickly.

This one has grown too tall and upright. This variety may be discarded.

This gives you an idea of the finished product tree wise.

This is a very productive tree

Rod shows us how the outer part comes off.

With our very warm autumn there is the odd rogue flower. The smell is fabulous and apparently the apiarists like to put their hives in to "heal" any underproducing hives. Murmurs amongst the earthmothers  "How wonderful"

In full bloom (against clipboard.)

Some of the very large nuts split into two separate nuts which are much harder to shell, so we are not getting that variety. In this next picture you can almost see the split line.

Mr Mac Adam was the first person to spot the trees in Australia which is the country of origin.

In the nursery

Vanessa does all the grafting in the nursery - she does it in the week before full moon which was why we had to do a pretty quick decision to get into macadamias as it was the last week before the full moon while the sap was still flowing. Vanessa gets a significantly higher strike than other nurseries. Claps of joy from the earthmothers. But lets face it, Vanessa has been doing it for a whole lot longer than the usual nursery worker.

The blue is the wax coating to protect the graft.

We head back for lunch which we were asked to bring ourselves. The earthmothers get out their quinoa and white bean salad. (we have sandwiches). We try Vanessa's macadamia pesto which is super delicious and Rod demonstrates the harvesting machine and we all have a go. then we try the nut cracking machine - the taste is more like coconut in these fresh macadamias

We check out the compost bins which they put the green husks in. The earthmothers murmur "Putting back to mother earth" but I can't help but think of the best part which is taken away. Worm water and seaweed fertilizer are also used. Great acclaim from the earthmothers

After lunch we spot our own plants. Can you see the green spouts from the blue wax area which indicate the graft has taken? We have 250 of this variety A4 coming to our place.

They must be tended weekly to stop the rootstock from pushing through

At the base of this graft the rootstock is pushing through and Vanessa works to pull these buds off.

OK I've got a bit carried away with taking bud photos.

This is our other variety - A 203. It is stronger and we will use it as a wind break. The leaves are very big and spiky

And this is next years rootstock for our plantings in 2018

Here are the earth mothers.

We go up with Rod to see a more established planting of A4 trees. They are expecting the Topp Twins on Thursday to film a segment for their Topp Country series. Rod is not looking forward to it!
 It all seems quite do-able for me and Duncan. After 3 we head off further around the coast and stop for the night at the Te Kaha apartments. They are a little rundown but the views and the sunset are mesmerising.

Next day we continued on around the coast - of course from Ruatoria on Duncan knows the road so well. We stopped at the Manuka honey place at Te Araroa and for a bit of lunch at Tolaga.

Church at Raukokore