NZTCA Franklin Branch May 2016 newsletter

NEW ZEALAND TREE CROPS ASSOCIATION FRANKLIN BRANCH NEWSLETTER

In this edition...

Volume 37, Issue 3 - May, 2016

Break time at Conference 2016

Forthcoming events...

Sat 21st May 2016 Field trip to Joy Plants, Pukekohe East

Sat 11th June 2016 Composting practicum at the FFF

Conference 2016 wind-up

Harvest Festival at the Food Forest

Field trip -> Joy Plants Nursery & Gardens

Saturday the 21st of May at 1 pm, 86 Jericho Road, Pukekohe East.

Proprietors Terry and Pam Hatch and Manager Lindsey Hatch have been operating Joy Plants for over 30 years. The nursery is situated within their garden, truly a working garden that holds some unique treasures and helps provide the material they sell. Driving directions are on page 7

Sun 19th June 2016 4th annual smallBlock Sunday Seminar

Sat 30th July 2016 Franklin Pruning Workshop

Sat 20th August 2016 Franklin Grafting Workshop

Reminder All TCA members are welcome at other meetings so look at the web site to see Events coming up www.treecrops.org.nz Articles appearing in this newsletter may be reproduced in whole or in part provided that credit is given to the Franklin Branch of the NZ Tree Crops Association and the Author.

TCA Branch Newsletters

Each area Newsletter Editor receives a copy of the other branches Newsletters by email. If you are interested in getting these forwarded to you, please let me know at john@WJohnAllen.nz

Welcome to New Members: Petra Simpson (Auckland)

Kathleen Jackson (Papakura) Danny & Jakkie Van Den Berg (Awhitu Lynette and William Smith (Waiuku)

Franklin Food Forest Practicum: Composting

Saturday the 11th of June at 1:30 pm, Franklin Food Forest, Pukekohe High School orchard.

This workshop is a part of the Franklin Food Forest Practicums aimed at the practical skills needed as we move to a more natural approach to farming and gardening. The practicum will be run by The Compost Collective as a compliment to their Pukekohe Composting Workshop - see their website www.compostcollective.org.nz/workshops/ for further details. That course (and the practicum) will be facilitated by Franklin treecropper Jennifer and offers an introduction to the three basic composting systems that can be used in the home and garden: traditional composting bins, worm farms and bokashi buckets.

Sunday smallBlock Seminar Sunday June 19th, 10.00 am for setup, doors open at 12 noon, close 4:00 pm.

Puni School Hall, 343 Waiuku Road, Pukekohe This will be the fourth year of our seminar series aimed at people who want to get more out of their lifestyle block. Topics to be covered in the seminars include growing miscanthus and hemp which means that we again expect a good turnout from non-TCA people and so need your assistance on the day for set up (from 10:00 am) and for looking after visitors to the seminar (from 12 noon).

Please let Raewyn know how you can help on 09 292 5051 or email rjarkie@gmail.com

Franklin Pruning Workshop Saturday July 30th, 1.00 pm at Graham Wheeler’s property, 33 Needham Rd, Paerata Pukekohe

Franklin Grafting Workshop Saturday August 20th, 10.00 am at Ian Laing’s barn, 67 Hunter Road, PUKEKOHE. We will be grafting apple and pear varieties on to MM106 Semi dwarfing rootstock.

Harvest Festival Loaf - note the mouse

Franklin TreeCroppers TCA Franklin newsletter

Letter from the Chair

Huge congratulations to the committee for organising the NZTCA National Conference held at Wesley College 22nd – 24th April. Thanks go to Heather Douglas, Joan Leitch, Val Pearce, Keith Dixon, John Allen and Virginia Warren for all their time and effort in making the conference a success.

Also thank you to Bron & John Fergusson for manning the produce stand at the conference. We had a great response from members donating fruit, jams, chutneys, plants etc.

Thanks also to all the people that helped in all sorts of ways during the conference.

2 May, 2016

The apricot budding is not looking very promising at all. I am not sure what the problem has been but we can hopefully graft (apricot) onto the peach seedlings later in the year. We have planted out 40 red leaf peach seedlings that we are growing on to sell at a later date. I believe the variety is Hiawatha but I need to confirm that.

A very interesting field trip to Joy Plants coming up later this month so check out the details in this newsletter.

It is that time of year again when we start to gear up toward the Smallblock Sunday Seminar. It will be held on the 19th June at the Puni Hall, noon – 4 pm. If you know of anyone that has an interesting product or service that people can use on their small block please contact a committee member. We will also be needing plants, trees and fruit for our stand on the day. We do not need any more jams, chutneys etc. as we have plenty left over from the conference.

Raewyn Jarkiewicz

On Olive Oi

l & Figs.

Oil extractio

n

Fo r tr ee cr o p p er s w it h o li ve s o r h as a 30 kg o th er o il cr /h r o il ex tr o p s, Ea rl M ac ti o n se tu a fe w ki lo s ar d le p. A n yo n e (p ro b ab ly w an ti n g to m in im u m en d p ro d u 10 kg to g et h av e ct ) o f th ei r at o w n fr u it tu le as t 1 li tr h ap p y to d e rn ed in to o o th at . C o st il , h e w il l b $1 a kg .

In te re st ed e ? C o n ta ct Ea rl in B o m b ay (5 6 K an u ka R o ad )

Panache Figs

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Derek Tan fr om Aucklan d Branch is Branch mem wondering ber has a fig if any Frankl variety calle him to som in d Panache o eone who h r can direct as . He is prep cuttings. ared to pay for plant/ Contact Der ek at d8ktan @gmail.com

Franklin Treecroppers’ base

Our more permanent base for branch activities at the Franklin Food Forest in the Pukekohe High School orchard took a step forward last month with success in a funding application.

Holcim (New Zealand) Limited awarded us $1,200 from their Community projects fund for a container shelter as shown below.

Add to this the $400 earned by our Franklin Food Forest volunteers at Auckland Council’s Eye on Nature event in April and we now have only a further $5,000 of funds to find.

Humus Saves the World Graeme Sait’s Keynote presentation at the NZTCA Conference 2016 struck a chord with Franklin treecropper Greg Quaife.

Fascinating, life changing seminar presentation by Graeme Sait, Nutri-tech Solutions founder, world saviour & all round good guy.

This seminar focused on the need for carbon sequestration on a scale that can only be achieved by the whole world together to preempt the imminent demise of our globally interrelated organism, planet earth.

The amount of carbon molecules in the world does not change, either stored in the soil or the bio mass on the planet or in the atmosphere, a substantial amount of carbon has been moved into the atmosphere as CO2 to the tune of 476 Billion tonnes, our survival depends on getting this carbon back into the soil.

Along comes Mycorrhizal Fungi pronounced: My cor is al. A small creature that burrows into plant roots and effectively expands the plant’s root area tenfold by mining minerals and gives them to the plant in exchange for glucose. It retains water and produces bio-chemicals that stimulate the plants immune system. Further, it produces a sticky substance called Glomalin which instigates the formation of Humus.

Commercial agriculture denudes the earth of Humus, destroys the life in soils and is incrediblt toxic in our environment.

As Graeme says, the restoration of soil organic matter and humus removed by commercial agriculture is the key to turning around these impacts of commercial agriculture and so saving the world.

He sees us treecroppers as being uniquely placed to bring about this change. Will we accept his challenge?

Greg Quaife

Conference wrap-up Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th April 2016

Whew!

Wesley College was a good venue with plenty of space under one roof for our various Speakers, many Exhibitor’s and plenty of room for our breaks and lunches. They put on an excellent set up and meal for the Saturday formal dinner which was highlighted by Lynda Hallinan’s after dinner speech, which was humorous and pithy.

friends of the Franklin Food Forest The friends group meet from 1:30 to 3:30 pm every Thursday at the Franklin Food Forest site in the Pukekohe High School orchard (corner of Glasgow Road and John Street) for a chin wag and working bee.

Most of the food forest is less than 10 months old but the harvest was bounteous enough for us to hold the inaugural FFF Harvest Festival.

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All of the Speakers were received well and many gave us much to think about and discuss. There will be more information on them in the next Tree Cropper magazine and we had some excellent comments from attendees at the time.

May, 2016

The Field trips did show Franklin as the Special place we all think it is and by Sunday our fellow Tree Croppers had been to visit just some of our favourite places.

Conference 2017 will be held in New Plymouth, 31 March to 2 April 2017, at the Quality Hotel New Plymouth. Their title of “New Horizons’ follows well I think from Franklin: Fertility...Food...Future, and we definitely showcased all three.

Heather Douglas

Long-term friendsFFF (L-R) John Allen, Faye Smith, Carol Evans, Grant Tetley , Greg Quaife and Graham Wheeler enjoying the bounty of the Franklin Food Forest at the 2016 FFF Harvest Festival.

The rain threatened but did not eventuate and the rocket stove (bottom right) successfully boiled the billy and cooked a crispy damper.

John Allen

Chair of the Conference orgnising committee Heather Douglas with new NZTCA President Bob Phillips (Nelson)

The rest of the conference organising committe join together to acknowledge Heather’s leadership in bringing this event together.

A large measure of the success of this conference is down to Heather’s ever-present smile and energy to get things done.

Valerie, Joan, Keith, Virginia, John

TCA Franklin newsletter

The 2016 Conference is now over - it was a busy few days. I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to the organising committee, for each person’s magnificent efforts which culminated in a successful event. Also to all those who helped by donating their time, plants, produce and by joining us for the weekend. We also had Bob Phillips, (our newly elected President) trying to get members to part with money in the Auction. Thank you to everyone from every branch who joined us and it was great to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

Franklin TreeCroppers

C on fer enc e 2 0 1 6 - Fr a n k l i n

Franklin TreeCroppers TCA Franklin newsletter

Ready, set, go...

Heather contemplates the cudgels of leadership...

Marta Camps giving some o

4 May, 2016

Andrew Dare talking improved health from apples

Fr an kl in’s

sa le s ta bl e be in g se t up in th e en tr y fo ye r

o Fo

Co m m er ci

ch ar d ho Ro ad Or in g at Je ric al fig gr ow

Valerie and Joan, waiting for the onslaught of registrations, with Greg and Graham

g al s ex pl or in Ea rly ar riv

en ce th ei r co nf er

pa ck s

3 examples of small scale biochar manufacturing gear

Long time Franklin treecropper Ian Lai

n : F e r t i l i t y. . . F o o d . . . F u t u r e

of the science behind biochar.

Fut ure

May, 2016

od

ing talking persimmons

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Fertility

TCA Franklin newsletter

Franklin TreeCroppers Socialising

At te nd ee s

er en in g di nn e Fr id ay ev en jo yi ng th

Saturday night’s dinner tables laid out, ready for our diners. lle d en ce en th ra pt hi s au di m e Sa it ke ae Gr r ke ea Ke yn ot e sp

Energetic demonstration of Rock’n Roll dancing by the Franklin Rockers

Franklin TreeCroppers TCA Franklin newsletter

Franklin Branch Committee Queen Bee: Raewyn Jarkiewicz 09 292 5051 Email rjarkie@gmail.com Honey Bee Secretary Dianne Smith dismith@xtra.co.nz 09 238 7996

Field Day driving directions.

Joy Plants Nursery & Gardens

Saturday the 21st of May at 1 pm, 86 Jericho Road, Pukekohe East.

Your hosts - Terry & Pam Hatch and Lindsey Hatch From the Bombay motorway interchange, Head west on Mill Rd, (go 2.1 km), Turn left onto Harrisville Rd (go 250 m), Turn left onto Jericho Rd (go 2 km), Destination will be on the right From Pukekohe, head east on East Street and Pukekohe East Road (go 5.8 km), turn right onto Harrisville Rd (go 250 m), Turn left onto Jericho Rd (go 2 km), Destination will be on the right.

Honey Treasurer: Ian Laing Ph 09 236 3796

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Hive Vice Chair Heather Douglas Ph 09 232 1103 Email heather.douglas12@gmail.com

May, 2016

Bee Chatter Editor John Allen Ph 09 238 1357 Email John@WJohnAllen.nz Hive Coordinator Stephanie Coles 09 236 3554 rosscoles@xtra.co.nz Honey Gatherer Convener: Stephanie Coles 09 236 3554 rosscoles@xtra.co.nz Worker Bees: Graham Wheeler 09 239 1177 graham@thewheelers.co.nz Faye Smith 09 239 3055 fayemariedsmith@vodafone.co.nz Greg Quaife 022 310 2807 gregquaife@xtra.co.nz The date on your NZTCA newsletter label shows the renewal date of your membership.

To log on to the membership section of the web site http://treecrops.org.nz, you will need your membership number which is also given on the newsletter label.

A Field day at your property?

This can be useful if you have something you would like to show us, some problem that we can discuss and help with, or you need ideas of what to plant.

Please have a chat with someone on the committee or just let us know that you would like us to include your place, and the best time of year for you.

SAFETY DECLARATION. For the purpose of Field Days, the properties we visit are designated as work places. As there are multiple hazards, please take particular care.

Parents are responsible for their children.

Fr a n k l i n T r ee C rop p ers Not ic e s Want more from your lifestyle or small block? Then come to the

2016 SmallBlock Sunday Seminar 4 years supporting smallblock owners

$5 cover charge for non-Treecrops members please register at www.treecrops.nz/SSS/ or let Raewyn know you are coming on 09 292 5051

Member web sites:

Do you have a Web site that we can put a link to on the Newsletter? Please email us and we can add it on the next Newsletter. Include a short note on what the web site is about.

TreeCropsConference.nz https://www.facebook.com/ groups/treescrops/ https://www.facebook.com/ groups/FranklinFoodForest/ RuralConnect.org.nz Assisting rural people and businesses in the broadband society

Used food-g rade 20 litre buckets - $5 contact Hea each ther at H ea th er @ co ld o u g .c o

m

g .c o m

May, 2016

Seminar Sessions 12 noon - doors open for product displays 1:00 pm - Peter Brown “Miscanthus as an Energy Crop” 1:30 pm - tbc 2:00 pm - Aaron Sanders “The Case for Industrial Hemp” 2:30 pm - tbc 4:00 pm - doors close

To ad ve rt is eh C o n ta ct H ea er e, fr ee to m em b er s, th er D o u g la s at H ea th er @ co ld o u

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at the Puni School Hall, 343 Waiuku Road, Pukekohe on Sunday 19th June 2016

Franklin TreeCroppers TCA Franklin newsletter

NZ Tree Crops Franklin Branch

Buy Se ll & Swap

In this edition...

Report on Conference 2016

NEW ZEALAND TREE CROPS

Advice of Field Days in May, June, July & August

FRANKLIN BRANCH

Franklin Tree Crops new branch base Franklin Food Forest Franklin Tree Crops CCC First Steps Project

NEW ZEALAND TREE CROPS ASSOCIATION FRANKLIN BRANCH NEWSLETTER Secretary: P O Box 1200, Pukekohe 2340