Our services include assistance with orchard design, cultivar recommendations, land preparation and planting guidelines.
We produce the following cultivars: Wichita, Western Sley, Choctaw, Mohawk, Navaho, Ukulinga, Pawnee, Barton and Sutex
Our trees are propagated on the banks of the Crocodile River in fertile soils which make them strong and with a well-developed tap root. We adhere to best practises in the nursery in regards to fertigation and pest management so that our trees are in top condition when they reach our clients.
We graft our trees when the rootstock is 3 years old and use only our own carefully selected mother stock. All our trees are graded and marked as per SAPPA’s standards and are marked with a white ground line to facilitate the trees being planted at the correct height.
Lifting of the nursery trees is only done during winter dormancy and best practices are employed to retain and minimise the disturbance of the roots. Then the roots are trimmed in line with SAPPA standards and dipped in a moisture-holding gel with a fungicide. We endeavour to lift and pack the trees within 24-48 hours before collection.
When planning your orchard consideration should be given to the following:
- Plant 3-4 different backbone cultivars interspersed with a cross pollinator every 3rd or 4th row, to ensure optimal cross pollination and to minimise scab.
- Develop and maintain an orchard plan with details of cultivars, year of planting and size of tree when planted.
- Trees should ideally be planted from north to south with a standard planting distance of 10 x 10 metres.
