
Nutrition & Fruit Protection
Currently we have over 60 hectares of early stone fruit and 32 hectares of late apples under nets.
This protects the orchards from frost, wind and potential hail and also reduces our water consumption. The nets help us to guarantee top quality early summer fruit to our customers.
Fertigation improves the water and nutrient uptake of trees. We apply it on all new developments and, depending on annual soil and leaf samples, we scientifically calculate how much fertiliser needs to be added to the water. This enriched solution is applied via drip and micro irrigation, ensuring it reaches the roots of the trees without wastage caused by evaporation and leaching. We are able to also adjust the pH of the water to ensure optimum flavour in the fruit. To further guarantee the long-term health and viability of the orchards, we use organic compost tea.
In order to conserve our water security we test soil moisture with capacitance sensors in the orchards in conjunction with daily evapotranspiration readings to determine irrigation volumes and to prevent water wastage.
Water is a vital and rapidly dwindling resource and our uncompromising commitment to water conservation has earned us a prestigious water stewardship award from the WWF (World Wildlife Foundation) in co-operation with Woolworths.