Dream grows from bare block

Maxine Graham and Robin Hanvey found building an orchard from scratch is no mean feat but have relished the challenge and say they never stop learning.

It is with a great deal of pride that Robin Hanvey opens up a photo album and starts flicking through the pages. He pauses to reflect on images showing nothing more than a sloping paddock and a lonely, white, weather-beaten house near the top of a hill.

"That's all there was to start with," he says. "A single house on a big block of bare land. But we've done a lot with it in 12 years and most of it ourselves."

Robin and Maxine Graham bought the lower Kaimai property, sandwiched between State Highway 29 and the Wairoa River, in August 2003.

It marked the start of a new direction for the couple. In their 50s, they started looking at opportunities in Bay of Plenty where they could work together and continue to earn an income after they retired.

Before they even bought their property, they signed up to Team Avocado - one half of export giant Avoco - and started attending field days and working on orchards to tap into grassroots knowledge from orchardists who had "been there, done that".

Realising buying an established orchard was outside their reach, they looked at grazing properties for sale that they could convert into avocados. Few options were available to them at the time, but they felt comfortable with their decision to settle on the Kaimai property having done a lot of due diligence about the area.

"When we came here, we were told the Kaimais would be too high for avocados but, in reality, the Ruahihi power station is at sea level," Robin says.

"The property is not as high as people think and we're in our own micro-climate. We're in a little basin and sheltered from the wind. In the last few years, we've proven we can do quite well."

Tree health a priority

After planting close to 600 trees at the start, they have removed about half and their aim is to keep 300 healthy trees across 3ha.

They contract Mike Dillon to prune their orchard and Robin takes leaf and soil samples every year. They then use Avoco's technical consultant, Colin Partridge, to prepare a fertiliser programme, which they "follow to the letter".

They started using a spreader to apply fertiliser but discovered too many prills damaged their low-hanging fruit so they now fertilise by hand.

Fruitfed carries out their pest monitoring and, although they do not have high pest pressure, they ground spray at night as required, out of respect for their beekeeper next door. They inject their trees for phytophthora around April or May after the late flush of the season.

Thirst for knowledge

The 2015-16 season is looking promising for the couple. Last season, their average fruit size was 22ct and although harvesting is several months away, it is obvious their third consecutive crop will again feature large fruit.

They attribute their success to a combination of hard work and an open mind to trying new things. They still attend field days and their orchard is one of several involved in bumblebee trials. The trials, carried out by Plant, Food and Research scientist David Pattemore, aims to attract more wild bumblebees to the area for all-weather pollination.

They are among a group of Kaimai growers who share information among themselves and the wider Avoco community.

It is Avoco's strong orchard gate returns and collaborative approach that they greatly value.

"We really like the ethics of the people involved and, in supplying them, we feel part of one big family," Robin says.