Bay of Plenty couple grow passionfruit, avocados, and more in Whakamārama orchard

Orchard owners Wayne and Simone Fenton planted 150 new passionfruit vines last season. Photo / Catherine Fry

Bay of Plenty orchard owners, Simone and Wayne Fenton, moved into horticulture after their three children had grown up, but both came from agricultural beginnings.

Simone grew up on a dairy farm in Putaruru and Wayne is from Tokoroa and has dairy farmed and worked at Kinleith mill.

They moved to the Bay of Plenty in the late 1990s, in search of a better lifestyle for their family, and brought the children up in Tauranga.

Simone was a clerical worker and Wayne worked for Firestone in Tauranga and has been a shift worker for a resin manufacturing company for the past 19 years.

“We bought our first orchard in Te Puke in 2015, and we hadn’t done anything like that before,” Wayne said.

“We approached people we thought could help and we were blown away by how helpful people have been, and we got so much good advice over the years.”

Simone said that the practices were the same but, as people got to know their land, they adapted their own ways to suit the land.

Whakamārama fruit bowl

The Fentons bought their current 2.6ha Whakamārama property in April 2021.

“We called it a fruit bowl as it has a bit of everything as the last owners went around the farmers’ markets selling their fruit,” Wayne said.

“We grow fruit for export, so we decided to simplify things and pick two or three fruits and do them well.”

Simone carries out the orchard work and Wayne joins her on his days off.

“It’s just the two of us doing the day-to-day work but seasonally we use contractors to prune, pick, and take the bins of harvested avocados to the packhouse for export,” Simone said.

Passionfruit being grown under plastic canopies in Whakamārama. Photo / Catherine Fry

When the couple bought the property it coincided with the bottom dropping out of the avocado market with the expectation that this situation would last for the next five years.

“We’ve got 200 avocado trees on the property, and some are 35 years old,” Simone said.

“We will stay in avocado growing, but we’ll ensure the trees are kept low so they are easier to manage, reducing labour outgoings.”

The Fentons grade and pack their own passionfruit for export. Photo / Catherine Fry

They have also removed trees, such as plums and citrus as they “can’t compete with the bulk buyers”.

Tamarillos grow well on the property, and they are considering expanding the growing of them.

There were 150 passionfruit vines growing under plastic canopies, where they aren’t exposed to frost, and they flourished during Simone and Wayne’s first season on the orchard.

“We planted another 150 or so passionfruit vines in March 2024 and expect them to fruit for the first time in January 2025.”

Some of the vines were grown from seeds from their existing plants and some were from cuttings from parent plants that were thriving on the land.

Learning to grow passionfruit

Orchard owners Simone (left) and Wayne Fenton (right). Photo / Catherine Fry

“Once again we have taught ourselves how to grow them and once again people have been very helpful with information and advice,” Wayne said.

Mulch from our avocados is used around the passionfruit vines and a ground sprinkler system is used about once a week in winter and often daily in the summer, but, as Wayne said, “they don’t like wet feet”.

Foliar fungicide sprays are used to control fungal diseases such as Fusarium which can take out a crop and Phytophthora which forms in the vine’s roots.

The vines are sprayed for pests such as mites and passion vine hopper.

Each plant will produce for about seven years although they slow down in their last three or four years.

The few remaining citrus trees are for the family. Photo / Catherine Fry

They are treated like a vine and pruned to keep the canopy open and healthy.

Fruit falls when it is ready and needs to be picked up, graded and packed every morning.

“We grow Passiflora edulis, which is the most popular one,” Wayne said.

“They need to be planted in rows from north to south and they like warmth when flowering.

“We were very fortunate that Cyclone Gabrielle went straight over our property as we are nestled into an east-facing hillside.”

The Whakamārama orchard has stunning views across to the Mount. Photo / Catherine Fry

Depending on the weather, Wayne and Simone can sometimes pick passionfruit from January to May.

This coincides with the off-season for passionfruit in the United States and there is a good market for New Zealand passionfruit over there.

“With very few passionfruit growers currently in New Zealand, we can barely meet the local demand, and the export market will take whatever we have available after that.

“There’s definitely room for growth in this industry.”

The Fentons are members of the New Zealand Passionfruit Growers Association Inc where the growers work together to improve their knowledge with expert advice and encourage anyone wishing to enter the industry to contact the organisation for information.