Nestled between the Motueka River, Waiwhero Creek and Waiwhero Forest lays a small block of land. In the 1990 a few hectares of it were planted in pear trees – mainly Taylors Gold, Comice, Beurre Bosc and Red Bartlett. For decades the trees were loved and cared for by the family owning the orchard growing juicy sweet pears. Then things changed – and people stopped looking after the little orchard.
Year after year the honeysuckle, old men’s beard and blackberry grew bigger and bigger, wild pigs roamed free and munched the sweet ripe pears that fell on the ground and the neighbours goats chewed the bark and branches. In spring 2018 the land was put up for sale. People that looked at it said “get rid of the trees, they are no use”. Our family though looked at it differently - we liked the creek running through the orchard surrounded by native bush and forest, listening to kotare and karearea calling out, piwakawaka fluttering around and kereru resting in the trees. We liked the rough edges, the natural untouched feel … and decided to buy it. Given our experience in running a certified organic sheep, beef and cropping farm in North Canterbury for more than 15 years we saw the opportunities for this little orchard. It took months of w**d trimming to get a small orchard tractor through the rows of pear trees to mulch the w**ds. The tractor driver said he felt like being in the jungle (just without seeing any monkeys). Eventually we could walk through the rows again. The pear trees were alive but in need of a lot more TLC. But for the first year we enjoyed tasting the different types of pears – the crunch, the juiciness and the subtle differences in flavours. We put some pears out on a small roadside stall – and people that bought them loved them. They weren’t as pretty and shiny and perfect looking as the ones in the supermarket – but they were so much juicier and packed with flavour and the tree ripened natural sweetness. So we picked some more to get them juiced – not much pure organic pear juice to be found anywhere we thought. Covid 19 - Lockdown 2020 came and we managed to get 2 batches pressed: one pure Comice from the Back Block and one pure Taylors Gold from our House Block. People that tasted the juice fell in love with it. We did soil tests to see what the soil and the trees needed, put some organic fertilizer on and sowed clovers and other beneficial plants to help the soil biology and the trees recover. We started the process of organic certification for the little pear orchard – the years of previous neglect had the advantage that no chemicals and sprays had been used on the ground and the trees for quite a few years which helped gain USDA organic status. The House Block got a much needed winter haircut – as the top of the trees were just growing to tall to be able to be harvested. But it was too much work to get all trees done in one winter. In the spring bee hives are hired to help the resident bumble bees and other beneficial insects with pollinating all the beautiful white pear blossoms. But Mother Nature wasn’t too kind during the few weeks of pollination with cold and rainy weather and even the odd late frost. Luckily the rows of Beurre Bosc in the Creek Block fared better and the decision was made to harvest in late March 2021. With the help of family and some locals during school hours we carefully picked the tree ripe pears to be juiced into the “Beurre Bosc organic pear juice 2021”. Our 2022 organic 'vintage' is a mix of Beurre Bosc and Taylors Gold - smooth, very peary and non-acidic. It will be a few more years before we know how well the pear trees will recover – but we will do all we can to help the trees, to care for them, for the soil beneath and bugs and birds around. We have started replanting natives along the boundary Waiwhero Creek, to create more habitat for the local fish, birds and insects and hope for the local school to help monitor the waterway and its inhabitants. Our vision is to rejuvenate these old trees, respect and nurture them, take only what they can afford to give to us, work with nature and for nature. We would love you to be part of this journey – by buying our delicious organic pears and juice you can help us to nurture the pear trees and the land. David, Sandy, Jessica and Andrew
