Horticultural Crops in the Marlborough Sounds District

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 83, Issue 5, 15 November 1951, Page 381

Horticultural Crops in the Marlborough Sounds District

By

S. FREW,

Orchard Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Motueka

9UEEN CHARLOTTE SOUND, with its bush-clad mountains and sheltered bays providing excellent bathing and fishing, is renowned as a holiday resort, but seldom has serious thought been given to horticultural development of the area. Apart from isolated sheep farms in some of the cleared and flatter areas, the land has been left in its natural state with only the unfortunate ravages of fire to spoil the beauty of the native bush in some parts. Recently, however, the possibility of utilising some of the land for horticultural crops has been considered by a few venturesome settlers and the progress to date indicates at least the promise of success, despite the many obstacles which had to be overcome.

THE large influx of visitors to the Sounds during summer and autumn has been responsible for the birth of the idea of growing horticultural crops there. The clamant demand from these visitors for fresh vegetables and fruits has disclosed the serious local shortage and the difficulty of providing delivery from distant growing areas at economic prices. Though many have considered the idea of a locally provided supply, it was a Wellington business man, Mr. J. E. Vogel, who owned a property in the Sounds, who made the first real move toward undertaking the establishment of a fruit and vegetable farm there. f Economic Possibilities In weighing up the pros and cons of such a venture it seemed that at best it was very doubtful whether it could ever be a success, although there were some favourable features in the proposition. In addition to a ready-made market for the produce the locality was known to be reasonably frost free and in favoured pockets the climate even approached subtropical. The area’s isolation from other horticultural areas was also perhaps of some

benefit, as many of the common plant diseases were unknown in the area. Again, the land is cheap, even taking into consideration that a large area has to be purchased to obtain a few acres of suitable ground. Lastly, no labour difficulty was expected, as it was thought that many people, especially youths, would be only too willing to combine a holiday in the Sounds with the promise of part-time work. General Unsuitable Conditions . The Sounds district, as a whole, however, is not suitable for horticultural development. Topographical features alone are a definite obstacle. Most of ' the country is steep and broken, with peaks and ridges rising in a number of places to between 3000 and 4000 ft. The majority of these slopes are far too steep for cultivation and the soil generally is shallow, although built up with decayed vegetation to a satisfactory humus content. A heavy rainfall, nearly 70in. annually, falls mostly during winter and spring; the summers are sometimes very dry. Naturally, in winter the flats remain waterlogged, and immediately the land on the slopes is cleared,

the winter rains cause serious erosion, the limited topsoil rapidly becomes lost, and the land is soon made barren and useless. Even when precautions are taken to prevent erosion drought conditions in summer are a serious disadvantage which must be overcome.

The peculiar topography of the Sounds also makes shelter from winds a problem. The very high winds which occur at times are gusty and swirl down over the ridges into the valleys and gullies and seem to come from every direction. Again, the steep nature of the hills means that the hours of sunshine are reduced, many otherwise suitable, pockets either receiving the sun too late or losing it too early. A further hindrance to economic production is the isolation of the Sounds. No roads exist, and all transport is by launch or barge, the port of Picton being the sole link with the outside world. All seeds, fertilisers, equipment, and stores have to be brought in by sea, and all produce delivered likewise, either to the port of Picton, or to the numerous guest houses and private holiday residences in the many bays and inlets bordering the coast. Compared with road and rail services, launch transport is costly, slow, and far more dependent on the weather. Queen Charlotte Sound is an inland sea which at times can become comparatively rough for small boats. With these not inconsiderable obstacles a project to develop horticultural crops required substantial resources, great initiative, a sound local knowledge, and a great deal of hard work, especially in the preparatory stages.

Initial Work Mr. Vogel decided to go ahead with the scheme. Having purchased a 300acre abandoned sheep farm in Onahau Bay, he became determined to develop it on new lines, embracing the growing of a diversity of horticultural crops. His property lay at the head of the bay, which was a short inlet extending from the Grove arm of Queen Charlotte Sound. Situated at the not uneconomic distance of 6 miles from Picton (f-hour launch trip) his land nevertheless was typical Sounds country. A small patch (2 acres) of flat low-lying land near the water’s edge extended for a short distance as a gradual slope, then ran steeply on all sides until a sloping plateau was reached at a height of some 300 ft. There some pockets with a northerly aspect, lying well to the sun, contained soil of fair depth. Above this the land rose steeply up to a high ridge.. It was decided to concentrate upon the most suitable areas, a total of about 6 acres. A tremendous amount of preparatory work had to be done.

A jetty had to be built, fortunately only a . small one, as the head of the bay provided not only a safe anchorage for launches but the water was deep right to the shore. A roadway had to be formed from the jetty to the old homestead on the flat land and a further road carved out of the hillside up to the plateau. The scrub and bush was then cleared from these blocks. Drains had to be dug in the flat land to make it at all arable and diversion ditches made along the plateau’ to cope with the heavy run-off from the ridge. Gradual Development A production programme was then prepared. It was decided to try vegetable crops on the richer, flat land, berry fruits on the adjacent slopes, and tree fruits on the plateau. The first season was devoted to concentrating on the flat land, which was deep ploughed and heavily limed, tests having shown that all the area had a serious lime deficiency. Heavy dressings of superphosphate were also applied, as the phosphate content of

the soil was also found to be dangerously low, while nitrogen was provided in the form of sulphate of ammonia and blood and bone dressings. Some fairly satisfactory crops were raised in this first year during the summer, the moist condition of this low-lying land proving very suitable for summer vegetation. Lettuces, tomatoes, peas, beans, cabbages, and sweet corn all proved to be good crops, while partial .success was obtained with root crops such as beet, carrots, and parsnips. As had been expected, disposal of this production was easy once the transport difficulty was overcome. A 39ft. launch with an extra-large cockpit proved very suitable, as large loads of produce could be moved in one shipment. In a limited way the small beginning had shown the possibilities of future success for the scheme and provided the opportunity for trying out the system of sale' and distribution. Expansion of Development, Contouring of Hillsides Encouraged by initial promise of success, Mr. Vogel decided to carry

out the balance of his. programme the next year. This was a more ambitious undertaking, as once land away from the flats was to be cultivated, the threat of soil erosion during winter and the danger of summer drought conditions had to be countered. It was decided that planting was likely to be successful only by ' introducing the contour system. Contours could be made to serve two purposes: Not only were they the only practical answer to soil erosion, but local experiments indicated that greater retention of moisture during drought periods had been achieved on contoured areas. With the assistance of the local soil conservation officer and a surveyor contour lines were marked out on the slopes proposed to be developed. On the plateau, slopes, which it was planned to plant in stone fruit trees, the lines were marked out; averaging 18ft. apart, while on the lower slopes, required for berry fruits and tomatoes,

the lines were marked at approximately 6ft. intervals. Planting was then carried out on these lines, the fruit trees being spaced at an average of 10ft. intervals in the rows. Where the contours contracted and became relatively close the space between the trees was correspondingly lengthened, and where the contours were comparatively wide the trees were planted a little closer in the row; the overall effect was to give each tree approximately the same area for root development. , . ~ The same principle was followed with the planting of the berry fruits on the lower slopes, but in this instance rows were an average of 6ft. apart, as is customary with these fruits. A ribbon of clover seed was then sown along the tree lines to help to

contain the soil on these strips. The land between. the rows was then ploughed and cultivated in the normal manner, the object being ultimately to transform the hillside into a series of terraces,, the clover strips becoming the terrace banks. w „_ „. at i on and q nrav in2Water tor irrigation and bpraying As it was considered that even the contouring of the hillside might be insufficient to cope with the heavy downpours sometimes experienced, a water channel was dug above the cultivated area, the water being directed into a well on the edge of the orchard block, the overflow from this running into the gully below. The well primarily will supply the water for spraying the fruit trees and also will be the nucleus of an irrigation supply. To facilitate gravity irrigation a departure from the usual method of

contouring was made. Instead of contours being formed perfectly level, a / zig-zag grade of 1 in 200 was allowed. That is, the top line had a very gradual slope downhill in one direction, the second line a similar slope in the reverse direction, . and so on. Thus it was hoped the water would flow slowly down the hill in a zig-zag fashion. Shelter It was found that the bordering bush effectively sheltered the flat land from all serious winds, but a strange and eminently . satisfactory phenomenon occurs on the hillside. The prevailing wind does not blow directly on to the hillside, but strikes the top of the ridge, and then swirls down the slope. A shelter belt was therefore planted above the orchard, and as the slope has a northerly aspect, wind protection should be achieved without loss of any sunshine. Present Position r The third season (1950) was devoted to gradual improvement of the whole area under development and it is now possible to see some results. These are encouraging, although there is still room for great improvement. Recent soil tests have still shown a serious lime and phosphate shortage and further applications of lime and fertiliser will have to be made before really good vegetable crops are grown. The stone fruit trees and strawberry and boysenberry areas are thriving, however, and the property generally is beginning to assume an orderly appearance. As expected, the contoured areas have rapidly formed terraces, as will be seen by the accompanying photographs. With cultivation the land has become remarkably friable and the terraces are now level and easily worked. Intensive manuring is being done systematically, and again advantage has been taken of the farm’s geographical position. .In the same Sound as the property is the principal New Zealand whaling station and it has proved economic to collect whale meat refuse by barge. This has been applied in abundant dressings and the results have been outstanding. Vigorous growth has occurred wherever the refuse has been applied, and it is intended eventually to cover the whole area with the material as supplies become available. Success so Far This unusual experiment in horticulture can be said to have been a success so far. To date all difficulties met have been overcome, although this has been possible only by hard work and the expenditure of a large amount of capital upon equipment and materials. A calf-dozer for road construction, a converted Bren gun carrier for transport in the initial stages, a rotary hoe, tractor, and : cultivating equipment, spraying equipment, a launch, and large quantities of fertiliser have all been necessary to ensure success. Even so it will be a few years before the property will be in full production. The whole venture will be an outstanding example of what can be done to bring even apparently most unsuitable country into intensive production.