March 2011

The Daley News

25% Off Freight Offer - Autumn

Yes Even Western Australia gets the 25% Freight Discount this time. 

In Spring our plants grow fast but often are not Mail Order size and quality. But now that it is Autumn our plants are ready to be sent to your doorstep which is why we have our March to May Freight Offer which saves you 25% Off Freight

Calculated Automatically Online when you enter your postcode. 
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A Local Kyogle Orchard

In the hills just to the west of Kyogle is an orchard with stunning views to the Border Ranges in the north.  The orchard was started about 20 years ago and over the years it has expanded to cover an area of several hectares.  Today it is a delightful mix of mature trees with younger plantings being constantly established in any available spaces.  The most impressive trees on the day I visited were the Jackfruits and the Wax Jambus.  The Jackfruits hang like enormous textured globes from the trunk of the tree, they are massive, we decide against picking a fruit as we would have to carry the heavy lump of a fruit around the orchard with us, I was very tempted though.  The Wax Jambus were laden with their attractive bell shaped fruits that travelled all the way up the branches into the canopy, they are very ornamental and the fruits are deliciously refreshing with a crunchy texture that is perfectly suited to a hot summers day.  They do require a frost free location to thrive and if given the right climate they fruit abundantly during the summer months.  The waxy fruits are a delicate pink, red or white and they light up the inner canopy of the attractive tree.

Further up the hill I catch a sweet aroma like a hint of gardenia on the breeze, up ahead of us is a hedge of Natal Plums, they are just gorgeous.  The white aromatic flowers are highly attractive and are made even more so as they contrast on the bush with the bright red fruit.  The plants are covered in serious thorns and are perfect for a dense impenetrable barrier hedge.  The fruits are tasty and have a rich flavour when fully ripe.

Soursops grow here successfully and are fully ripe during February, they have a more lively flavour and texture that the closely related custard apples and cherimoyas.  Soursops are very tropical and require a frost free warm humid climate to thrive and crop well. 

Achacha

The Bolivian Achachairu Garcinia humilis known as the Achacha in Australia grows on a tree that will reach 10m with twisted branches and thick foliage.  The fruit grows inside the tree; initially green, it is not visible until it turns yellow and then orange after three months or so in a tropical climate.  It ripens from December to March.  The small white flowers are attractive to bees so much so that honey production could easily be a profitable orchard by product.  In Bolivia Achacha honey is used for medicinal purposes and is sold at ten times the price of other honey. 

Achacha is native to the tropical lowlands of Bolivia where the soils are rich and the fruits produced from the Achachairu trees are highly revered. Achacha have been trialled successfully in tropical Queensland where the soil is rich and there is high rainfall,  we are very interested to see how the trees cope with subtropical climates.  Anyone interested in growing a tree can register your interest here on our Achacha page and we will let you know when we have some ready for sale.  We have a consignment arriving next week and are particularly interested in hearing from local people who would be keen to give us some feedback on how the tree performs in our climate.  This first shipment of trees will only be available for pick up from the nursery in Kyogle as the trees are too large to ship out, there will be a limit of two trees per person for those intersted as we have limited stocks. Please Contact Us By Email to place an order for pick up.  Anyone interested in growing Achacha commercially should contact Bruce Hill http://www.achacha.com.au/

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