Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Northland couple growing bananas, pineapples and coffee
Gone troppo: the Northland couple growing bananas,
pineapples and coffee
From Country Life, 9:45 pm on 24 August 2018
Tropical fruits cope extremely well in New Zealand conditions and Linda Schafli is baffled as to why more people aren't growing them commercially.
She and her husband Owen - who moved here from South Africa ten years ago - grow bananas, pineapples and coffee on a seven-hectare property east of Whangarei.
Listen to the story duration 13:06
Click a link to play audio (or right-click to
download) in either
MP3 format or in OGG format.
Since the Schaflis moved to Parua Bay from Hamilton seven years ago, the couple have worked extremely hard not only getting a semi-completed house up to scratch, but clearing patches of scrub and bush to provide a sheltered dell for their beloved bananas.
Their property does get some frosts, but the bananas, pineapples, coffee bushes, cherimoya, prickly pear and sugar cane are all looking great, Linda says.
Even in July, the trees were still groaning under the weight of healthy hands of bananas.
Owen expects at least two large bunches from each tree - which is actually a herb but grows more like a grass.
When you push through manuka, totara and rimu, suddenly a large field of pineapples appears.
Owen says a shortage of rootstock means he's having to slowly build up his plant numbers, but two years from now he'll have a commercial crop.
Pineapples produce fruit around Christmastime and again between March and June and will eventually be worth about $120,000 a hectare, he says.
A dense stand of sugar cane provides shelter for the Schafli's coffee bushes.
They're producing large volumes of beans and this year the Schaflis will be roasting six varieties of their own coffee, Owen says.
People are welcome to come to the property and take cuttings from the bushes, he says.
RNZ
New Zealand's public broadcaster, providing comprehensive NZ news and current affairs, specialist audio features and documentaries.
Radio New Zealand is a Crown entity established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. Radio New Zealand News are vital elements in our programming, providing impartial news and information to New Zealanders every day. Radio New Zealand (RNZ) provides listeners with exciting and independent radio programmes in accordance with the Radio New Zealand Charter.
Peter Dunne: Luxon Gets Out His Butcher's Knife - Briefly
Binoy Kampmark: Warring Against Encryption, Australia Is Coming For Your Communications
Gordon Campbell: On Fast Track Powers, Media Woes And The Tiktok Ban
Binoy Kampmark: Censorship Wars, Elon Musk, Safety Commissioners And Violent Content
Gordon Campbell: On The Public Sector Carnage, And Misogyny As Terrorism
Ramzy Baroud: NATO’s Never-ending War: The 75-Year-Old Bully Is Faltering