Wairarapa Organics hosted a new and innovative event on Saturday the 11th of March 2006 in and around Martinborough, Wairarapa to showcase organic production and lifestyles.  Four intriguing but very different properties featuring organic production of livestock, fruit, herbs, vegetables and wine were on show. There were different activities to do and exhibitions to see on each property.

Good Life Trail brochure.pdf (1,058.99 KB)

"The Good Life Trail - A Showcase of Choice"

A report by Joanne Kilsby

As the cloud lifted to reveal a sunny autumn morning, Heather Atkinson and the 'Good Life' team of Wairarapa Organics breathed a sigh of relief. After many months of planning, which involved organising four properties which would show case organics and eco-friendly sustainable lifestyles in South Wairarapa, it was very encouraging to have great weather and a crowd of enthusiastic people for the launch of this inaugural event.

The day started at Wharerata, a 250 hectare BioGro registered property of Heather and Ian Atkinson. This property, nestled in the fertile foothills of the Northern Haurangi Range is an established commercial agricultural enterprise, which has successfully embraced organic principals since 1990.

The current farming activities include approximately 600 red deer, 300 breeding ewes and their progeny and grazing of young dairy stock for a local organic dairy farmer. A portion of the property is also leased out. This property was responsible for the supply of beef and lamb for New Zealand’s first certified organic butchers’ shop.

In addition the property has a 20 hectare pine plantation, 6 hectares of Queen Elizabeth II native tree covenant area which is actively being developed and 1200+ coppicing firewood trees which are milled sustainably.

The concept of the coppice was explained during the tour and visitors could see first hand how the Atkinson's manage this block of trees. The block is based on the Brandenburg model, established in 1985 by Lincoln University. Coppicing involves harvesting tree's by cutting them near ground level to allow them to regrow for use in a sustainable manner. The harvested wood can be used for fodder, firewood, basket making, poles for fencing or quality timber for furniture or tools. Coppices are also useful as shelter belts, erosion control or to provide habitat for birds and insects used in biological pest control. The Atkinson's choice of trees included eucalyptus, acacias, sycamore, black locust and liquidambar.

In addition to the coppice tour visitors were treated to sheep shearing , wool spinning , trade displays or were able to wander through the productive, well maintained organic vegetable garden laden with ripe berry fruit.

Next stop was Shooting Butts Orchard and the straw bale house of Steve and Carol White. This property epitomises the concept of choice. After researching different methods of house construction Steve and Carol decided on strawbale because as a family they could take part in it's construction. All the house's external walls are straw filled, except for the wet areas, and the framing is timber with a conventional iron roof. The couple choose conventional gib internal walls due to space saving as straw bale internal walls can be very thick.

The variety of trees and their maintenance also represent choice. Trees were chosen for their flavour and resistance to diseases such as black spot and mildew as they didn't wish to spray coppers or sulphurs. Codling moth is also a problem faced by apple growers and the well known variety of 'Cox's Orange' is a good choice because of it has great flavour and thick skin which make it more resistant to codling moth. Carol also recommends a triple grafted tree of Freyberg/Discovery and Dayton for the home gardener due to their disease resistance and taste.

Working part-time off the property suits both Carol and Steve as they can share child minding and orchard duties. Orchard duties can vary depending on available time. Some years trees are thinned and pruned whilst other years they are not. The couple are very relaxed about this. As long as the trees are growing well they do not stress themselves rushing around mowing grass and all the other time consuming orchard activities. Where possible they use time saving methods like using sheep to eat the grass, windfalls and leaves which may have black spot. By clearing the fallen fruit and leaves it helps with disease prevention for next years crop.

The Whites also harvest pears. Doyenne Du Comice is the main pear variety grown due to it being relatively disease resistant and it is a popular exportable crop. In addition they have planted approximately 260 plums, mainly a variety called Fortune and grow a selection of Apricots, Cherries, Feijoas and Olives. The Whites have been registered as BioGro but have recently changed to OrganicFarmNZ certification.

After a lunch break, which for many included a tasty lunch from Watermill Bakery, visitors then drove to the very grand immaculately presented property of Liz Stringer and Robbie Morrison. Falkirk was purchased by the current owner’s six years ago. Since then extensive renovations have taken place, firstly within the house and more recently in the grounds.

The property consists of an orchard with 100 fruit trees of many varieties, sourced from Waimea Nursery, with a herbal ley of lucerne and chicory beneath it. There is an extensive organic kitchen picking garden with macrocarpa edging, hosting roses, herbs, and vegetables. A recent addition is the domes planted with grapes and hops.

A guided native bush walk through one of the recently replanted gullies was testament to the extent this couple are willing to go to restore the native environment of this area. They started from the base of the gully clearing away years of farm rubbish, pines and scrub. Beneath the rubbish they uncovered a stream, a sandstone waterfall and signs of natural revegetation. They have terraced the gully walls and left some of the original tree lucerne and plums to act as soil stabilisers until the planted natives become established. To date 4500 native trees (3000 this season) have been planted to enhance this natural area with plans to protect it with a covenant in the future.

The property has many other outstanding features and many of the visitors were intrigued with the 'loo with a view' and a bathroom block which is attached to one of the buildings on the property.

The final stop, Vynfields the property of John Bell and Kaye McAulay, was a perfect way to finish the day. Vynfeilds is a boutique operation, located 3 minutes from the Martinborough town square, offering self contained accommodation options and a 5.3 hectare organic vineyard. The main variety grown is Pinot Noir with some Riesling and vines known as 'Mad Red' which produce a bull blood coloured wine.

John and Kaye's goal is to produce premium wines using organic and biodynamic viticulture practices. Recent success’s include a Gold medal at the NZ Royal Easter Show Wine awards for their 2003 Reserve Pinot Noir, and four and a half stars from Bob Campbell for their 2003 Classic Riesling.

Growing grapes organically is not an easy option but this couple are testament to the fact if you know what you want, stick to your philosophy and are willing to experiment and give things a go you too can achieve a lifestyle you want.

They say you don't plant a vineyard to get rich. You need to be rich to plant a vineyard. It has been estimated that it costs $100,000 per hectare set-up costs to establish a vineyard and over $10,000 per hectare , per annum to maintain it. So for most of us sitting on the verandah of the historic ’Marunui’ Homestead at Vynfields, sipping award winning vines is as close to vineyard gazing as we can afford.

For many of the visitors from Wellington, Havelock North, Palmerston or Kapiti Coast this was the end of the Good Life Trail day but for some there was an evening of organic food, wine and entertainment to follow.

This was hosted at Salute restaurant in Greytown with guest speaker Sue Kedgely and acclaimed food writer and stylist Margaret Brooker in attendance.

Guests enjoyed a four course dinner with food sourced from local certified organic growers in the region. Introducing each course was Margaret Brooker who shared the rationale behind the food and wine choices for the evening giving an added dimension to the meal.

Sue Kedgley, a member of parliament for the Green Party and well known safe food campaigner, spoke on the value of eating local, seasonal preferably organic foods as a means of minimising food miles and the use of fossil fuels. She also brought to the attention of the guests the manner in which ‘conventional’ farmers do not pay for the environmental effects of their production and the lack of support for organic producers in New Zealand.

The evening was accompanied by ‘B-side’ a talented group of four local musicians. Bolly, Miles, Bob and Kate specialise in Blues and country music and provided a great background sound for the evening.

Lets hope we see a repeat of this hugely successful event on the Wairarapa calendars for next year giving us a chance to once again sample a taste of the Good Life.