YOUR INDUSTRY
Daughter in law, Lynley, is fully involved in all aspects of the business
Voyles persimmons an icon of Matangi Lovers of persimmons in the Waikato are increasingly turning to small growers like Ian and Darienne Voyle. By Geoff Lewis, photos by Trefor Ward In a prescient purchase, the couple bought 10 acres at Matangi near Hamilton back in the late 1980s – right next door to the now historic Matangi dairy factory. At the time, Darienne was working for Plant & Food Research as a technician and the block had been planted out in five acres of persimmons by one of its previous owners – a chap who had also worked for Plant & Food Research. The remainder is in olives, mandarins and feijoas. Persimmons are native to China, Northeast India and Northern Indo-China. The mild, sweet, flavoured fruit has
been cultivated in China for more than 2,000 years, later being introduced to California and Southern Europe in the 19th century. For the Voyles, growing persimmons has been a learning experience. “When we bought the place, the trees were only a few metres high,” Darienne says. “We had thought of training them on wires but decided to let them grow into freestanding trees.” The Voyles dabbled in export but decided supplying the local market was the way to go. “We did spray for a couple of years but decided to go spray-free. We are not officially organic, and we still use conventional fertiliser. When we bought the place, we thought persimmons would need a pollinator, but it turns out pollinated fruit creates huge pips,” says Darienne.
42
The ORCHARDIST : AUGUST 2021
