3 minute read
Voyles persimmons an icon of Matangi
Daughter in law, Lynley, is fully involved in all aspects of the business
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.
The trees like a cool winter and the weather over the 2020–21 season was generally good. ”But you couldn't design a worse climate for persimmons than the Waikato, humid in summer, and all the bugs,” says Ian. “The fruit have smooth skins and all the blemishes show up. Heavy frosts can damage the fruit. But in 30 years, we have only had one complete failure. So far, we've been treated really well.” Pruning is done in early spring; new shoots arrive in October and flowers around November. The fruit sets and develops and the harvest is short and sweet – beginning in mid-May, it's all done by the end of the month – about 20 tonnes worth in the average year. Today the Voyles’ orchard is run as a 'pick your own' enterprise.
“We get a lot of families and bus-loads of people turning up from Auckland, probably 80 to 90 percent Chinese and other Asian peoples and Pacific islanders – lots of families.” But the Voyles did not buy the property because it was an orchard. They bought it because of where it was – adjacent to the local shops, garage, and school, and now in the centre of a growing lifestyle block area linked to Hamilton city services. “It's an orchard I've been subsidising for 30 years. But it's not a bad hobby and it pays its way and the rates,” Ian says.
Ian Voyle says despite the region's humid climate, their persimmon orchard has produced good fruit for 30 years
