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The climate having played havoc with their cherry orchard, Adriana and Michael Mather plan to stay at their rural idyll in Te Karaka but are in talks to hand their plantings over to a younger couple who, they say, would have more energy to make it work
The world is changing, Gisborne growers warn A pair of Gisborne growers knew they were taking a risk planting cherries in a temperate area but say the pace of climate change took them by surprise … and took their orchard out of action. By Kristine Walsh Long-time residents of New Zealand, Adriana (originally from Scotland) and Michael (England) Mather met on a blind date in 2001, and with their respective adult children well established, decided the new year signified time for a new life – together. The couple lived in Gisborne for a while but by 2004 had bought in Te Karaka – just 25 minutes inland from Gisborne – nearly half a hectare of land complete with a dilapidated cottage that was formerly home to the resident District Nurse. For the next few years they continued to work in Gisborne while renovating the cottage and plotting what they would do with their little patch of paradise. “It was just a bare paddock that had been leased for grazing but I could see there was potential for putting on something to create an income,” Adriana says. “So we
took a couple of years to think it over, to work out what we thought would be a good crop.” The soil was good, having formerly been used both to graze young cattle and to grow kumara. “And the weather at that time told us there was enough cold during winter to make cherries viable, so we decided to go with that.”
It was just a bare paddock that had been leased for grazing but I could see there was potential for putting on something to create an income The ORCHARDIST : FEBRUARY 2021 25