A tree seed nursery north of Prince Albert, Sask., that was one of the casualties of the collapsing forestry industry is getting a new lease on life as a fruit orchard.
In the late 1970s, Weyerhaeuser built the nursery to collect spruce and pine tree seeds.
The seeds were used to replace the trees the company was logging for Prince Albert's local pulp and paper mill.
When the mill shut down several years ago, however, so did the nursery.
Now, it's been purchased by local farmer Curtis Braaten.
Braaten wants to grow apples, sour cherries and haskap berries on 16 hectares of land.
Haskap berries, also known as honeyberries, are prized in Japan for their medicinal properties, he said.
Rather than cutting the cutting the seed trees down, Braaten plans to save them for when the forest sector rebounds.
"As long as I'm still around, nothing will happen to that orchard except for maintenance and maybe some sales," he said.
Amid forestry slump, Sask. farmer tries berries
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Showing posts with label orchard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label orchard. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Chautauqua tops NY in grape production
Business First of Buffalo - by Thomas Hartley
Chautauqua County leads all New York state counties in grape-growing with 22,276 acres planted for grapes.
That figure, which is for 2007, is up 15 percent from 2002, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reports.
The total acreage used for orchards and vineyards in the state, 99,658, was up 1 percent over the five years, but the number of fruit farm, 2,639, was down 2 percent.
Wayne County east of Rochester led all counties in apple acreage with 20,862. Apple acreage grew 7 percent from 2002, the USDA service reported.
Chautauqua County leads all New York state counties in grape-growing with 22,276 acres planted for grapes.
That figure, which is for 2007, is up 15 percent from 2002, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reports.
The total acreage used for orchards and vineyards in the state, 99,658, was up 1 percent over the five years, but the number of fruit farm, 2,639, was down 2 percent.
Wayne County east of Rochester led all counties in apple acreage with 20,862. Apple acreage grew 7 percent from 2002, the USDA service reported.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Growers see gains with Ginkgo
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
By Stephanie Grainger, Wairoa Star
Frasertown's Bryan and Michelle Brownlie grow Ginkgo biloba, a tree originating from China which is used in a natural remedy claimed to assist with memory loss, lack of concentration, poor circulation, clotting disorders, tinnitus and anxiety.Two years ago they added 0.4 hectares of Ginkgo biloba to their kiwifruit orchard which complements their hill-country cattle and sheep farm.
They planted the ginkgos after reading an article stating Hawke's Bay was a good place to grow the exotic tree which is grown for its leaf."Bryan filed the information away, and when we needed something to fill a space in the orchard he found the article again and got in touch with Nature Green's John Knight," said Mrs Brownlie.Nature Green NZ Ltd manages the process from propagating ginkgo trees in the nursery and supplying growers with trees, to purchasing the dried leaf and then selling it to the global market.
Ginkgo biloba is rated by some as one of the top five herbal products consumed in the world today.
The Brownlie's crop is doing as well as expected, proving to be reliable and relatively low maintenance which Mrs Brownlie says is "a big up-side."The essential requirements for growing ginkgo are very simple.
Source:
By Stephanie Grainger, Wairoa Star
Frasertown's Bryan and Michelle Brownlie grow Ginkgo biloba, a tree originating from China which is used in a natural remedy claimed to assist with memory loss, lack of concentration, poor circulation, clotting disorders, tinnitus and anxiety.Two years ago they added 0.4 hectares of Ginkgo biloba to their kiwifruit orchard which complements their hill-country cattle and sheep farm.
They planted the ginkgos after reading an article stating Hawke's Bay was a good place to grow the exotic tree which is grown for its leaf."Bryan filed the information away, and when we needed something to fill a space in the orchard he found the article again and got in touch with Nature Green's John Knight," said Mrs Brownlie.Nature Green NZ Ltd manages the process from propagating ginkgo trees in the nursery and supplying growers with trees, to purchasing the dried leaf and then selling it to the global market.
Ginkgo biloba is rated by some as one of the top five herbal products consumed in the world today.
The Brownlie's crop is doing as well as expected, proving to be reliable and relatively low maintenance which Mrs Brownlie says is "a big up-side."The essential requirements for growing ginkgo are very simple.
Source:
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