More than 50 appendage of PCA , including members from New Zealand and all states of Australia , descended on northern Tasmania for a two - mean solar day hitch of some of the state ’s leading growers in February . Dinner at the laurels - winning winery , Josef Chromy Wines at Relbia near Launceston , was a big drawcard .
by Jennifer Stackhouse
Berries on the menuFresh berry are undergoing a production boom in Tasmania with a sevenfold increment in berry production during the past five years . During the go delegates jaw Tasmanian Berries and Burlington Berries .
Tasmanian Berries is a menage - owned farm that produces berries for Driscoll ’s Australia . The berries are produced underground on sites at Exton and nearby Elizabeth Town . Harvesting runs from November to late May in this part of Tasmania ’s Meander Valley . The Exton site has recently undergone a $ 3.4 million expanding upon and now has 33 ha of covered growing space .
Further inland is Burlington Berries ( burlingtonberries.com.au ) , a large independent berry manufacturer at Cressy . Once known as a major pale yellow growing area , Cressy has diversify with potatoes , poppy , vegetables and berries .
Burlington ’s 35 - hectare farm produces diffused fruit in recollective poly burrow and grow mainly for Driscoll ’s . harvest runs for seven month from late spring .
Robert Bain , Soft Fruit Manager at Burlington Berries , explicate that one of the limiting factors for their business organisation expansion is accommodation for pickers .
“ Having at least seven months of picking allows us to invest money in training , ” he said . “ We really postulate more lower - monetary value fitting for packer and seasonal workers in the region as the cat are really clamber to receive fitting and we are getting less workers because of it . ”
cracking climateVisitors from Queensland , northerly New South Wales and Western Australia may have find oneself Tasmania ’s late - summer weather condition a little chili pepper despite the warm sunshine .
However , bloom grower Maartin Blokker from Blokker Freesia at Wesley Vale near Devonport , said the area had the idealistic climate for maturate freesia with an one-year temperature kitchen range from around 0C up to no more than 26C due to the areas propinquity to the sea-coast .
“ It is likely one of the best places on earth to raise freesia , ” he claimed while welcoming the group to his mellow tech farm . The only other rival for the statute title would be piece of California he tally .
Maartin and wife Marianne ground the business around 20 years ago .
As well as freesias , Blokker also uprise Dutch iris diaphragm and calla lily ( zantedeschia ) in big glasshouses with some outdoor growing . Almost all the flowers are air to the mainland middleman . The business also spring up freesia bulbs for exportation to Europe .
Bass Strait boundDealing with the tyranny of distance is the main challenge for producer in Tasmania peculiarly when fresh produce has to reach mainland market . For analytical lab Agvita Analytical , however , the path travel the other fashion as they treat with plant , body of water and soil samples from growers Australia - astray occur to Tasmania .
Despite the business ’s location near Devonport , General Manager Michael Ruffels said they provide next twenty-four hours results to growers in most parts of Australia if the samples are sent via Express Post .
While all type of plants are analysed at the lab , which apply 12 to 13 trained staff , the top four are spud , grapevine ( both wine and table ) , strawberry and Citrullus vulgaris .
Michael said the most important factor for grower send samples to the lab is to get the right sample distribution material whether it is flora , soil or water and to send an enough amount .
“ We are happy to outline what ’s needed , depending on the testing we are doing , ” he append . Although most test require very minuscule material he added that it is important to send a representative sample . PCA extremity receive a deduction on Agvita services .
Tomatoes are topsWhile the climate of Tasmanian ’s north may be spot on for freesia , the story is n’t quite the same for tomatoes . love apple have a fairly myopic growing time of year in Tasmania , which has inhuman winter and a brusque , cool to meek summer . Just west of Devonport at Turners Beach , is one of Tasmania ’s largest tomato producer , J & A Brandsema .
The family - owned company bring on glasshouse - grown tomato for Coles , Frank Winfield Woolworth and sovereign retailers throughout Tasmania . While the ship’s company ’s focus is on its local market place , excess cherry and other tomatoes are exported to the mainland .
“ With so many Tasmanian home gardener reap their own tomatoes in belated summer we usually see a cliff in local need at this sentence of the class , ” say Marcus Brandsema , but mainland consumers are happy to click up the Tassie - grown produce .
As well as tomato plant , Brandsema also bring forth genus Capsicum , chilli and eggplant . Eggplant product however was halted during 2018 when fruit fly was discover in nearby Spreyton .
The Turners Beach area fell into the exclusion geographical zone , which entail that special confinement were enforced at the farm before crops could be locomote off site .
These included fumigation and dusty treatment , which is undesirable for eggplant . With northern Tasmania having find its fruit fly free condition , Marcus Brandsema told the group that he is planning to contribute eggplant back into the growing mix .
Wood wastefulness heatingWhile freesias and tomatoes seem a world aside , both agriculturalist rely on a local waste intersection to make their product price efficient : hardwood sawdust . At Blokker and J. A Brandsema , large covered motortruck deliver regular load of sawdust , which is used to power furnace that in turn help production . At Blokker the heating from burning sawdust is used to power a kettle , which produces the steam used to sterilise the territory in the glasshouses prior to replanting .
Up the road at Brandsema , water hot up by the furnace keeps cold - sensitive love apple at their idealistic growing temperature . The red-hot water runs through pipes between the row of hydroponically grow tomato plant . The rails then two-fold as rail for the trolleys used for picking . Despite the warm summertime Clarence Day , Marcus allege he had been heating the glasshouses overnight in late calendar week .
