Sally and her Sichuan berry shrub with the remains of last year's harvest in the tub.
Sally and her Sichuan berry shrub with the remains of last year's harvest in the tub.
Levin tree cropper Sally Conroy has an eclectic selection of trees on her property, including many that produce fruit.
She is also trialling a few berries and has grown plenty of herbs and flowers. Most treasured among her collection are five Sichuan pepper trees, though despite the name theyare not peppers.
Grown meticulously from seeds, she is now harvesting a considerable amount of berries each year, which are used mostly used in Chinese cooking. The Sichuan shrubs/trees have very nasty thorns and the berries are used in stir fries or can be eaten as they are, once dried. It gives a tingling effect once in the mouth and tastes a bit like citrus.
The couple moved to Levin 10 years ago and spent six years remodelling the rundown 1930s house they found on the property just outside Levin and then turned their attention to the surroundings.
Sally said she doesn’t garden, instead she walks, all the while examining, snacking, collecting, weeding.
Trees and flowers now grow alongside the driveway close to the house and fruit trees are in front, and beside and behind the house as well as many flowering shrubs. They have citrus, figs, and avocados, among others. Paths wind through the tightly packed trees and shrubs.
“We are trialling honeyberries and once grew almonds. That latter trial wasn’t too successful. Many trees croppers grow for home use rather than commercial. We joined them 10 years ago and have learned a lot. Their magazines we keep as the information contained in them never really grows out of date.
“We gained knowledge from other tree croppers and learned from their experience. It is great to spend time with people who also have small blocks and have similar experiences.”
They said that while some members are commercial growers, most tree croppers tend to be keen amateurs.
“Membership also allows us to participate in trials.”
Their Wellington Horowhenua branch is in charge of organising the association’s annual conference, but they have been there before, thanks to the pandemic.
“It is third time lucky. We had to postpone twice,” said Mark.
