The truth about trees
There are two types of trees: the ones you want to shelter, feed, protect, and warm you, and the trees you need to plant first. Hel Loader shares 40 years of advice from her life as a tree farmer.
Ilook after 1000 walnut trees on my own. Yes, I'm probably mad to do it. They're the profit-makers that cover a large part of Nuts ‘n May Farm, along with thousands more trees that play a supporting role, providing food, shelter, timber, water, nitrogen, pollen, soil stabilisation, and even air-conditioning. Walnuts were always intended to be a long-term, profitable business for our family. People often ask me how long it takes to get a return from them; for me, the return starts from the moment a tree is planted. For most others, growing trees can have a negative financial impact on a farm for several years until they become established. For example, as the trees grew, we couldn't continue to grow barley or harvest hay, and our stocking levels needed to be adjusted to fit the reduced grazing area.
We staggered plantings, so we could still produce an income from the farm while the trees established. It can take 20 years for a walnut tree to become a reliable cropper for commercial farming, but they can last for over 200 years.
6+ things trees can do for you
The two most common reasons people plant trees are as a timber crop or for wind protection, but trees have so many other benefits.
Trees need water – and sometimes watering – but once established, their deep roots suck up moisture from deep underground. They then release any surplus near the soil surface, helping to hydrate shallow-rooted plants like grass.
Trees reduce light levels, which can inhibit grass growth, but they also act like air conditioning units, creating microclimates that provide a beneficial growing environment for surrounding plants.
Some trees fix nitrogen in the soil, helping to feed themselves and, in time, the plants around them. The root systems can also improve and stabilise soil, and fallen leaves help build soil structure.
Tree canopies help keep the soil cooler, offsetting the effects of droughts – our farm stays green even when those around us are brown and dusty.
Finally, trees provide food: crops for us, fodder for stock, and pollen and nectar for bees and other insects.
3 ways planting trees can go wrong
Some trees have foliage that’s toxic to stock, such as tutu, ngaio, and yew. Others are believed to cause abortions in stock, such as members of the cypress family, particularly macrocarpa (Cupressus macrocarpa).
Weed trees can be an issue, such as pine trees, and some varieties of wattle and sycamore.
Good trees in a bad place are also a common problem, such as those planted underneath powerlines or right up against buildings. Another is shelter trees on boundaries that eventually cause extensive shade and leaf drop on roads, leading to accidents.
Answers to common questions about growing walnuts for profit
No, you don’t get carbon credits – hedges and cropping trees aren’t included in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
Yes, it can take 20 years for our walnut trees to come into commercial production. A grafted tree will produce walnuts while very young, but the numbers don’t start to add up until it’s at least 15 years old.
No, not all walnut trees are the same.
• Forms of the English or Persian walnut (Juglans regia) are the basis of commercial nut cropping farms and can produce beautiful timber.
• The American black walnut (Juglans nigra) isn’t great for nuts. It does produce the most desirable timber, but it takes 100 years to reach milling height.
• The fast-growing Japanese walnut (Juglans ailantifolia) is a weed tree in New Zealand and isn’t good for timber either.
8 secrets to growing trees 1. Do your research – by this, I mean proper research
You want to do a lot more than just read a book, especially if it’s one full of idealised romantic pastoral visions or based solely on the northern hemisphere.
Successfully growing plants and trees is very much about the site you select and the unique climate, soil, and structural issues that limit what can be grown there.
If you’re considering a life in horticulture, I highly recommend you join the NZ Tree Crops Association (www.treecrops.org.nz). It will give you access to others, most of whom live on blocks, who are keen to share their successes and, more importantly, their failures.
Talk to other growers too. Visit your local botanical garden, nurseries, and any significant gardens in your region.
If you live in town, join garden groups and visit parks. Take a long walk around your neighbourhood and talk to the gardeners you find.
2. Be patient
You’ll never stop learning about growing plants and trees, their needs, care, and management throughout their lives. It’s a partnership between you, the soil, the weather, and the plants themselves.
As you develop your block, the rewards and challenges will grow, along with the plants.
3. Know the trees you need to plant before the trees you really want
Before you begin planting expensive, desirable trees, establish the protection that will help them flourish. In most cases, this means planting hedges and other types of windbreak. If you’ve done good research, you’ll know the best ones for your situation. In our case, the most important shelter trees are alders, my mother's favourite (read why on page 22).
There are very few productive trees that naturally grow on their own in open ground. Most benefit from the microclimate and soil improvement that comes from a well-maintained hedging system.
The added benefit is you’ll learn how to keep plants alive in your unique situation with relatively inexpensive and easierto-grow trees before moving on to the more difficult ones.