Retirement project growing avocadoes exceeds expectations

A LITTLE retirement project growing avocadoes in the state’s North-West has exceeded the owners’ expectations in yields and fruit quality. KAROLIN MACGREGOR reports.

Avocado growers Paul and Maria Bidwell at Gawler, where their crop is being harvested. Picture: Chris Kidd

WHEN Paul and Maria Bidwell planted a small avocado orchard in Tasmania’s North- West as a retirement project they had no idea just what they started.

The first 1000 Hass variety trees for their Avoland Avocados business were planted on the property near North Motton in 2010.

As experienced commercial growers from Western Australia, and having seen having seen first hand that avocados could be grown here, Mr Bidwell said they had hopes of reasonable yields and making a modest income from the enterprise.

“There were a lot of people who thought there was no way they could be grown commercially here,” he said.

“We were confident that they could be, but we thought with the climate here the yields would be lower,” Mr Bidwell said.

“We were working on being able to achieve the industry average, which is about eight to 10 tonnes a hectare.”

The first clue that Tasmania could in fact be the ideal place to grow the crop came fairly soon after the trees were planted.

“The amount of growth and vigour we were getting in the trees right from the start was something we just didn’t expect,” Mr Bidwell said.

“I was watching that and thinking it could be very interesting once they start producing fruit.”

As part of the experiment the couple also established part of the orchard under netting.

Initially, this was to protect the trees from wind, but one of the other benefits has been an improvement in pollination which flows on to higher fruit yields.

After the orchard started producing fruit Mr Bidwell said they began to realise just how successful their experiment had been.

Once the trees were reproductively mature, they quickly overtook the Bidwells’ initial yield predictions.

This season the 2.4ha orchard is on track to produce about 25 tonnes of avocados per hectare.

“We’ve really created a monster,” Mr Bidwell said.

“We moved here with a plan to grow a few avocados on the side and take things a bit easier and now we’re basically back at the same level we were in WA.”

It is a result that has the wider industry taking note. Another commercial orchard has been established in the region.

While management is important, Mr Bidwell said the underlying reasons behind the operation’s success were Tasmania’s soils and climate.

Avocados are very slow-producing fruit and it takes well over a year for them to go from initial fruit set to harvest.

The trees being harvested now already have small avocados on them that will be next year’s crop.

Mr Bidwell said one of the major benefits of Tasmania’s cooler climate and particularly its mild summer was that even once they are mature the fruit can be left on the trees for months without deterioration in quality.

Because of the fruit’s high oil content he said this was simply not possible in the hotter areas of the country.

Extreme temperatures can cause the avocados to go rancid.

“That is one of the major benefits we have here, they can just stay hanging on the trees lovely and green until we need them and that gives us a much longer harvest window,” Mr Bidwell said.

The trees deliver great yields and fruit can remain on the trees for a long period.

The farm started harvesting in early January and will go right through until the end of May.

However, there is the potential for year round production if needed.

The slow, cool growing period also gives the avocados time to develop a high oil content, which can be up to 35 to 37 per cent.

Mrs Bidwell said this also meant Tasmanian avocados have a rich and creamy texture and deeper flavour.

Once picked, the avocados start to ripen, which can take between seven to 10 days.

While the Bidwells initially sold most of their fruit through farmers markets, as their production volume has increased they started supplying local specialty retailers including Hill Street Grocer, Salamanca Fresh, some IGA stores, Youngs Veggie Shed and The Nut House.

As part of that process they are also pioneering a new way to sell avocados.

Normally the fruit are sold on an individual price basis and are graded into size groups.

However, what the Bidwells have done is work with retailers to sell the avocados on a per kilogram basis.

The avocados are supplied in large loose lots that include fruit of different sizes. Mr Bidwell said this allowed customers to have a choice about the size of fruit they wanted to buy and what they paid depended on the weight.

It also means the Bidwells are not left with fruit that does not fit into a required size range.

On farm the couple have also established a grading and packing shed.

As part of the grading process, any fruit with significant skin blemishes are removed and these are sold to food-service businesses.

Mr Bidwell said that as a rainforest tspecies, avocados had built-in natural defences to protect them again fungal diseases and so the trees did not require spraying.

With demand for avocados increasing, Mr Bidwell said there was real potential for the development of an industry in the state.

“It would be great to see that happen,” he said.

“It has been creating a lot of interest and clearly the big players are beginning to see the potential here.

“I’d like to think that what we’ve done here in Tassie is a bit of a yard stick,” he said.

Originally published as Retirement project growing avocadoes exceeds expectations