The Orchard
We have over 30 different varieties of blueberries on our property, both high bush and rabbiteye varieties. Each variety ranges in colour, flavour, and shape. Our season runs from late October through to mid-April. We have over 80,000 bushes planted on our 44 hectare (110 acres) property.
Location
Monavale Blueberries are centrally located in the Waikato region, only one and a half hours drive from Auckland International Airport and just ten minutes drive from Hamilton International Airport.
Our orchard & cafe would make the perfect ‘stop’ if you are travelling through to Rotorua, Waitomo Caves, Lake Karapiro, Tirau, Lake Arapuni, Fieldays, Maungatautari Ecological Island, Hobbiton and the Waikato region in general.
Come and visit New Zealand’s largest BioGro certified organic blueberry orchard and stock up on delicious organic blueberry products from our orchard shop. Our orchard cafe has delicious organic hot & cold drinks, and fantastic food.
We are open 7 days, 9am-4.30pm.
Our orchard and cafe are signposted off the Cambridge-Te Awamutu Road. We are 10 minutes from Cambridge, 15 minutes from Te Awamutu and 25 minutes from Hamilton.
Please go to ‘Contact’ tab for full directions and detailed map.
Seasons on the orchard:
Summer: We start harvesting the blueberries from the end of October through to the end of March. Blueberries can be seen on the bushes, and the orchard becomes a hive of activity.
Autumn: During autumn the leaves on the blueberry bushes turn a red/brown, which is a pretty sight. The entire orchard is an amazing spectacle of colours. A sea of greens, oranges, reds, yellows, purples can be seen from the cafe looking over the orchard, a site not to be missed!
Winter: Winter is a dormant time for blueberry bushes, where they rest and recover from their summer exertion. The cafe will be warm and cosy and you will be able to enjoy our blueberry products and the fantastic views.
Spring: Our blueberry bushes start flowering in spring, which is a beautiful sight. Pink, white and red flowers start appearing, and the orchard comes alive again. This is a nice time to take an orchard tour.
Birds-eye view of Monavale Blueberries – February 2019
Month by Month on the Orchard
February – The orchard is operating at full swing. The bulk of our fresh organic blueberry production is harvested at this time. We attend the Waikato Farmers Markets weekly.
March – We are still very busy with our fresh blueberry production. Our rabbiteye varieties start to slow down towards the end of the month. We attend the Waikato Farmers Markets weekly.
April – Our fresh blueberry production finishes. We start the huge task of orchard maintenance. We start mowing, weeding and pruning. We collate orchard data and information from the season.
May – We are busy pruning and completing general orchard maintenance including mowing, scrubcutting and weeding.
June – We are busy pruning and general orchard maintenance including mowing, scrubcutting and weeding.
July – We are still busy pruning! We put the plastic on our tunnel houses.
August – We complete more orchard maintenance, including hand weeding, and scrubcutting around every single bush on the orchard. We also apply organic fertilisers.
September – The blueberry bushes start to flower. We are in full frost protection mode. We are busy preparing for the up and coming season ahead, including arranging staff and ordering materials.
October – The first of our fresh blueberries start to ripen from our tunnel houses. We are still on high alert frost protection mode. We start attending the Waikato Farmers Markets weekly.
November – We are still picking from our tunnel houses. Towards the end of the month our fresh outdoor crop starts to ripen. We attend the Waikato Farmers Markets weekly.
December – We are busy with picking and processing our fresh outdoor highbush varieties. We attend the Waikato Farmers Markets weekly.
January – Our highbush varieties slow down and our rabbiteye varieties start to ripen. We attend the Waikato Farmers Markets weekly.
