Hazel Orchard in Drought

The Hazelnut Orchard isn't always a lush, pleasant, green place. There may be peaceful rural ambience, with horses quietly grazing in the next-door paddock, but often in summers there's a drought.

This is an early photograph of the Hazel Orchard, taken in the summer drought of January 2004. The trees have been in the ground for six months.

Horses and Hazel Trees

Each individual Hazelnut tree has its own irrigation dripper, though, and Stephen has had to irrigate once a week after Christmas (mid-summer, for the Moosey garden). The biggest problem is the hot nor-west winds which suck all the moisture out of the soil.

Rain is Needed

The photograph above, taken in the summer of 2007, sees the Hazelnut trees much bigger, but the land still needing rain. Droughts in Canterbury may be minor events on a world weather scale, but they're still quite a worry for farmers. And gardeners!