Gracebrook Orchard

Gracebrook Orchard: Hours and deliveries We are open every day from 9am to 5pm. Bagged fruit can be bought from our shop, or online with a 2-day delivery throughout NZ (min 3kg). The cherry orchard will only be opened for Pick-Your-Own (PYO) on some special days. There is no PYO entry fee, but there is a minimum charge of 1kg of cherries per person. For online orders: minimum 3kg, packed in protective packaging and couriered anywhere in New Zealand. Order online here , or contact us here for more information. Gracebrook cherries are normally available from early December through mid-January. The varieties grown are Dawson, Bing, and Stella.
Update 06/01/2012:	The cherry orchard is now closed for the season. Thanks for all your support during this wet and difficult cherry harvest. We have a stock of pitted, frozen cherries available at $18/kg for those wanting to use them in baking.
Update 05/01/2012:	Weather is forecasted to turn wet tonight and remain drizzly tomorrow and into the weekend, so today is the last day for PYO. We do not have any bagged cherries for sale now - only PYO and only for today.
Update 04/01/2012:	With all the rain we have had and the subsequent splitting of our Stella crop, we are now strip-picking the trees to press the split cherries for juice. The orchard is still open for PYO this week - customers are finding buckets of beautiful fruit in amongst the split ones. However, it is probable that we will have picked the bulk of the crop by Saturday and will then close the orchard.
Update 27/12/2011: The stellas are looking beaudacious. A few more days of sun and they will be the best cherries you ever tasted. We will open for PYO on Sunday 1st January. There is not a lot of fruit (but it is large and gorgeous) so we don't expect the PYO season to last longer than a week. Meanwhile, the picked and graded fruit is available at the very reasonable Price of $16/kg.
Update 24/12/2011: We have been picking, sorting and bagging lovely crunchy fresh cherries non-stop for the past week. The savvy cherry hunters placed their orders and as a result their Christmas table is garnished with the freshest, tastiest cherries this side of the Black Stump. But the really savvy Cherry Hunters know that the best GraceBrook Cherries ripen after Christmas. (It's looking gooood!). PYO will be starting 1-Jan-2012.
Update 29/09/2011: The circle of life: The little darlin's are just waking up, all sweet and tender. The bees are starting to get all interested - there's some serious courtship going on.
Update 01/09/2011: All tucked up: A serious mulching of horse manure and pea straw is inspected by our resident beagle, Doctor Watson.
Update 17/01/2011: And then there were none: Thank you to all our smiling, fun-loving cherry hunters who made each day a pleasure for us. Thank you for your wonderful feedback and encouragement. We are sorry to see the end of this wonderful season and hope to see you all again next season (which we hope will be just as marvelous).
Update 09/01/2011: Last days: Probably only 4 or 5 days of picking left. This must be our best season for quality. These cherries are just gorgeous.
Update 02/01/2011: Only one week to go! We still have lots of good cherries in perfect condition, but it won't last long now. Price reduced to $10 per kilogram.
Update 12/12/2010: Dawson cherries are now ready and we have started picking them for shop sales. There is no PYO yet. We will probably open for PYO on 26th Dec, depending on weather and cherry ripeness.
Update 30/11/2010: Stellas are just starting to blush a wee bit. The bird nets are doing their job, despite plenty of interest from the black birds.
Update 21/10/2010: Cherries have pretty much finished flowering. The dawsons and stellas have baby, green cherries all over them.
Update 01/10/2010: The cherry orchard is now in full blossom and looks fantastic. We have just fertilised and mulched them and started irrigating daily. This weekend we are trucking in a bunch of beehives to get busy pollinating all those blossoms. So far the season is looking good. We'll have to get the nets up soon! If you are not already on our Mailing List, put your name on now so we can let you know how the season is progressing..