A touch-and-go season has blossomed into a bountiful crop, with Frasers Orchards’ iconic watermelon stall now up and running and overflowing with plump fruit.
Frasers’ Emily Mallard says that after the floods in mid-2025, a huge amount of time and labour was spent cleaning up. The orchardists then had to wait for a stretch of dry weather before the crop could be planted.
“At that point, it was hard to know how this year’s watermelons would turn out, especially with such a wet summer following,” Emily says.
Despite the soggy start, the plants have recovered beautifully. Emily reports the fruit quality is excellent, citing both consistency and flavour.
“In fact, they could end up being our best watermelons yet,” she says.
“If conditions continue to cooperate, we’re looking at a strong season ahead.”
The stall, located just beyond Riwaka on the Tākaka Hill Highway, is open all year round, but the watermelon crop tends to last until about the end of the month.
Meanwhile, buckets of tomatoes will be in stock mid-February, with new-season apples and pears just starting.
