Molewood Orchard

Walking down Greytown’s famed main street, full of bustling cafés, boutiques and Wairarapa locals, you’d have no idea a 10-hectare fruit orchard is right around the corner. Molewood Orchard is more than just a place that grows apples - it’s a story of community, hard work, and making the most of change. We caught up with siblings Wendell and Merran Cooke who told us about their small but mighty apple orchard.

First planted 30 years ago by Ed and Juliet Cooke, together with local orchardists Graeme and Helen Gray, Molewood Orchard has become a cherished part of the Greytown community. Now managed by their son, Wendell, the orchard produces around 600 tonnes of apples annually and grows a variety of apple types, including Granny Smith, Fuji, Galaxy, Red Delicious, and Braeburn. To complement its apple harvest, the orchard also has a small crop of pear trees.

After being leased to a larger export-focused orchard for more than 20 years, Wendell, with help from his parents, his brother Grayson, sister Merran, and Merran’s daughter Beth, took back management of the orchard nearly four years ago during COVID. The family has since opened Molewood back up to the public.

This has set Molewood on a unique, community-focused trajectory - the orchard is not just about growing apples, it’s about giving back to the Wairarapa, connecting to visitors, and finding ways to turn the challenges of running a small operation into opportunities.

“Our unique challenge is that we are a small-sized orchard that doesn’t have a lot of the infrastructure that you might see in Hawke’s Bay. We don’t have a cool store or a pack house, so exporting is kind of off the table. But I think we’ve rallied around, focusing on supplying locally and creating other things within the orchard, using the space and what we’ve got,” Wendell said.

Molewood Orchard has begun hosting weddings, organising apple cider and fruit wine festivals, and letting self-contained campers stay on-site. Thousands of apple lovers fl ocked to the orchard for the April 2024 Apple Harvest Festival, and Wendell said he hopes to draw back a similar crowd this year. This year’s Apple Harvest Festival is on April 20th, and will feature artisan stalls, pick-your-own fruit, food trucks, and an opportunity for families and friends to enjoy a day amongst the apple trees. “We are a bit special in that the orchard has been grown in an expanding suburban area, so we’ve pivoted towards other activities beyond just growing fruit,” Wendell explained. Bordering the orchard are houses and roads, with Molewood resembling a “secret garden” amongst them. There is even a “secret door” that connects a neighbouring road to the orchard, which visitors can use on festival days.

Wendell said they started making fruit juices with a Molewood Orchard label the first year running. Now the orchard runs a pick-your-own operation to sell their apples. Merran explained that they opened this so that the community and tourists could enjoy both the experience and the fruit.

“I think the positive thing is just seeing the thousands of people that come through the orchard; the warmth and enthusiasm for the whole experience. We get multi generational families coming, and other groups of people you wouldn’t normally meet,” she said.

Wendell added that it’s the sense that they are part of making memories for people which makes it special. “One woman has come back three years in a row, and each time with a new child,” he said. “The fruit people pick straight from the tree and having it sun-ripened means that they get a very tasty apple, and the response we get from visitors is great.”

Sustainability is a big part of their work at the orchard. While some orchards might spray to keep the ground bare under the trees, Molewood does things differently. Wendell explained that they let grass and plants grow naturally, using sheep to trim it down in the winter.

“Other orchards might kill everything under the tree and have it all neat and tidy. I do look with envy at those neat and tidy orchards and think, wow. But many people who come in see a kind of more organic, natural state of the trees growing here, and I think that’s ultimately better for the earth.”

Wendell, did not have much of an orcharding background before taking over management of Molewood. He said the steepest learning curve has been the hands-on skills of running the farm. “I have an eclectic background with Chinese language, management, and creative writing. I don’t come from a horticulture background, so this has been new to me. I’ve been doing it three years now, and I’m still learning,” he told us. “I had to refresh myself on how to drive a tractor, how to mow, how to spray. I had to get a spray safe certifi cate and take advice from other orchardists and a spray consultant to try keep our fruit safe from diseases. So everything has been new, but I’m enjoying it,” he continued. "It’s great being outside, and probably the most positive aspect of it is seeing families come in and pick in the harvest season and have a great time.”

It’s a real family effort, too. Wendell manages the orchard with his dad Ed, Merran handles social media and marketing, Grayson handles the website, and Juliet helps out in the shed during Pick Your Own season. Merran is also a musician and coordinates local artists to play on-site for events and festivals. Working together, they’ve built a strong online presence, drawing in visitors from all over - including some who livestream their fruit-picking adventures for people worldwide. “Every season, we would have thousands of people that come in. I mean, hundreds every Saturday and Sunday during the time that we’re open. There’s been a really enthusiastic response to Molewood,” Wendell told us. Marketing is mainly done through Facebook and Instagram, and Wendell said the local Country Village Heaven, which promotes Greytown as a destination, has been really supportive in showcasing Molewood to its audience. They are also set to feature in Kia Ora magazine, supplying apples to a local gin company.

Wendell told us that while the rainy season in 2023 affected the orchard and its fruit, this season is looking up again. As a result of this, Black Spot was a challenge for the orchard; the fungal disease affected the fruit quality. “As a result of the wet winter and spring, the fruit last year probably wasn’t quite up to the standards that we would have wanted, but we had a much better spring this year,” he said. “So the fruit this season is really clean.” The pick-your-own season began in early March and will run until May.

Wendell and his family have turned Molewood into a must-visit spot and an asset to the Greytown community. While current sector insights spotlight larger orchards, places like Molewood Orchard show that there’s still room for family-run orchards focusing on quality, sustainability, and community.