HISTORY:
• The Desert Fruit Company is locally owned and has been operating in Alice Springs, Central Australia, since 1991
• it is one of only two commercial Date plantations in Australia
• the Plantation was established by Jim & Trudi Luedi, who already owned the Dates Garden (Australia´s oldest Dates Garden) also in Alice Springs
• the Company is currently owned and operated by Dave Berrick who took over from Jim & Trudi Luedi in 2006

PLANTATION:
• Tamara Plantation is located 70km South East of Alice Springs, near the edge of the Simpson Desert
• over 700 Palm Trees which were originally imported from California (USA) in the 1990´s grow on the 100 hectare Tamara property
• 9 varieties grow on the Farm, including the premium soft Medjool, the Barhee, the Khadrawi and the Halawi, as well as the dry Zahidi and Thory varieties
• the Plantation is watered by artesian water – the Bore is 240 metres deep but the water level is 45 metres below the surface

GROWING CYCLE:
• the season starts in September when the Palm Trees start flowering
• each flower has to be manually pollinated and produces one bunch of Dates
• each flower is then manually thinned out to create a fewer number of better size and higher quality Dates
• when the bunches have set fruit and the stems are fully extended they are pulled down and tied to a lower branch to facilitate easier access. This also provides additional support for the weight as the fruit gets bigger and heavier
• to protect the Dates, particularly from birds who tend to be rather partial to them, each bunch is covered with a plastic bag
• around February some varieties are ready to be picked
• all picking usually finishes by the end of April
• all Palm Trees are then pruned and all the old bunch stems removed in preparation for the next season
• around the middle of June, upon completion of this work, it's time to take a well earned break and to concentrate on Marketing the crop
• from September the whole process begins again