Forest Lodge Orchard Blog

The trees might look quiet, but there’s still plenty happening here at Forest Lodge over the winter months. Here’s what the orchard gets up to when the leaves are gone and the frost sets in.

Forest Lodge Orchard was proudly featured on A New Zealand Food Story with chef Ben Bayly, showcasing how we're growing world-class Central Otago cherries the electric way

Harvest might be over, but the work’s just shifting seasons. We’re diving into autumn with pruning, soil work, and solar-powered machines leading the way.

The Tesla Cybertruck paid a surprise visit to our all-electric cherry orchard last week—and yes, it charged straight from the sun.

We took our electric tractor on a road trip to Wheels at Wānaka to show off what it can do — no diesel, no noise, just a whole lot of power and progress.

Tractor meets track day. Our Monarch MK-V ditched the orchard for a lap around Highlands, and let’s just say… it turned a few heads.

We’ve added the first fully electric work platform of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere to our orchard — and it’s already saving us months of labour.

Bay Farm Tours made their annual stop at Forest Lodge, giving us the chance to share our electric orchard setup with some brilliant visitors from the UK ag world.

Another season in the books. Here’s how we pulled off a fully electric cherry harvest — and what we learned along the way.

Meet the Lapins: giant, crunchy, and ridiculously tasty.

Our first-ever Adopt a Tree season has wrapped, and what a journey it’s been—delicious cherries, happy tree parents, and a big step forward for sustainable, electric farming in Central Otago.

Another harvest, another season of clean transport—see how we teamed up with Mainfreight (again!) to deliver cherries with zero diesel and 100% electric power.

Cherry season is nearly here and our trees are bursting with fruit! 🍒☀️ Get ready for a bumper crop of electric cherries—pre-orders are now open!

Central Otago’s first cherries of the season are here, and they’re as rare as they are delicious. Check out the electric Rainiers!

Mike has just taken home the Transformational Leadership Award at the Sustainable Business Network Awards! A proud moment for Forest Lodge

Fresh signs, fresh merch, and cherry boxes ready to fill—things are looking sharp (and electric) at Forest Lodge as we gear up for another big season.

The lupins are blooming, the sun is shining, and harvest is just around the corner!

What happens when Paddy Gower meets an all-electric cherry orchard? A whole lot of laughs, insights, and a big spotlight on the future of farming. Watch Forest Lodge’s feature on The F#$%ing News.

A big day out at the orchard! Our Open Day was full of good chats, electric machinery demos, and a whole lot of love for sustainable farming—here’s how it all went down.

We’ve bottled the orchard! Our new Electric Cherry Juice—made in partnership with Eden Orchards—lets you enjoy the taste of our cherries year-round, no harvest season required.

Spring has arrived here in Central Otago, and our orchard is buzzing with life as our cherry buds awaken from their winter rest.

ChatGPT said: Spring has sprung at Forest Lodge Orchard! Our cherry trees are waking up, bees from Taylor’s Pass Honey are busy pollinating, and we’re using electric fans and micro sprinklers to protect the blossoms.

At Forest Lodge Orchard, we're flipping the script on farming and energy. With a 100kW solar array, 300-volt batteries, and a partnership with Aurora Energy, we’re not just cutting emissions—we’re selling power back to the grid and aiming for a negative $10,000 power bill.

We’ve just installed a game-changing Panasonic battery system with Sunvolt Enterprises—taking us from 48V to 300V! This upgrade means more power, better storage, and the ability to export energy back to the grid.

We recently joined the Electrifying Queenstown event at Millbrook Resort, where our own Mike Casey shared how Forest Lodge Orchard is leading the charge in electric farming. From our Monarch MK-V tractor to our carbon-zero mission, it was awesome to be part of the movement toward a fully electric future.