Poplar Creek Farm
Sales in Nelspruit

Poplar Creek also owns the Glen Falloch Nguni Stud and the Glen Falloch Lipizzaner Horse Stud as well as grows Teff, Oats, Lucerne and Eragrostis. Poplar Creek’s main focus is growing avocados for export.

The title deeds to the area of which Poplar Creek is part were first granted in Much of it is now a commercial timber plantation and most of the balance is now Poplar Creek. The area now known as Poplar Creek was then switched to Burley Tobacco for while and a section of the farm was planted to Poplar deltoides, from which it gets its current name. The 1970’s saw the farm switch mainly to dairy with a Jersey herd supplying milk to the surrounding areas and industrial developments and then, when it was purchased by the current owners, it was converted to avocado, cash crops and cattle production. Poplar Creek’s main activity is growing avocados for the local and primarily the export market. It has well established avocado orchards using the latest technology to grow high density plantings of avocados meeting Eurogap and other European Retailer standards for export. It operates it’s own packhouse and cooling facilities. Avocados grown at Poplar Creek are picked, cleaned, graded, packed and stored on the farm for dispatch to various markets in Europe and Southern Africa. The orchards are placed in sections of the farm enabling the indigenous bush to be retained in the valleys between the hillsides of Poplar Creek ensuring that indigenous species of both flora and fauna can be retained on the property. Irrigation is done by computer controlled pumps and micro-jets on every tree integrated with a moisture probe and fertilisation system to ensure that optimum moisture conditions are maintained for the trees at all times with the minimum use of water. Temperature sensors and computer controlled irrigation senses low temperatures in winter and applies overhead irrigation to protect the crop against frost on cold winter mornings. This creates a more stable environment for the orchards and improves yield. Poplar Creek also grows Teff, Oats, Lucerne and Eragrostis to use as supplementary feed to the Nguni Stud herd in winter and to supply the local market with fodder, primarily for horses. Supplementary feed is entirely in the form of grass coming from Poplar Creek’s own pastures. In addition, a colony of hippos lives in the river and an occasional crocodile is to be seen on the river banks.