Ratelshoek Estate
With over 1210ha under cultivation, Ratelshoek Estate is the largest of the five Tanganda Tea Company estates. Ratelshoek is situated near the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border.
Established in 1932 Ratelshoek has concentrated on tea since its first plantings in 1933. The main varieties grown in the predominantly sandy loam soils are PC 108 and SFS 150. Boasting four factory lines Ratelshoek has our largest factory capable of producing up to 1,6tonnes of made tea per hour.
When Tanganda diversified into other plantation crops, Ratelshoek started planting Macadamias in 2011. Beaumont seeds were chosen for their superior rootstock quality with varieties such as 842 and 849 grafted thereon.
Another exciting development is the new avocado plantations. Edranol pips, chosen again for their high-quality rootstock, were planted with Hass grafted on, which will produce ideal avocados for export to Europe. The estate has 68,86ha of avocados which are sent to Tingamira pack shed for processing.
Fact check
- Latitude: 20° 14’ 18” S
- Longitude: 32° 48’ 18” E
- Rainfall, average annual: 935mm
- Temperature: Min 20°C & Max 28°C
- Year first established: 1932
- Hectares Tea: 808.4ha
- Hectares Macadamia~ Mature: 295.2ha
- Hectares Macadamia~ Immature: 38ha
- Hectares Avocado: 68.86ha
- Beef Head : 301 cattle
- Small Dairy: 13 Cattle
- Gum & Wattle: 771ha
- Dam
- Facilities: Clinic, Schools from ECD-A to A-LEVEL, rec hall, sports bar, beer hall, Small grocery Shop
In addition to the plantation crops, Ratelshoek annually plants 40ha of maize for silage as well as 10ha ryegrass as winter supplementary feed for the livestock.
Fueling the tea factory is no easy task and to this end, Ratelshoek has 771ha of gum and wattle plantations. This provides a reliable and renewable fuel resource.
The estate is fortunate enough to have three rivers flowing through the lands providing vital water for irrigation. The Nyamudididza River serves the Nyamudididza Dam. The bulk of the irrigation comes from the Ratelshoek dam, fed mainly by the Chipudzana River, which supplies an area of 591 hectares. This river also irrigates the Helvetia lands. Water is pumped overnight directly from the Chipudzana River into a 2700 cubic metre reservoir built on the highest part of the estate, at 1,000 metres above sea level. The water is then gravity fed down to irrigate tea, avocados, and macadamias in the daytime. During times of severe drought, it is possible to extract water from a third river, the Budzi River, which would supply the southern region via a weir.
Ratelshoek in Pictures
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