The Ecodamia orchard was planted around the turn of the millennium by the previous owners of the property, who propagated all of the rootstocks and grafted all of the trees themselves, in an on-site nursery. There are 18 different commercial varieties in the orchard including: A4, A16, A38, A268, Daddow, H2, NG8, NG18, Own Venture, 344, 705, 741, 781, 783, 814, 816, 842 and 849. In addition, a former CSIRO trial block consists of a number of experimental varieties that were never commercialised. Currently there are around 2700 trees in the orchard in total.

From planting until 2020 the orchard was managed conventionally. The trees were fertilised with synthetic fertilisers. “Weeds” under the trees were controlled with glyphosate and other herbicides. Insects were controlled with chemical insecticides. In the mid 2010s management became a bit softer with the yearly application of organic mulch and the introduction of parasitic wasps as a biocontrol for insect pests.

From 2021, under new ownership, use of all synthetic inputs ceased. Focus shifted from tree health to soil health, with all fertilisers and biostimulants now used being naturally derived. The “weeds” under the trees are now allowed to grow, thereby providing benefits to soil health such as nutrient cycling, soil stabilisation and shading. Insect ecosystems in the orchard are left “uncontrolled”, with predatory insects, spiders, birds, bats and frogs relied upon to keep pest insect numbers low. After three years of the new management approach and despite challenging climatic conditions (either very dry or very wet), improvements are apparent in respect to soil health, tree health and levels of insect damage to the nut crop.