Even lorikeets love dates

Important since ancient times

Australia is a vast and pretty hot country. Date palms love having their feet in water and their heads in fire, according to date growers.

While we might not have copious amounts of water for other agriculture throughout much of this great country, we’ve certainly got plenty to grow dates and there’s plenty of country where date palms can have their heads in fire. So why do we import almost all of the dates we eat from other countries?

I knew we could grow them here, so after a bit of research, I was delighted to find a date grove outside Alice Springs. The Desert Fruit Company was begun by Jim and Trudi Luedi with date palms imported from California. Run since 2006 by Dave Berrick, there are nine varieties grown. Dates vary at least as much as apples, so come on in and get to know a few of the “other” varieties.