This year's Kiwi harvest

[OllieC]

Here's 518 Kiwis, most of this year's harvest:



I just have to work out what on earth to do with them now!

[OllieC]

[Froglegs]

Wow   :o is that lot off one plant.

[OllieC]

I would say it's about 500 more than we need! I've left another 50 or so on there to see what happens... Down to 517 now - they taste like ultra concentrated shop ones...

[1066]

And another wow from me Ollie!

[thifasmom]

well done, did you harvest them all in one go :o.

the juice freezes really well, which can be turned into smoothies with other fruit for months to come.

looks like you'll be trawling the search engines for recipes, a quick search and i found, salsa, jam, lamb accompaniment, etc.

well done again , I'm well jealous :).

[OllieC]

Wow   :o is that lot off one plant.

Sorry - just noticed it was a question! All from one, well technically 2 plants, although the daddy of course has none & is a much smaller plant. It's in our back garden, spans about 15ft in both directions and is in it's 4th year. Last year was the first for fruit & we were excited by the 13 that we got!

Such a huge amount of effortless organic fruit, esp for the time of year, also it doesn't appear to have many pests or diseases (apart from opportunist earwigs & slugs) and makes great wall cover although it is a bit of a thug!

Harvested them all today as we've just had a bit of a frost & the leaves have all fallen off today. Only a few are soft so I'm hopping they'll store for a month or so... think I'll freeze the pulp if they ripen too quickly.

[tricia]

Fantastic - what variety is your plant? I had 6 small fruit start to grow but they all fell off. Maybe better luck next year which will be year three.

Just paid £1 for 6 at Lidl, so you look to have a small fortune in those boxes.

Tricia

[thifasmom]

Such a huge amount of effortless organic fruit, esp for the time of year, also it doesn't appear to have many pests or diseases (apart from opportunist earwigs & slugs) and makes great wall cover although it is a bit of a thug!

Harvested them all today as we've just had a bit of a frost & the leaves have all fallen off today. Only a few are soft so I'm hopping they'll store for a month or so... think I'll freeze the pulp if they ripen too quickly.

how are you planning to store them? and do you cut the plant/s back when its dormant?

whenever my hubby gets round to building me my 10' x 12' workshop ::), i plan to grow a kiwi up and over it variety Jenny as i only have space for one, it will be in the perfect place for all day sun.

[OllieC]

I am looking at the label now but can't tell what it says! Will scan it later & we can all have a guess...

I have allowed two main branches in each direction, and cut side-shoots back to 2 bumps in early spring. It gets a bit of tidying up again in summer, again to 2 "bumps" (nodes?).

[thifasmom]

I am looking at the label now but can't tell what it says! Will scan it later & we can all have a guess...

I have allowed two main branches in each direction, and cut side-shoots back to 2 bumps in early spring. It gets a bit of tidying up again in summer, again to 2 "bumps" (nodes?).

when you say you cut it back again in the summer i'm assuming the shoots that are being tidied is new growth ??? assuming again that the spring pruned brances were all full of young fruit by the summer, right ???

[OllieC]

That's right - the branches that were cut this spring have produced this fruit.

Here's the label - sorry about the writing!



Actinidia chinensis to get you started!

[tricia]

I think the word under chinensis to the left is Hayward, which is a popular variety. I can't decipher the other words.

My one plant is a Jenny - a self-pollinating variety. The flowers were obviously pollinated as the fruit got to cherry size before falling off.

Tricia

[thifasmom]

That's right - the branches that were cut this spring have produced this fruit.

Here's the label - sorry about the writing!



Actinidia chinensis to get you started!

thanks for clarifying the pruning queries.

and from a quick search, i think your deduction of the first part of
your label is correct.

[emmy1978]

Wow!    :o :o  Jealous!
They do freeze well for smoothie making as thifasmum said. You'll be popular with friends though-I can only imagine the stampede if I told my friends I had a kiwi glut-they get enough spuds and beans!!
Kiwi's on the  list for next year!

[ACE]

I also get  hundreds every year. They store very nicely in a cool dry place, they also store for a long time. Take out a few each week and put in a bowl indoors with a banana, they will ripen quicker. You can make a fantastic rumtopf with them.

[BarriedaleNick]

Well that's one for the notebook.
I didnt have a clue that you could get those sort of results off a kiwi.

WoW!

[angle shades]

 :) well done you, I would like just to get one fruit on mine!!  / shades x

[manicscousers]

OMG, ollie, ours is 4 years old, a Jenny

:) well done you, I would like just to get one fruit on mine!!  / shades x

snap  ;D

[Psi (Pronounced 'Si'!)]

interesting! i am now very very inclined to have a go.....north London, close to the tropics...I ought to be OK shouldnt I?????

[OllieC]

tricia - now that you say it, it does look like Hayward, doesn't it.

ACE - thanks for the rumtopf tip - will have to invest in a bit of that. I'd like to know, do you leave them until you get a ground frost (March down there, I guess?!) or pick them soon?

Psi - We're in Guildford so probably a fairly identical climate (us further South but in the sticks - you have your own little greenhouse thing going on!).

Small correction - I think she's 5 years old this year, not 4 as previously stated...
I think GQT said they were going to be "the" fruit to grow over the next few years - you can see why!