I have 14 fruits on mine - the first year of fruit... but they're still as hard as bullets! Does anyone have any tips?
very jealous, oliec..we've had a kiwi for 4 years now, not a fruit to be seen, supposed to be jenny, self fertile, not a flower, I reckon we got a boy ;D
I'm sure there are a couple of people on here who grow them, and get ripe fruit ;D
I have a boy and a girl, and have had them for 4 years although we've lost the names... cuttings are supposed to be pretty easy, so I may make a few next year & offer them out if anyone's interested...
Here they are:
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g207/Big_Cheesus/August2008082.jpg)
Put the kiwis in a paper bag with an apple or a banana, close it up tight, the ethylene gas given off by the apple or banana will ripen the kiwis.
Ollie they look great, well done,
green doesnt suit me
lbb
the two on the bottom right look like a dogs danglies ;D
Sorry could not resist ;)
I bought a kiwi about 6weeks ago, the leaves fell of about a week later, hopefully it was the way it was planted and next year come to life.
Neil
I bought some rock hard kiwis from a roadside stall in Madeira....felt sorry for him all alone in the mist miles from anywhere. He said keep them for 4 weeks and they will ripen and go soft - and they did! Almost to the day. I did not store them with bananas but I suppose that might speed it up.
Being a born cynic, I once tried a bagfull of green tomatoes with a banana skin, and one without. They both went mouldy. The ones picked & left out went on to ripen over time...
It sounds as though the ones in the bags were too damp. Did you use paper or plastic?
::) er, plastic...
What do you expect you great g*t ??? ??? ??? PLASTIC ????????
yeah but no but ..... it all seemed very dry, and ... oh sod it. I just didn't think about it enough.
oh, leave me alone. We're all allowed to be divvies now & again...
Paper bags aren't so easy to find these days, since all the shops use plastic. eBay is the place to look.
Well actually I'm double stoopitarded because we buy most of our food on the market, in good old paper bags...
Picked today due to the frost forecast... Enough to make a dog's eyes water!!
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g207/Big_Cheesus/Chooks2008040.jpg)
They look great ollie, plastic bags indeed. :o :o ??? :-X ;D ;D ;D
I really admire Ollie's honesty
plastic plonker ;D :-*
fruit looks great - we expect a ripening update in 4 weeks
I really want to try and grow Kiwis, sooo - here come the questions'
Do they need to be in a green house or can they be grown outside,
What root system ,ie soil depth, are they a vine , and - I gather , you need a girl and a fella ?
Please and thank you ,
floss
This is the first year of fruit, and we've had the plants for 4 years so I'm no expert (although this is the normal timescale)...
The plants are absolute monsters - especially the woman (yes, this type needs boy & girl near to each other)! I've pruned as I would a grape - so get the framework (a couple of good solid stems in each direction) & then cut new growth back to a couple of leaves at the end of the year. The odd bit of summer pruning has been essential too, just to keep things tidyish. It still looks a mess, although any gardener would appreciate it.
It's on a SE facing fence and grows round to a S facing wall, outside and in the South of England. The boy is on a West facing wall, and only produced 3 flowers so I picked them & hand pollinated these fruit which wasn't too hard. That's it really...
I'm thinking of taking some cuttings next year & if they root you (or anyone else) would be welcome to some, but if you buy some you'll save a year & mine might not work.
Oh, mine is growing at the end of a soak-away in good, well drained soil. It has a Rhubarb at it's base which competes a bit but also stops other weeds & I empty the fishtank water at it's base plus feed a bit of Rose fertiliser in summer.
Let me know if I haven't explained it well or you have any more questions!
O
Thanks so much OllieC,
That is fantastic help to me as we have a South facing rear garden and was planning to put
up a 6 post pagola [ I think they are called that - with timber struts atop ? ].
Really need the shade and something like Kiwi, which will provide fruit too --- lovely !
Hope you don't mind but would like to print your post for guidance ?
Thank you for offer of a cutting but will get back to on that if I can't find a year old in the nurseries,
Oh , are there more than the one variety -- if so , could you recommend me a ' type' ?
Thanks again,
floss x :)
Kiwis store very well in a cool place, just ripen a few at a time, I just usually put a few in the fruit bowl indoors with the rest of the fruit, apples, pears and bananas and there is usally one soft enough to eat after a couple of weeks. I did ripen them all off at the same time once and had to use them quickly. So they went in the rhumtoft jar.
They will keep nearly all winter when picked now as they will just rot on the vine if left.
Thanks for that ace, from an ex Carisbrook res. , ;D
Thanks ACE, I'll pop half of them in the cellar. These plants were imported from your Island originally...
Quote from: OllieC on October 28, 2008, 09:33:05
Thanks ACE, I'll pop half of them in the cellar. These plants were imported from your Island originally...
I have seen a plantation of them on the southern side of the island.
Quote from: FLOSSY on October 28, 2008, 09:16:30
Thanks for that ace, from an ex Carisbrook res. , ;D
A Gunville girl eh. ;D
Ace - you cheeky --- ;D