Here in the sunny Horowhenua we seem to have gone from spring to autumn. The days are warm, almost hot sometimes and the nights and mornings cool enough for socks. Lovely to work in I have to say, but it’s created the perfect environment for fungi to come play in my orchard and is not […]
How to Pick and Store Plums
By | LastUpdated December 24, 2023
There’s a small window, a perfect moment when fruit is ripe for picking. The only way you catch it is by keeping an eye on your crops. With a plum harvest, I reckon it’s just before it hits the ground. Pick your plums when the skin has that gorgeous dusky bloom on it and when […]
How To Bird Net Your Fruit Trees
By | LastUpdated December 1, 2024
There is only one sure way to keep the birds off your fruit – and that’s to bird net.
The First Espalier Prune of the Season
By | LastUpdated December 29, 2022
A quick prune of the upward shoots on your espalier keeps things fruitful and promotes fresh shoots. Go along each branch and reduce long upward shoots back to 2 or 3 buds. How simple is that. Where there is a cluster of shoots, thin them out leaving about 20cm between each one. Completely remove the […]
Natural Ways With Pests
By | LastUpdated January 12, 2024
Heat and harvest come to this – pests. It’s easy to malign them, “Damn things!” But pests are not malicious. They’ve come because you’ve served dinner. Aphids, leafhoppers, scale, thrips, green vegetable bugs – put a feed out, create the perfect environment and they will come! Pests are just a part of playing in nature […]
How To Prevent + Deal with Garlic Rust
By | LastUpdated November 2, 2023
Rust is an airborne, parasitic fungi that makes your plants look, well – rusty! The raised, orangey spots cover the foliage quickly when conditions are ideal and in a severe case, the leaves yellow, shrivel and die. With the foliage unable to convert energy in its usual efficient style, bulbs are small, but still edible. […]
