Hello
6 years 2 months ago #535335 by tonybaker
5 acres, Ferguson 35X and implements, Hanmay pto shredder, BMW Z3, Countax ride on mower, chooks, Dorper and Wiltshire sheep. Bosky wood burning central heating stove and radiators. Retro caravan. Growing our own food and preserving it. Small vineyard, crap wine.
great stuff! Now you have to brush up your wine making and jam bottling skills for that huge harvest! One mistake that is very common when planting fruit trees is not pruning them in the first year. If you don't you will end up with huge trees that are difficult to manage and produce copious amounts of inferior fruit.
This site outlines the steps to take at planting time.
Welcome to LSB, all you need to know is on here somewhere, just use the search function.............
Welcome to LSB, all you need to know is on here somewhere, just use the search function.............
5 acres, Ferguson 35X and implements, Hanmay pto shredder, BMW Z3, Countax ride on mower, chooks, Dorper and Wiltshire sheep. Bosky wood burning central heating stove and radiators. Retro caravan. Growing our own food and preserving it. Small vineyard, crap wine.
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. 6 years 2 months ago #535391 by LongRidge
The one nashi tree produces more than we can store, and it doesn't stew well.
The 2 feijoas produce more than enough for us. We stew them then freeze for later use.
The Granny Smith apple is quite good, but the Royal Gala is not as easy-care so most of the fruit is fed to the animals.
The three plum trees usually produce enough fruit to freeze for later use (wine, sauce, and stewed fruit) for the rest of the year.
The nectarines and peaches need lots of effort to care for them, and we don't get many.
The grapes on phytophera resistant root stock have done quite well, but keeping the wasps away is a huge nuisance. The grapes that don't get eaten immediately get taken off the stalks then frozen for wine later in the year..
The apricots are a waste of space. We have had one good crop in 20 years from our three trees. I cannot spray them enough, nor irrigate enough. They need lots of winter chill which we often don't get enough of , then they flower very early when there are few bees around, and then get frosted by late frosts. Also the Kereru eat the flowers.
The quince are quite good. They get stewed then frozen.
The pears are usually worthwhile.
The walnuts are difficult and require specialist equipment to shale the tree, collect the nuts, clean the nuts, dry the nuts, store the nuts, and pick up the leaves, all the time protecting them from the rats and mice. Don't plant near the house
The pine nuts are impossible unless you have lots of spare time and cheap labour.
The cranberries are good to graze on when out in the garden, but picking and processing them is a pain.
The grapefruit is very useful.
Too cold for oranges and mandarines.
We don't use lemons, so the lisbon lemon is a waste of space.
The 2 feijoas produce more than enough for us. We stew them then freeze for later use.
The Granny Smith apple is quite good, but the Royal Gala is not as easy-care so most of the fruit is fed to the animals.
The three plum trees usually produce enough fruit to freeze for later use (wine, sauce, and stewed fruit) for the rest of the year.
The nectarines and peaches need lots of effort to care for them, and we don't get many.
The grapes on phytophera resistant root stock have done quite well, but keeping the wasps away is a huge nuisance. The grapes that don't get eaten immediately get taken off the stalks then frozen for wine later in the year..
The apricots are a waste of space. We have had one good crop in 20 years from our three trees. I cannot spray them enough, nor irrigate enough. They need lots of winter chill which we often don't get enough of , then they flower very early when there are few bees around, and then get frosted by late frosts. Also the Kereru eat the flowers.
The quince are quite good. They get stewed then frozen.
The pears are usually worthwhile.
The walnuts are difficult and require specialist equipment to shale the tree, collect the nuts, clean the nuts, dry the nuts, store the nuts, and pick up the leaves, all the time protecting them from the rats and mice. Don't plant near the house
The pine nuts are impossible unless you have lots of spare time and cheap labour.
The cranberries are good to graze on when out in the garden, but picking and processing them is a pain.
The grapefruit is very useful.
Too cold for oranges and mandarines.
We don't use lemons, so the lisbon lemon is a waste of space.
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6 years 2 months ago - 6 years 2 months ago #535396 by tonybaker
5 acres, Ferguson 35X and implements, Hanmay pto shredder, BMW Z3, Countax ride on mower, chooks, Dorper and Wiltshire sheep. Bosky wood burning central heating stove and radiators. Retro caravan. Growing our own food and preserving it. Small vineyard, crap wine.
oh dear, sounds like a lot of work! Nashis are great fresh, pears - if you want to keep them pick them off the tree, if eaten fresh pick up off ground. Apples, stay well away from commercial cultivars, they need spraying. Apricots are useless. Plums are bomb proof, cherries feed the birds without netting, blueberries ok for snacking, grapes are weeds, quince are easy for jam and paste, nectarines are great. Citrus look good but need lots of fertiliser.
Overall, if you don't prune and keep the trees small, you will have problems. With fruit trees, less is more.
Overall, if you don't prune and keep the trees small, you will have problems. With fruit trees, less is more.
5 acres, Ferguson 35X and implements, Hanmay pto shredder, BMW Z3, Countax ride on mower, chooks, Dorper and Wiltshire sheep. Bosky wood burning central heating stove and radiators. Retro caravan. Growing our own food and preserving it. Small vineyard, crap wine.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
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