The kiwifruit are in full bloom. One photo shows white female flowers on the left and more apricot coloured male flowers on the right. Another shot shows a line of 6 beehives against the hedge in a sheltered, sunny spot. The next photo shows a bee in a male flower collecting pollen and the last shot shows some flowers already pollinated and the flower petals have dropped. You can see the basic shape of the little kiwifruit already there.
The weather has been mixed; some rain, some wind and some sun. Bees work best in warm calm weather and before about 1pm. We have 15 beehives spread around the orchard blocks but are still going to have artificial pollen sprayed on tomorrow ( as insurance of a really good fruit set).
It seems like you were just picking the kiwi fruit not too long ago... :)
ReplyDeleteHow long does it take them to grow to eating ripeness from the day of pollination?
Having only ever seen kiwi fruit in the supermarket I never gave their flowers much thought - they are so pretty
ReplyDeleteYour right about that FJ. It doesn't seem long to me either!!! they will be ready to pick in 6 - 6.5 months or just a little longer. Mostly they don't start to soften till after they are picked. ( we can't export softening fruit; they have to be able to travel by ship )
ReplyDeleteYes Anne the flowers are prettier than the fruit! the flowers have quite a distinctive pleasant smell...not like anything else, so at the moment the air is filled with it.
I do enjoy reading everything about your fruit farm Alison. I have learnt one very interesting thing today, the male and female flowers are a different colour. i always think about you whenever I eat a kiwi fruit.
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