Kiwifruit Harvest.

It is back to raining today so we realise just how lucky we are to have completed our Kiwifruit harvest for 2011, yesterday in the FINE.
Before we started, we got a further 90 fruit sample taken to test to see if the dry matter had risen - indeed it had so we are in "Y" the top taste band, so get paid more than lower taste bands. ( Many orchards have not achieved that this year )
     As this harvest time is a big deal for us and I get to blog about it every year I will try to explain some of the things that were a bit different this year.This was our 29th export crop of Kiwifruit. Back in 1983 our first little pick off new vines was just 329 trays, so things have changed a great deal in those intervening years.

Late last year a kiwfruit virus  - PSa ( pseudomomas syringae pv actinidiae ) was found in vines on orchards in Te Puke area. That changed things for ever for all orchardists and the kiwifruit industry. To try and avoid the disease spreading between orchards there are now in place prodedures that it is hoped may help. This was the first harvest where all pickers, their picking bags and footwear had to be disinfected.The blue foot tray was for shoes, the sprayer for picking bags, the sanitizer for hands. The bin was for gloves to be discarded after one use ( or one orchard ).
   The tractors and bin trailer also had to be washed down / disinfected before leaving our orchard for the next one. ( that part of it all went well and no one grumbled as it just the norm now ).

 I may not have ever shown the bin trailers ( empty )  that are towed behind the tractors .

 They are  rows of rollers so the bins can be pushed on and off and have flaps to hold the bins in. A rope to the driver's seat releases this flap, the trailer is tilted and the full bins silde off the back..

We had 4 tractors with bin trailers. One broke down so my trusty old Fergie was rushed from the shed and performed happily with on worries.( it knows it's way around our orchard - hehe ) Only one  tractor got stuck in Block 1 and with much hilarity got pushed out by the pickers.( it had stink tyres. That wasn't bad going as the ground everywhere was still very soggy and a bit muddy by the contanst use at picking time )

The pickers all worked so hard we were impressed. They carry a huge load of fruit  in their picking bags. ( the bottom of the bag has a flap that is dropped down so the fruit roll out the bottom into the bin.)

 This is a general scene near the end where you can see our friend Brian C who did an amzingly good job on the forklift.

 On the front right of the photo you can see a table where the boss of the picking gang  is sitting writing his records for the day. That is my outdoor office where I fill in the bin cards and keep the tallies. The other good news is we picked more bins of fruit than the count samples taken earlier suggested we would get and consequently ran out of bin cards. We now hope to get a good packout result ( export trays ) from the packhouse in a couple of days. Our fruit is getting packed  ( not stored or CA stored like last year ) as the packhouses have had no work due to wet weather. 

( All photos should enlarge with clicking ).

Quilts and Veges.

During any spare moments I can find I have taken the 16 blocks that ladies handed into me last Friday ( to send to Shirley in Rangiora, ) and put them together with bright blue and gold sashing. It was a bit small and square so I have added some panels top and bottom. I am in the process of quilting it and will add a border in the same blue fabric. Then it can be on it's way South.
   Down in my extra patch of garden I was able to pick a small meal of broccoli from side shoots which have grown after the main head was picked a couple of weeks ago. The plants are really healthy still and going to have more. ( I like that )

 While there I saw that the beans I planted on Saturday are just up. Something had pulled 2 out -  grrrr.

I love being able to eat our own produce. In the last 2 days I have picked a big bunch of rhubarb, another bowl of huge strawberries some lettuce, the broccoli , silverbeet and some radishes. We have had some drizzle and looks like more rain coming. That will wash in the avocado fertilizer. The young kiwfruit is this size already.

 Such a busy time of year!

Xeronema.

My Xeronema plant has 9 flowers out at the moment.( the most ever at one time ) It is quite a rare plant so I'm happy with it. ( Xeronema callistemon or Poor Knights Lily ) ( pronounced zeronema ).
The Netball result at the Commonwealth Games was wonderful. Well done the Silver Ferns! ( golden ferns now! )What a long hard quirky game it was - I couldn't watch at some stages and had to get up and leave the room - I get too excited. Congratulations on your Gold Medal ladies! ( sorry Australian friends - you played so well too, but we love to beat you sometimes! )
Thank you for your confirmation of my block placement. I am going with that layout ( previuos post ). A few parts are getting sewn together every spare moment I get. Wet weather is helping.
 It is fine this morning but things are still drying out, so I will be down in Kiwifruit block 3 later on. The green shoots are growing a little every day. Some flower buds are visible, but it is a slow season so far.

Waiting.

The Kiwifruit is mature enough and sweet enough to pick ( brix 7.5% ss dry matter 17.75% ). We are the next orchard to be picked. The first part of the orchard had it's CP clean spray yesterday. The bins are here , 4 bin trailers and tractors are here. The forklift is here. Food is prepared.........But it rained in the night....we were up at sparrow's fart, but the fruit is too wet. By 9.15 am things are not drying...and it just rained again........probably not today then. That sort of routine will keep happening until it is dry enough....tomorrow...the next day......
( I think I'll go and sew! )