Passionfruit the perfect pav topper
After a long hot summer, we are now experiencing some cooler temperatures during autumn and have the opportunity to grow and enjoy a wonderful new season of plants.
Perfect pavlova topping
Peak passionfruit season is mid to late autumn so it’s an ideal time to start thinking of all the delicious ways to use this delectable fruit.
Perhaps spread over the top of a pavlova or cheesecake, made into sorbet, added to a tropical punch or turned into heavenly passionfruit curd. Passionfruit can be harvested when the skin turns from green to wrinkly purple, though most fruit will fall from the vine when they’re ripe.
Keep passionfruit vines wellwatered while the fruit are maturing as moisture stress can result in premature fruit drop. You can start feeding passionfruit vines again in spring with a potassium rich fertiliser, which will help encourage lots of flowers and wonderful fruit.
Earl Grey anyone?
Earl Grey tea combines bergamot orange (Citrus bergamia) with black tea to give it its distinct flavour and aroma. Many modern-day Earl Grey blends use bergamot flavouring or essential oil, however you can also make your own using the intensely flavoured dried rinds of bergamot oranges.
So, if you’re a lover of Earl Grey tea (or would like to make bergamot orange marmalade), then it’s time to grow your own bergamot orange!
Bergamot orange trees are vigorous growers and can reach 5m tall, though can be kept smaller by pruning. They’re hardy trees that need well-drained soil and a full sun position that receives at least six hours of sun a day. The fruit, that has skin the colour of lemons or limes, ripens during winter and early spring and is very acidic.
When planting a new bergamot orange tree, or any citrus tree, improve the soil in the planting hole by mixing in some Yates Thrive Natural Blood Bone with Seaweed. It contains rich organic matter to improve the quality of the soil and is a natural source of slow release nutrients and NZ seaweed to help promote good early root growth. In spring, start feeding each week with citrus liquid plant food to encourage healthy leaf growth, a strong root system and lots of flowers.
Small space apples
If you don’t have a big backyard, being able to pick your very own apples doesn’t need to be just a dream. There are lots of varieties of apples that can grow in a sunny spot in tight spaces as well as pots, meaning that home grown apples can be a wonderful reality.
The Ballerina range of apples are ‘columnar’, which means they have an upright habit, making them ideal for small and narrow spaces.
Ballerina Polka grows to around 3m tall but only 60cm wide, however will be smaller if grown in a pot. It has medium sized round fruit, which have green skin that develops red areas where exposed to the sun. The apples are crisp and juicy and are delicious when eaten straight from the tree but can also be used for cooking and drying. In spring the tree is smothered in very pretty white and pink flowers, and produces fruit on spurs close to the main trunk. Polka will need a pollinator and other compact apples such as Ballerina Waltz and Bolero are ideal. When planting apples in the ground, mix a handful of Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food.
For more information or ideas visit yates.co.nz