Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Wyn Drabble: Trying to get a good crop

By WYN DRABBLE
Northern Advocate·
6 Feb, 2020 10:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Last year's passionfruit crop was taken by the dog hopefully the same won't happen this year.

Last year's passionfruit crop was taken by the dog hopefully the same won't happen this year.

THE LIGHTER SIDE

If you have been paying attention over the past few years – I know most of you have but there are still some recalcitrants up the back – you will know about my fruit-growing issues.

I long ago gave up on the plums and the grapes and the blueberries. The birds strip the tree and the vines and the bushes on the very day they are ready. They have built-in brix meters (refractometers or hydrometers).

Somehow they don't seem interested in the blackberries – perhaps not red enough to attract attention – so I have had some success there.

We have a wild vine growing over the front fence and, as I drive in the gate, I can stop, lower the window and pluck a few choice berries to munch on during the drive up to the garage. And I don't even need to leave the car.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

READ MORE:
• Premium - Wyn Drabble: Trying hard to net a decent crop
• Premium - Wyn Drabble: It's not easy being green
• Premium - Wyn Drabble: May I now rest my case?
• Wyn Drabble: Blokey winter desires

It's the ultimate healthy drive-thru.

The trick is to select only berries that pull away easily from the mother ship. This indicates they are ripe and ready and as sweet as blackberries get.

If you experience resistance you know that the berry will be sour but – and this is where this system falls down – you have already picked it. Your best course of action now is to turn and check whether anyone is watching before throwing it away.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

I have, in the past, chronicled my issues with melons and passionfruit. The passionfruit vine has somehow survived a couple of frosty winters but last year's crop was taken by Madam Dog, who mistook the hanging orbs for balls to play with so tore them down and ... well ... played with them.

Same with the melons but the balls were bigger. And rounder.

This year, I have put wire netting in front of all the passionfruit so I think the crop is safe. I have just been out to check and I counted 24 handsome fruit the size of large eggs.

We need to make the most of them when they're ripe as my research tells me that passionfruit vines have a short life of no more than seven years.

There is evidence of five rock melons on the two vines so far. They are safe because of the elevated position I have given them for their home.

So, right at this moment, I'm feeling pretty proud of myself but I am also very aware of Murphy's Law and I look sadly at the huge bunches of grapes just about ready for the birds.

Yes, I have tried the netting that vineyards use but have never managed to get it secure, so birds always find a way in.

One of the things I'm hoping for – besides just successfully producing crops – is to harvest fruit only when it is ripe. I don't like buying fruit that is hard and inedible then leaving it in a bowl for a few days to "ripen".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

My theory is that many fruits are not ripening in the bowl, they are rotting. Fussy I know but, in most cases, I want my ripening done on the plant (I'll make an exception for avocados, of course).

Speaking of which, our main avocado tree is so tall that, even with a step ladder, I can only harvest the bottom half. We'll need to train our monkey to collect the top ones. First we'll need to get a monkey.

I suppose I could buy a cherry picker but that would make the fruit absurdly expensive.

I'd like to close on a positive note so now it's time to tell you that the citrus trees – six orange, two lemon, two lime, one grapefruit – are doing fine.

With them I have squeezed some success so, if you're not green-fingered, I recommend planting a few citrus trees to add some zest to your life.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Northern Advocate

live
Northern Advocate

Wild weather set to ease across the country, clean-up efforts begin

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Northern Advocate

'Massive milestone': Rare native geckos, parrots return amid pest-control success

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

Joe Bennett: A journey through Cyprus and its vanished pygmy hippos

11 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Wild weather set to ease across the country, clean-up efforts begin
live

Wild weather set to ease across the country, clean-up efforts begin

11 Jul 06:00 PM

The North Island is expected to get off to a wet start this morning, with lingering rain.

'Massive milestone': Rare native geckos, parrots return amid pest-control success

'Massive milestone': Rare native geckos, parrots return amid pest-control success

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Joe Bennett: A journey through Cyprus and its vanished pygmy hippos

Joe Bennett: A journey through Cyprus and its vanished pygmy hippos

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Comment: Two decades of inspiring arts and community connections in Kerikeri

Comment: Two decades of inspiring arts and community connections in Kerikeri

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP