Grow your own fruit to harvest

The dream of eating off the land, knowing what goes into your food and harvesting your own fruit is something that is much talked about.
To take this a step further is to plan the fruits that can be grown. You can grow to be able to harvest your own bowl of fresh fruit for every month of the year, living in Whanganui, touted as the fourth most temperate climate in the world.

So delving into a large number of sources, this column will outline the varieties of fruit that can be grown in Whanganui and harvested fresh each month. I will be interested to hear from any gardeners who can shed more precision, or any correction on harvest times. As the harvest time is based on climatic conditions and some books and catalogues do not specify the area for which they are written, harvest may vary by a few weeks. It would be great to compile a very accurate harvest calendar for Whanganui.

Now is a great time to be planting fruit trees in your garden. Many varieties that are only available in the garden centre seasonally are in store now with limited stocks. So take advantage of the wet soils, make your selection in store and you too can have a year round fruit harvest at your place.

Harvest in January:
Avocado Hass, Plum Billington, Plum Wilsons Early, Plum Black Amber, Plum Black Doris (late), Plum Elephant Heart, Plum Sultan, Cherry Lapins, Cherry Dawson, Strawberries, Raspberry Waiau, Raspberry Aspiring, Boysenberry, Logan Berry, Blueberry Blue Dawn, Blueberry Blue Magic, Blueberry Tasty Blue, Blueberry Misty, Blueberry Mirimba, Lemon Meyer, Orange Harwood Late, Peach Elegant Lady (late), Peach Red Haven, Peach Wiggins (early), Peach Dixired, Peacherine Healeys (late), Dwarf Peach Rose Chiffon (late), Dwarf Peach Pixzee (Late), Dwarf Peach Kotare Honey (late), Dwarf Peach Bonanza, Apricot Trevatt, Dwarf Apricot Garden Annie, Red Currant, Black Currant, Gooseberry Invicta, Gooseberry Pax, Fig Mrs Williams — 1st crop.

February:
Plum Hawera (late), Plum Elephant Heart, Plum Santa Rosa, Plum Luisa, Plum Burbank, Plum Coes Golden Drop, Plum Reine Claude de Bavay, Plum Omega (late), Plum Purple King (late), Prune Plum Stanley, Apple Discovery, Apple D'Estivale, Apple Gala, Apple Hetlina, Apple Initial, Apple Oratia Beauty, Apple Prima, Apple Worchester Pearmain, Apple Coxs Orange Pippin, Blueberry Misty, Blueberry Mirimba, Apple Dayton, Avocado Reed, Avocado Hass, Blackberry, Boysenberry, Logan Berry, Blueberry Blue Dawn, Blueberry Blue Magic, Blueberry Tasty Blue, Pear Conference, Pear Doyenne Du Comice (late), Pear William Bon Chrietien, Lemon Meyer, Orange Harwood late, Peach Black Boy (late), Peach Hiawatha, Peach Yumyeong, Peach Golden Haze (early), Peach Snow Grace, Apricot Fitzroy, Apricot Tomcot, Dwarf Apricot Aprigold, Fig Mrs Williams — 1st crop, Grape Niagara, Grape Lakemont Seedless, Nectarine Goldmine.

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March:
Plum Greengage, Plum Angeleno, Apple Royal Gala, Apple Ballerina, Apple Blenheim Orange, Apple Ergemont Russet, Apple Freyberg, Apple Laxtons Fortune, Apple Priscilla, Apple Telstar, Avocado Reed, Avocado Hass, Blackberry, Pear Beurre Bosc, Pear Packhams Triumph, Pear Winter Nelis, Pear Taylors Gold, Lemon Meyer, Orange Harwood Late, Feijoa Apollo, Feijoa Sherbet, Feijoa Kaiteri (early), Feijoa Anatoki (early), Quince Smyrna, Quince Van Diemens, Peach April White (late), Peach Golden Queen, Peach Gordons Glory, Peach Paragon (early), Peach Cot, Chilean Guava, Fig Brown Turkey, Grape Lakemont Seedless, Grape Albany Surprise, Grape Moores Diamond, Grape Candice, Hazelnut Barcelona, Hazelnut Merveille de Bolwiller, Hazelnut Whiteheart.

Late March/ early April
Apple Belle de Boskoop, Apple Bramleys Seedling, Apple Liberty, Apple Peasgood's Nonsuch, Apple Sir Prize, Apple Tentation, Raspberry Aspiring, Raspberry Heritage.

April
Apple Baujade, Apple Braeburn, Apple Fuji, Apple Granny Smith, Apple Kidds Orange, Apple Montys Surprise, Apple Mother, Apple Splendour
Apple Sturmer Pippin, Apple Tydemans Late Orange, Apple Winter Banana, Avocado Reed, Lemon Meyer, Feijoa Apollo, Feijoa Unique, Feijoa Kakapo, Pear Concorde, Pear Winter Cole, Quince Van Diemens, Quince Smyrna, Tamarillo Teds Red, Chilean Guava, Fig Brown Turkey, Fig Mrs Williams — 2nd crop, Grape Albany Surprise, Grape Moores Diamond, Grape Candice, Walnut Meyric, Walnut Shannon, Walnut Rex, Walnut Serr.

May
Mandarin Satsuma Miho, Mandarin Satsuma, Lemon Meyer, Lemon Yenben/Lisbon, Lemonade, Lime Bearrs, Lime Tahitian, Grapefruit Golden Special, Persimmon Fuyu, Feijoa Wiki Tu, Feijoa Triumph, Feijoa Opal Star, Tamarillo Bold Gold, Tamarillo Tango, Tamarillo Teds Red, Fig Mrs Williams — 2nd crop, Persimmon.

June
Mandarin Miho, Mandarin Satsuma Silverhill, Avocado Bacon, Avocado Hashimoto, Lemon Meyer, Lime Bearrs, Lime Tahitian, Grapefruit Golden Special, Tamarillo Bold Gold, Tamarillo Tango, Tamarillo Teds Red.

July
Avocado Bacon, Avocado Hashimoto, Lemon Meyer, Lemon Yenben/Lisbon, Lemonade, Lime Bearrs, Lime Tahitian, Grapefruit Golden Special, Grapefruit Cutlers Red, Orange Bests Seedless, Mandarin Silver Hill, Mandarin Satsuma, Tamarillo Bold Gold, Tamarillo Tango, Tamarillo Teds Red, Medlar.

August
Grapefruit Golden Special, Avocado Fuerte, Orange Bests Seedless, Lemon Meyer, Lemon YenBen/Lisbon, Lemonade, Mandarin Silver Hill, Mandarin Miho, Mandarin Satsuma, Loquat Mogi.

September
Avocado Fuerte, Orange Bests Seedless, Lemon Meyer, Grapefruit Golden Special, Loquat Mogi.

October
Avocado Fuerte, Blueberry Misty, Blueberry Mirimba, Lemon Meyer, Cherry Tangshe.

November
Avocado Hass, Logan Berry, Blueberry Misty, Blueberry Mirimba, Lemon Meyer, Orange Harwood Late.

December
Plum Duffs Early Jewel (Christmas), Avocado Hass, Logan Berry, Blueberry Blue Dawn, Blueberry Blue Magic, Blueberry Tasty Blue, Blueberry Misty, Blueberry Mirimba, Orange Harwood Late, Apricot Royal Rosa, Apricot Sundrop, Dwarf Apricot Golden Glow, Red Currant, Black Currant, Gooseberry Invicta, Gooseberry Pax, Raspberry Waiau, Raspberry Aspiring, Cherry Compact Stella, Nectarine Snowqueen.

Stone Fruit Pest Watch — time to spray for curly leaf protection. With the wet autumn/early winter and a great run of warmer days in July the buds on peaches and nectarines are close to swelling, so keep an eye on them. The moment they start to move apply Freeflo copper and Enspray 99 oil to prevent curly leaf and get rid of any residual insect problems. These two products can be mixed together. These certified organic oil and copper sprays can be used on all fruit trees as a winter clean-up which will remove overwintering insect larve and kill fungus spores. This will reduce pest and disease incidence in the coming summer. We recommend doing this spray combination twice two weeks apart.
Gareth Carter is General Manager of Springvale Garden Centre.