Kiwi Fruit - are brimming with vitamin C and potassium. The skin is packed with flavonoid antioxidants (I place whole kiwi fruits in my juicer so I benefit from the skin without the fuzzy texture). Another benefit is that it fruits in late autumn (fall) when other fruits are scarce.
Kiwi Fruit (Actinidia deliciousa) is a fruiting vine that was introduced from the Yangtze Valley in China around 1900 and was originally known as the Chinese gooseberry. This deciduous vine can grow as big as 9 metres (30 feet), so training and pruning is a must.
Organic Fruit
Cultivation
Kiwi fruit can only tolerate moderate frost through winter. They grow well in fertile, moist soil in a sheltered and sunny position. During summer you must make sure that they receive plenty of water and organic fertilizer high in nitrogen.
Plant your cuttings from autumn to late winter or buy potted plants from a reputable nursery to make sure you have both male and female plants. For you plants to fruit you will need to have at least one male vine closely planted to several female vines.
You need to provide a strong trellis, pergola or other study support for the vines to climb over.
Fruiting
Kiwi fruit plants flower from late spring to early summer, depending on the cultivar you have chosen. They have broad, white petals, with the male flowers also sporting gold stamens. The fruit follows in late summer through autumn (fall). They will vary in shape and size depending on the cultivar you're growing.
Pruning
Given the right conditions Kiwi Fruit plants can be very vigorous. The long twisting canes can grow as thick as your thumb in just one season and can become thickly intertwined.
During winter when the vines are bare you will need to prune them back to a single branch along each trellis wire. You can use the cuttings to create more plants.
The best way to grow kiwi fruit is espaliered along a wind protected wall in a sunny position. Start by erecting your horizontal wires about 45cm (18inches) apart.
1. When you've got your vine in the ground place a thin stake near the centre of the vine.
2. Secure the stake to the wires to support the leading shoot, then tie the main shoot to the stake so that you have a vertical shoot.
3. Train a pair of side shoots along each of the horizontal wires. When they have reached the length required, pinch out the tips.
4. Allow side-shoots to grow at about 50cm (20inch) intervals, pinching them back to five leaves or so. These should fruit the following season.
5. In summer shorten side-shoots to five leaves beyond the maturing fruit. Cut bare laterals back to five leaves in mid-summer.
6. Around mid-winter prune your fruiting laterals to two or three buds beyond where the last fruit was borne. With older vines, cut back three-year-old fruiting laterals to a dormant bud near the horizontal arms.
Harvest your fruit as it ripens and store in the refrigerator. They should keep well for up to six weeks.
How To Grow Organic Kiwi Fruit - One Of The Top 10 Super-Foods
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