Kiwifruit

We have a Kiwifruit vine, or should I say two in our backyard. To grow Kiwifruit you need both a male kiwifruit plant and a female kiwifruit plant. The bees come and cross polinate the plants. The female can be identified by having multiple buds and the male has only single buds. The male is much more of a climber than the female and twists and turns with many branches extending up into the air.

A neighbour had just one vine and asked whether we had both a male and a female. It turned out that his plant started fruiting through the cross polination from our plant. They do become rather wild and when well established grow like crazy and the roots go down under paths and the vines wrap themselves around the guttering on the roof, so be careful where you plant one if you consider doing so.

The Kiwifruit are beautiful to eat and are good for your health with a good fibre content. They are most enjoyable with pavlova and cream or great as a fruit for your children to take to school…