Late summer in the edible patch is about anticipating the harvest season and enjoying a slower pace as we seek the shade. Sarah Frater offers some expert advice.

All the hard work we have put into our orchard is now paying off as we head into harvest season. Beautiful peaches and plums can be plucked from the tree and apples, pears, feijoas and nuts will all be developing. It is such an exciting time as we consider all the wonderful ways we can eat, prepare and store nature’s bounty. But staying on top of the tasks is a must to ensure your edibles are being well cared for …

Mulch the soil to conserve moisture.

Check soil conditions to make sure trees are receiving adequate water. Water well at the base of your fruit tree – drippers and soak hoses are ideal – as it is particularly important to keep up moisture to shallow-rooted plants like citrus and blueberry. If they do not receive adequate water in summer and autumn the fruit tends to be pithy and dry. Seaweed foliar feeds and mulching are high on the list of jobs to keep up with in late summer, while mulching under feijoas will make fruit collection easier.

Harvest crops on a dry day.

Allow early morning dew to dry and avoid picking in the heat of the day. It is also important to set aside your harvest in a cool shaded area to let the fruit cool down. For apples and pears, it’s ideal to pick the fruit with a stalk as this helps extend storage, but be careful not to pull off the fruit spurs for next season!

The fruit should come off easily in your hand with a gentle twist or a pull upwards. I use my fruit pruners as they leave a nice clean cut. If you are not sure of the fruit ripeness just pick one and have a taste – while the flesh inside will oxidise very quickly if not fully ripe, the best indicator is the taste test!

Check plant ties.
You want to ensure the ties are still secure but not overly tight. These plant ties are a great place for bugs, like scale, to live over winter so check and replace if necessary. It is also timely to look at your plant stakes. The purpose of a stake is to hold the base of a tree secure to help the roots establish, particularly in a windy environment. Ideally, they are only needed for a couple of years.

Mow under nut trees.

Short grass will allow for easy collection of fallen nuts especially if you are hand raking to collect. Dry the nuts out of the sun on an open base (an old inner-sprung mattress base or similar is ideal). Once dried, after about a month store in onion sacks away from rodents.

Net or bag ripening grapes to ward off birds and wasps. Dark-coloured grapes are ripe when the skin changes colour from light to dark; watch, and taste a few at a time to make sure they are properly ripe. Green grapes have an almost translucent look to the skin when ripe.

Frost protection.

Depending on where you live in Aotearoa you may need to think about frost protection for citrus, tamarillo and passion fruit towards the end of March. Either spray with liquid frost cloth or make straw bale houses around citrus and then you can secure frost cloth over the top of this.

Did you know?

Late summer is also the last chance for a post-harvest cleanup on brambles and raspberries. Prune out the spent canes or mark with ties so you know which ones to remove, and tie new season canes in place.

 

Edible Garden is a specialist mail-order nursery with a focus on fruit and nut trees, and a range of berries. Their aim is to supply you with old-fashioned wholesome heirloom varieties that can be grown in your home garden to sustain and nourish those you love. ediblegarden.co.nz