It has been a really hot and wet week in Sydney. Almost tropical- stinking hot and humid with thunderstorms in the evenings. The vegies are leaping out of the soil, and the first of the summer fruit is starting to come on.
Wandering out the other day I found a single ripe blueberry. Not sure how long it had been there, but I really never realised that blueberries could taste so good. So different to the shop bought ones, which really never appealed to me unless they were baked into muffins.
I’ve discovered the trap with them now though- after eating the first one and raving to P about it, I picked three more just after they turned blue. I inadvertently had set a booby trap. When P ate them he puckered up like crazy – I think they need a few days on the bush after they turn blue for them to sweeten up.
My strawberries are still powering along, although the lizards are out in force now and they love them as much as we do.
The slugs are making a meal of my mulberries, so I really need to get some of the Multiguard slug pellets out quickly. I love the fact that they are iron-based and non-toxic.
My little sunset nectarine is still holding onto 3 or 4 fruit. Unfortunately the peach didn’t take well to the late sulphur spray and dropped its crop.
Luckily our good friends brought around some of their stonefruit crop, really early this year due to the heat. How good does it look! Well it did look good until Little D got his mitts on them and tossed a few like cricket balls, so we were forced to gorge ourselves immediately. They tasted amazing!
One of my apple trees is still holding onto 2 apples. Now I’m terrified that I’ll pick them too early or late – so much pressure! Apples are funny things. I have two warm climate apples that flowered at the same time. The fruit on the Tropical Anna (the only one that actually set fruit) is nearing maturity. The other tree (a multigraft of Granny Smith and Pink Lady hasn’t even started flowing yet. It has really only woken up from its winter hibernation in the last month. Either this first year is going to be a dud, or the timing of these different varieties is up to 6 months apart. Funny thing, these apples.
Now Ali will be sad (either that or secretly delighted) at this news. Of my two avocado trees, one of them (the Sheppard) set a single fruit. It was tiny, it was gorgeous, sadly doomed. I came out the next morning and it had dropped off. Better luck for both of us next year, hey Ali?
Next post, I’ll have two very exciting things to share with you. One of them is hanging in my carport right now, and there’s not much space for anything else.
500m2 in Sydney 
Eeeerrrek ! What is it?!!
One of my baby nectarines is all crinkled 😦 will copper spray next time!
Hmm. Mine have crinkled just before they fell off. It started out with 30 or so fruit, but now I’m down to 3 or 4. I just hope to get one off it. Next year I’ll spray at the right time and hopefully get some better results.
How many do you have on yours?
You have the right sort of friends! Mine just don’t grow enough fruit! I’m thinking of getting a blueberry plant or two, how much space do you reckon they take? and how much water do you give yours? I think your rainfall is a bit higher than ours so that is a bit of a concern.
I have two of the Nellie Kelly blueberries. I potted them into self-watering pots with azalea potting mix and mulched heavily. I feel them with dynamic lifter. I plan to repot them every two years, because they grow quite quickly, but I planted them small in January and they are still only 30-35 centimetres across. I know they get quite big at maturity (up to a metre I think), but they are worth the space.
My chilli plants are now putting out flowers all over the place – it’s definitely growing season again 🙂
I have some baby ones already, and I found some long thai chilli seedlings (the mild, supermarket variety). I think I’ve killed most of them this week, but I think I have one that will survive.
Hmm, I’m thinking I might have to try a blueberry… I could probably do one in a pot in our backyard. You don’t have yours out in an extremely sunny spot, do you? Looks like I should get a chilli too…
It does get sun all year round, but only mid morning sun in the winter. I might be able to take a cutting for you, but it would probably take 2 years for it to produce fruit. A new one costs about $15 and fruits in the first year.
Oh yes, next year is the year of the avocado… and hopefully the mango! My blueberries have also been ripening, thanks to you for letting me know how they form – I really would have freaked out if I hadn’t know the flowers dropping off was a normal thing. I hope your apples hold on, I have one tiny little one that’s still clinging to life on its branch, however, I am really not filled with confidence.
ps I think just maybe I would have been okay if your avocado had hung on… maybe 😀