Last crop in the garden: kiwis!

Kiwis are harvested from the first cold.

Sunday, November 19: In this second part of autumn the days are cooler but often sunny in
the afternoon. The garden of the guest house "Les Bruyères du Mont" gradually takes on its winter aspect and returns to be gently dormant. After many harvests throughout the summer and fall, it's time now to pick the many mature kiwis.

Around the kiwi

In the garden, we planted 7 years ago about 3 feet of actinidias ... Indeed, it is necessary to wait several years before you obtain many fruits and a harvest worthy of the name.

Actinidia deliciosa is a variety of flowering plants of the family actinidiaceace and the genus Actinidia.  Actinidiadeliciose is a liana native to China, grown elsewhere in the world for its kiwifruit fruit. We call it also the Chinese gooseberry or the plant mouse. For information "aktis" means: ray and "deliciosus", name of the species, means: sweet, pleasant.

Since deliciosa is not self-fertile, it is necessary to plant male and female feet. The floral period from May to early June we have beautiful white flowers with 6 petals. The temperate, mild and sufficiently rainy climate of our region Normande is perfectly suited to the development of this plant.

The fruit, called kiwi, has an oval shape of 5 to 6 cm and is brown, with downy skin and small short hairs. The flesh of this delicious little fruit is light green or yellowish-brown with a sweet or slightly acid taste depending on the variety.

Harvest and tasting:

So it is with pleasure, and for the third year, that we have collected about fifty kilos of kiwis. They were stored in cool boxes and will keep for several months. You will find them on your table breakfast, to enjoy nature or compote, or as an accompaniment to your favorite yoghurt or cereal. The kiwi is rich in vitamin C, also possessing many antioxidant properties, excellent for health.

During the winter and to prepare the next harvest, the actinidias will be cut and compost will be deposited at the foot as well as trunk and foliage treatment with Bordeaux mixture (natural care) avoiding certain diseases. 

During your next stay at the guest house, you can rest and relax comfortably in the the garden in the shade of our actinidias.