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bought a pair of kiwi plants which i am thinking of planting along with another tree, or trees, in the same holes as the kiwis, which will be a living support. (idea from Ben Hart's book) Has anyone else done this or have views on the idea? i'm kind of thinking of pruning the trees in an espallier fashion so maybe a pear tree as they lend themselves to this. I understand the kiwi is very vigorous and so will buy quite large trees but i want to keep them low so i can cover the whole lot in winter.

interesting.
i cant answer your question but we passed some kiwi trees for sale at the farmers market the other day. you have to get a male and a female together. we were seriously considered buying them but my OH thought they were too pricey. keeping our eye out for more though see if we can get them cheaper.

SS D'you mean the kiwi fruit thing Actinidea whatever it is?
If so I've seen it grown on a long Arbour,My first thought is this may be easier.It really can grow to some length.T'would work well on wires like a loganberry.(any second thoughts I'll let you know!)

demi wrote: you have to get a male and a female together

Not necessarily, you can get a self fertile variety as well.
I keep thinking about buying one, but I'm not sure what you can do with a glut of kiwi fruits.

They'd make good compost Tony!..........I'd have to starving before I ate one!

I don't know what to do with kiwi fruit, full stop! I find the fruit not unpleasant, just insipid really but the little black seeds leave a nasty bitter, peppery taste. Maybe they're related to brussel sprouts

I'm not alone, cross-posted with OJ.

I got male and female plants. We eat loads in winter and the plant is beautiful with large furry leaves. It will go well here in summer but will need protecting from our harsh winters. Wire lines would be the obvious solution but i fancy this permaculturey notion and the excuse to buy more trees rather than a load of wire and then i'd need posts too.
fancy not liking kiwi fruit!

Maybe it's like lots of other fruit and veg, if you grow them yourself they taste a zillion times better that commercially grown ones that are picked before they are ripe and kept in cold storage.
Anyway, OH likes them for some reason and growing them is cheaper than buying them.

Anyone know when they ripen in the British isles ?

As for Brussel sprouts, wonderful veg for the discerning amongst us.

Morrisons do 6 Kiwi for 50p quite often!

Martin Crawford at http://www.agroforestry.co.uk/forgndg.html

Does them with Trees, I can't remember what he grows them up now, but there is a whole section in the book about it.

[quote="Odsox"]

Anyone know when they ripen in the British isles ?


Well in West Cornwall, you'd start serious composting mid-late sept.

had a look at the chapter in Crawford's book. lots of good pics and diagrams and he mentions lime which grows well here and is a pretty tree and coppices well. will go with that

oldjerry wrote:

Odsox wrote:
Anyone know when they ripen in the British isles ?


Well in West Cornwall, you'd start serious composting mid-late sept.

Thanks OJ, assuming I get one I'll make sure I have ample space in my compost bins about then.

i love kiwi fruit! when there ripe that is. and come to think of it i dont think iv had a good kiwi in the UK, but in greece and macedonia they were lovley and sweet, soft and juicy. i like the kiwi fruit juice here too. i should make juice and jar it for the winter.wonder if you can make jam from them too?

safronsue wrote:bought a pair of kiwi plants which i am thinking of planting along with another tree, or trees, in the same holes as the kiwis, which will be a living support. (idea from Ben Hart's book) Has anyone else done this or have views on the idea? i'm kind of thinking of pruning the trees in an espallier fashion so maybe a pear tree as they lend themselves to this. I understand the kiwi is very vigorous and so will buy quite large trees but i want to keep them low so i can cover the whole lot in winter.

Hi Safronsue, are you still in Greece as I would have thought with your weather there would be no problems with Kiwi, what do think about putting them in a polytunnel would that be too hot?