Update

PYO Nectarines are all go – but there is an issue!

I don’t actually know which ‘Weather Report’ to believe.

Some say showers all day, off and on, and others say only showers in afternoon or none at all..

But tomorrow and Monday are great…yahoo..

Please bring your own buckets, shopping bags, boxes or whatever.

We do have shopping bags available for those who forget.

Nectarines are great for bottling, drying stewing, freezing, eating, etc.

‘On Sellers’ or ‘Hawkers’ are strictly forbidden.

PYO is for those wanting fruit to eat or large amounts for bottling, stewing, freezing, drying, etc….

Some pick for their elderly relatives/friends…

PYO Moorparks, & Stevens Favourites are still all go.

Amazingly they haven’t been affected by the rain – will probably finish by Monday but I could be wrong.

As there are other Stalls with boxed Moorparks, you won’t miss out on these…

Mum (Sandra) and I are packing up boxes of Clutha Gold in the Stall for those who don’t want to pick.

Ring me anytime on 027 288 6090 for all queries.

Remember we are open from 7am-9pm every day and we only sell what we grow.

very busy time on the Fruit Stall.

PYO Moorparks are still plentiful as is Steven’s Favourite – they are both old varieties and very tasty.

The next lot of PYO Nectarines are about a week away.

Remember to bring your own bags/buckets for PYO

Black Amber plums will be on the Stall as from today. They are a large black plum – yellow flesh with a tinge of red just under the skin – the taste is divine.

Billington plums are just around the corner – will keep you posted.

Another lovely day ahead of us today with sunshine and no rain or wind predicted!

On the Stall we have boxed Clutha Gold and Stevens Favourite – we don’t have any Moorparks on the Stall – only on the trees.

On our way up the garden path to the Fruit Stall this morning, Sandra (Mum) and I were greeted by a very large aggressive possum on the pathway – it seemed hell bent on scaring us – which I must admit it did – so if we were half asleep walking over here, we certainly aren’t now!!

Call me on 0027 288 6090anytime for fruit queries.

Remember we are open every day from 7am-9pm and we only sell what we grow.

Good morning everyone!

It is 2.30am and we have a very cold start to the day.

Good news – there is no rain predicted for the next few days.

PYO Nectarines starts today!

PYO Roxburgh Red apricots are still all go and are plentiful….they are great for bottling, freezing, drying, stewing, etc.

PYO Moorparks are still on track for this coming Saturday.

So sorry we couldn’t coincide Nectarines and Moorparks.

The weather is to blame – not impressed – it should have played the game but it was like an errant child.

The naughty step is where it should be this summer!

Contact me on 027 288 6090 for weather updates, order queries, etc.

Open 7am-9pm every day

You will like our prices!

Update

Lovely sunny day ahead of us

Great news – all the previous dates for PYO are still on track, even though the weather is still very unpredictable.

Peeka apricots, a very old variety are available on the Stall from today.

Sam and the boys picked many crates of them.

They are small with a wee stone.

A great all rounder – eating, bottling, freezing, jam, stewing, sauce, etc.

Trust me you will come back year after year for them.

We have plenty of Eating boxes, bottling and freezing boxes and 2nd grade boxes available on the Stall.

There is no PY0 with this variety.

Call me anytime on 027 288 6090 for all queries.

Update

PYO Sundrops will finish next Tuesday 23 January. Boxed Sundrops on the Fruit Stall will be available until next Tuesday.

PYO Roxburgh Red will start on Monday 22 January, and we will have them on the Fruit Stall as well.

This is a very old variety….great for eating, bottling, freezing, drying, jam….actually everything! They are simply delicious. They mark easily so if it rains, they look untidy…….like the Moorkparks but this doesn’t alter the great taste of them flavour.

PYO Nectarines start on Wednesday 24 January.

Hawkers/On-Sellers are not permitted.

We sell only to Individuals and families who want the enjoyment of picking for bottling, freezing, eating, chutney, relish, etc and they are well aware not to pick ridiculous amounts. Due to the popularity of nectarines they go very quickly and are known to go in a single day or two – there is another PYO variety that ripens in another two weeks.

Clutha Gold and Valley Gold apricots will be on the Fruit Stall as from Wednesday 24 January.

Moorparks are starting to show a tad of colour so maybe at this stage…..January 27 might be when PYO starts….will keep you posted…

Billington plums – red skin and red flesh – are great for eating, sauce and jam – will be on the Fruit Stall from next Wednesday.

Shiro plums will also be available at this time.

The weather has been all over the place this Season, making it very difficult task to predict when fruit varieties will be ready!

I asked Mum (Sandra) for a Crystal Ball last Xmas but she forgot to buy it!

Thank you everyone for your patience.

Please remember to phone/txt me, Ruby, for all enquiries – weather, fruit orders, fruit queries, or anything else.

PYO Update

This Saturday- 13th January – PYO begins once again.

Sundrop apricots are first in line – with the all other apricot varieties following gradually, will keep you posted as to when they are available

We will have Sundrops for PYO for between 10-14 days, so there is no urgent hurry to get up here as we have plenty of them.

Roxburgh Red, Moorparks, Stevens Favourite, Peeka, Valley Gold, and Clutha Gold apricots are all coming along nicely –

so I will keep you posted as to when they are ready for PYO.

Remember our Fruit Stall is continuously stocked every day so plenty of fruit is available for those who have no desire to pick their own

On the Stall at the moment we have boxes and bags of Sundrops and we still have some Diamond Bright Nectarines. Red Beaut plums have now finished and Duffs Early Jewel are just around the corner as is other varieties of plums….

Contact me, Ruby, on 027 288 6090 anytime for fruit queries, weather reports, courier orders, etc.

Remember we are open every day from 7am-9pm and we only sell what we grow.

You will like our prices!

Warning – lengthy post ahead!

Sundrop apricots will be available on the Fruit Stall as from this Saturday – 6 January – they will be available for about two weeks so there is no hurry to get up here.

Once the “PYO Sundrop area” “is evenly ripened, we will open up for PYO and at present it looks like it will be the following Saturday – 13 January – will keep you updated.

But mark it on your Calendar – 13 January – as I cannot see us opening any earlier for PYO…

Courier orders for Sundrops will start next Monday and will be sent out Tuesday and Wednesday as well. Txt/ring – 027 288 6090 – if you have a freight price or would like to place an order.

Roxburgh Red apricots will be available in about 2 weeks time and Moorparks maybe just over 2 weeks time as well……..Valley Gold, Peeka, Stevens Favourite are also roughly between 2 -3 weeks away. These will also be available on the Fruit Stall as well as PYO.

Will keep you posted.

Next week we are promised a lot of sunny days so ripening will get a boost…

PYO Nectarines are still about 2 weeks away.

At the moment, we also have an early variety of nectarines, Diamond Bright, available on the Fruit Stall – these are not available for PYO – Sam and I planted these about seven years ago and this year they have produced a wonderful crop.

Nearly forgot – we have Red Beaut plums on the Stall…these are a great tasting plum and yellow-flesh.

Earli Ril apricots – a very old variety – are also available on the Fruit Stall.. a great tasting apricot….these are not as popular as Sundrops but have a great flavour

“Duffs Early Jewel” plums are less than a week away.

Billington, our first red flesh plum of the Season, are still about 2 weeks away.

All other plum varieties are growing well….as is all other fruit…

Contact me, Ruby, on 027 288 6090 anytime for fruit queries, weather reports, courier orders, etc.

Remember we are open every day from 7am-9pm and we only sell what we grow.

You will like our prices!

Apologies to everyone who has tried accessing our website the last couple of days and saw it was down Thank you for all the txt messages and calls notifying me.

This situation was out of our control – the server went down and the guy in charge has worked diligently to fix it – thanks Howard

It is now back on track

All of my December posts were erased but I have just finished reposting these.

Thank you for your patience and apologies for the inconvenience.

We have the following available on the Fruit Stall.

‘Red Beaut’ plums – delicious flavour – yellow flesh

New Spuds – yum – Sam grows these

Cherries – yum

Sadly Apricots are not ripe as yet but they should start next weekend with PYO a wee bit later on……….will keep you posted…..

Nectarines are a wee bit later, with all other fruit looking good…

You will like our prices!

Open from 7am-9pm every day

Contact me, Ruby, on 0272886090 for all fruit queries

Lately we have been asked a lot about Bottling and Freezing so I hope the following helps.

If you intend to bottle or freeze apricots this Season, now is the time to wash all your jars, and purchase seals and freezer bags.

Freezing is not a complicated procedure.

All you do is halve the apricots, remove stones, bag up and freeze….

We usually freeze in 2 kg lots, enough for a pudding or stewed apricots for shortcakes, apricot cakes, muffins, or with yoghurt & ice cream, Also cooked apricots with porridge, muesli, cornflakes and ricies is delicious.…Apricot Chicken is worth a try….there’s heaps of other ways of using bottled/frozen apricots.

We also freeze apricots in 3kg lots for making Jam during the Winter months…

If you make Smoothies, freezing apricot halves in one layer in a freezer bag is the way to go…

This takes away the need for using ice and frozen apricots are a wonderful nutritional base for Smoothies.

Free-flowing apricot halves is another way and this means all you do is grab a handful or two of frozen apricots from the freezer bags and chuck them in your blender for the Smoothie base.

Very important to remember never thaw the apricots before cooking; always cook when frozen….if you thaw them, they will turn brownish.…..only add a wee bit of water……gently bring the fruit to the boil and cook gently…. add the amount of sugar you like….some use a small amount while others pile it in ….we often use raw sugar instead of white…

If you only want to freeze a few bags of apricots you can always cook them up in a stock pot and then freeze in pottles or ladle the cooled down apricots into freezer bags. Just thaw them over night for porridge, cornflakes, muesli or whatever. Of course you don’t have to cook again as they are already cooked….…

Hope this makes sense as I am in a hurry to get to the Fruit Stall…..I forgot to write this last night!!!

Give us a ring/txt if you need any advise about preserving fruit…After all these years I would like to say my Mum is an expert with me trailing along behind as a trainee expert.…..

Quick update – Just a reminder – plenty of fresly picked Cherries and freshly dug new spuds on the fruit stall You will like our prices

Open 7am – 9pm – 7 days a week except for Christmas day.

25 degree high today and there is no rain predicted!

Contact me Ruby on 027 288 6090 for all fruit queries or weather updates.