Archives

Categories

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!

Fruit Update

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!

December 31st

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.

December 30

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.…..😊

December 24

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.

December 24

A customer wrote her mobile number down for me to send her the recipe for my favourite Cherry Smoothie, because I was a bit busy on the Fruit Stall at the time and now I can’t find it!!!! 😲

Sooo as I know she follows us, here is the recipe… enjoy.

300 or 400 grams frozen of stoned cherries 🍒

1 large frozen banana, or a handful of frozen banana slices 🍌🍌

200 grams plain yoghurt

A few drops of pure vanilla (optional)

Chuck all ingredients into the food processor or blender and whizz.

Then add some chilled water, about 50 – 60 ml to the mix and whizz again….Or whatever amount you want to use, depending on how thick you want it.

Vanilla Ice Cream can be used instead of the yoghurt or frozen yoghurt 😋

Note…I free flow, stoned cherries and then freeze them in 300-400gm lots, for my future smoothies.

It makes life simple.🍒

Merry Christmas to everyone and hope you have a wonderful day with your family and friends 🎄🎄❤️❤️

December 20th

Finally! The moment has arrived 😍🎉

Tomorrow, Thursday 21st December we open for the Fruit Season 😁🌞

Open….7am – 9pm…..7 days

We are closed on Christmas Day……sorry about that.

We have a plentiful supply of freshly picked Cherries and freshly dug New Spuds to kick the Season off 🍒🍒🥔🥔

Apricots will be sometime in early January as will Wilson Early plums and then the troops follow 😊

Txt/ring me on 027 288 6090 anytime for all queries, orders or anything 👍

Mum and I are so looking forward to catching up with everyone 😊😊

You will like our prices!

We only sell what we grow 👍

December 14th

Delay to Opening Date..again….

Due to the cooler temperatures over the past few weeks, we once again have to delay the opening of the Fruit Stall 🥶😑

Soo we will now open on

– Thursday 21st December –

with Cherries and New Spuds 🥔🥔🍒🍒

Pre-ordered Courier – Cherries – will still be going out on Monday and Tuesday 👍👍 18th and 19th, as arranged so they reach their North and South Island destinations before the end of the week 📦📦

Pre-ordered “Pick up Cherry Orders ” & “New Spud Orders” will commence from Thursday 21st so no worries there 😊😊

When we finally Open we will have plenty of Cherries and New Spuds on the Fruit Stall. 🍒🥔

As the weather rules our lives, all we can do is keep working and smile through gritted teeth whilst we wait for the fruit to ripen, albeit slowly this Season so far 😬😬😨😱

All other fruit is slow in ripening as well but we are hoping our Earli Ril and Sundrop apricots will be on the Fruit Stall by 5th January with PYO starting a bit later on…..the other apricot varieties may be a wee bit late but you never know….if we get a burst of heat this could all change 🌞

Here is a photo of cherries which are well on their way to ripening and some Sundrop apricots…..most definitely not a tinge of orange as of yet – a bit more Sun and heat and they will soon be on the move! ☀️☀️

Txt/ring me anytime on 027 288 6090 for fruit updates, weather report, pre-orders, etc.

#rollonsummer#cantwaittoseeyouall#ripenupcherries

🌥

Update…..Opening Day Delayed

🌥

The Sun is sadly lacking at present ☁️☁️so have had to push the Opening Date forward to Monday 18th.. .

Also because the Sun isn’t playing the game, I have to pull the plug on any further pre-Xmas Courier Cherry Orders 🍒

The existing Cherry Orders will still go out on the “final Fruit Courier Day” which is the 18th for the North Island and 19th for the South Island 👍

Courier Orders start up again after Xmas and New Year on 3rd January.

Pick up Cherry Orders will still be available as will Cherries and New Spuds on the Fruit Stall from Monday 18th December.

Apologies for the inconvenience and many thanks for your patience 😊

As the weather rules our lives, nothing much surprises us these days 😁

Fingers crossed the Sun comes out to play sooner than later – will keep you updated.

Contact me (Ruby) anytime on 027 288 6090 for fruit queries or placing an order.

#whereareyousun

#comeouttoplay

#weneedheatforourfruittoripen

#ripenthecherriesfasterplease

Our Orchard/Fruit Stall and how to find us
Open 7 days………7am – 9pm
mid December.…early June
We only sell what we grow
We will open for the Season on Saturday 16 December with new spuds and cherries ? ???
At the moment it looks like our first apricots will be on the Fruit Stall at the beginning of January…..will keep you posted…??
Our Family Orchard, which is very easy to find, is located at Hercules Flat, only 2km from Roxburgh, on the East side of the Clutha River.
Our old fashioned, 1950’s style Fruit Stall, is surrounded by gardens and was created by Mum over thirty years ago.
Mum and I have been busy painting the Fruit Stall inside and out and Sam has been helping out by putting up a new trellis for us……all set for another Fruit Season….we love this time of the year! ???
Plenty of easy parking, suitable for all types of vehicles including mobile homes, buses, large caravans, etc. ??????
I (Ruby) manage the Fruit Stall – contact me on 027 288 6090 anytime for fruit orders, fruit queries, directions ….weather reports….etc……Sandra (Mum) works alongside me in the Fruit Stall, and Sam and Co. ensure the fruit is picked daily ?
The Fruit Stall is stocked continually throughout each and every day ???
We sell a wide range of fruit, starting with cherries, followed by many varieties of apricots, plums, nectarines, apples, pears and quinces in different size boxes and bags ????????
Remember to check our Website or Facebook as to what is available at any given time or txt/phone me (Ruby)…..027 288 6090 anytime of the day ?
During January, PYO apricots is also available along with PYO nectarines.
As we are weather dependant, varieties of fruit ripen at different times so best to check before coming as to whether it is ready or for an indiction as to what day it will be available on the stall ?
“Pick Your Own” is popular for those wanting a large amount of fruit at a reduced cost for bottling and freezing.
We also sell bagged apples in bulk, for fund-raising, so txt me if you would like more info on this ???
Our motto has always been
‘Selling fruit at affordable prices’.
………………………………….
Easy Directions To Our Place.…
When you arrive in Roxburgh, turn down Jedburgh Street which is directly opposite the Petrol Station and travel a couple of hundred metres down the road towards the Clutha River……turn right off the bridge…..you will find us only 2 km down the road….. you will see our Hobbs Orchard sign at the entrance on the left-hand side of the road…. come on up the driveway.
If you are visiting us for the first time and you are coming from Millers Flat end, please ignore Google maps and GPS systems as apparently they show our neighbours driveway as our main entrance! ??
This is obviously incorrect……I have tried to have this issue rectified but to no avail.
So please ignore your GPS, etc when they tell you to cross the bridge at Millers Flat…..just keep on the main highway and follow the above instructions when you reach Roxburgh.
Our actual entrance is well sign-posted and has been for over thirty years! ?
Looking forward to catching up with you all.406921532_884544883373081_6070605464131964026_n
406982392_884545100039726_474850682255290370_n
right one