Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Kiwi destiny

NOT from THE MAP
OK, I am still very much a beginner which means that most of the time I have no idea what I am doing. For example the kiwi sapling. When I bought it we had just moved into the mold-house with a small backyard. The backyard soil was not really soil, i.e. there was no life in it, pretty much just sand, but I didn't know that of course, and thought that as long as there is dirt things should grow. I planted lots of things all of which of course died almost instantly. As result I think I left the backyard with much more organic matter and life going on in it than I started with.
The kiwi sapling somehow was the only thing surviving the backyard, maybe feeding a bit on the misery of the other plants and vegetables. It didn't really grow that much. Or at all.
A couple of months before moving to our new house, I transplanted it into a huge pot and left it there...figuring that if it doesn't die I might think about bringing it along. But not really hoping that much. On the last day before moving, I noticed the pot was completely overrun by ants, and kind of decided to throw it away.
The moving guys convinced me to bring it though. And I transplanted it for the third time in the garden when we arrived. What I failed to do was to check what kind of soil kiwi trees need, and also general info about kiwi. I know I know I should have checked it before buying it. I have changed that now, I read up on new plants before going out and buying. And I don't buy trees on a whim like I did the kiwi. "Oh, they sell kiwi trees. Sure would be nice to have my own kiwi fruits in a couple of years."
The spot in the corner where I planted the kiwi is very much clay soil. The opposite of what kiwi needs. I also found out today that kiwi does not give fruits that easily, and not at all if you only have 1 tree. Hahaha.
Let me quote:
"Few crops are more challenging to pollinate than kiwi. Here’s the reason. For high fruit quality a large number of pollen grains per flower (> 3000) are required. Nectar production in kiwi flowers is generally poor, resulting in low attractiveness to honeybees. Furthermore, kiwi plants are “dioecious” meaning that male and female viable reproductive structures are on separate plants. The only way to set fruit is through cross-pollination. The proportion of non-fruit bearing, and thus “unreproductive” male plants in the orchard is generally limited, e.g. often 1 male plant to 5-8 females is advised. This limits availability of pollen."

Well, I can say I am still an idiot when it comes to horticulture, and have lots to learn, and leave it at that. Let's hope it is true.

Nevertheless, I shall transplant the poor bastard one last time. This time the goal is to get it out of the way, and also not to kill it/throw it away. It has proven itself to be a bit of a survivor.
It can be seen right in the center of the picture above. If I remove it, then I have a little more options when it comes to coop placement.

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