Spring report card

The orchard growth has surpassed my expectations in most cases. This was probably partly due to a wet and warm summer which meant there was no water shortage on the unirrigated orchard. Star performers were just about everything except perhaps the almond and fig although they were probably still quite good .

apples

The Loganberries and Boisenberries were also quite amazing and put out 2.5 meter long canes in all directions. These were planted as mere twigs last winter so i quiver to think how much growth and fruit they will deliver after this winter.

The Rasberries had not grown as rampantly but had put up plently of suckers uner the ground, while my Autumn fruiting Rasberry gave us our first fruit , which were very welcome little jewels.

The mild Autumn that prevailed in southern vic also led to us getting our first figs from our tree that have never before ripened as far as we know. This hasn't stopped the Currawongs eating them green though. This year the birds were not all over them (although the king parrots did stop by) despite the ripe fruit so we easily had our fill although many more will not ripen with the weather turning cold now.

King parrot in fig tree

A few trees were bashed around by pear slug - most notably the pears while the cherries seemed to outgrow their attentions.

cherries

The most recent pest outbreak seems to be copious numbers of small brown striped grasshoppers which are usually found on the pasture. They gave a few trees some trouble including the almong and the currants also seemed to be popular. These will not be so much of an issue when we have hens on patrol down the track.