Ode to the Fallen - ANZAC Day

Kiwifruit harvest time - again

We have been out at the orchard working under the vines. Picking will be in about 4 weeks time so we are thinning out the reject fruit. If our reject rate goes above a certain percentage we are charged a penalty by the packhouse, so it is worth our while to pull off any imperfect fruit.

Fruit can be rejected for a number of reason - signs of disease, misshapen fruit, small fruit etc. In the first photo you can see all the thinned fruit lying on the ground. It is a crime to waste so much fruit, much of it is perfectly good, just with minor flaws. I dislike wasting fruit at any time, so thinning is not a pleasant task.(Apart from that I get a sore neck, shoulders and arms!)




These are just a few photos of the vines. And one of some reject kiwifruit that you will never ever see in the shops!