Farm Up-Date

The refurbishment of the units has now been completed, and all being well will not be required again for another twenty years. Our on-going battle with the termites, I feel sure will never cease though.


Our Bullock's Heart custard apples are ripening at least two months early. Their flesh is more of a pink colour alongside that of the other varieties which is white.They are one of my favourite varieties of custard apple. They usually do not ripen until just prior to Xmas. The other varieties of custard apples have just completed their season.



The Jaboticaba's which grow into a small tree, and bear cherry sized fleshy fruits, are just commencing to flower, and will, hopefully, set a good crop for us this year.






This is both the flower and the fruit of the Jak fruit. When asked to describe what it is like, I have said it looks like crayfish, and tastes like bubble-gum. The fruit has been known to grow to 70 pounds in weight. The fruit grows on the main limbs of the tree, and on occasion can grow on the roots.



In this view you can discern the new mangos which have just set. Some of our trees appear to be setting fruit quite heavily, which augers well for the coming season. Of course, if it is too dry, they will drop quite a large percentage of their fruit.
Setting of the fruit can be effected by rain, which then washes the pollen out of the flowers and stops fertilisation. It can also be effected by wind which blows the pollen out of the flowers.


This is another variety of custard apple whose native habitat is central and south America, known as Rollinea Deliciosa. And delicious it is. This is a very young fruit and grows to the size of an apple, and even larger. Its flavour is remniscent of lemon meringue pie.





The citrus are just commencing to flower and set their fruit. The flowering and fruiting usually goes hand in hand with the ripening of the previous season's crop.







The Yellow Sapote, or lekuma, is another fruit native to central and south America. A very dense and rich fruit, one which nursing mothers require to be careful with, as if they eat too much, it can make their milk too rich and thus upset the baby. The name Sapote, in the local dialect, means fruit. So we have, Yellow, Black, White, and Green Sapote, all of which are unrelated botanically.



Our Papaya's are just setting their first crop. These will be our first crop since the fire. Papayas require well drained soil, and as we did not have an area suitable for them earlier than the beginning of this year, were unable to plant them previously. The normal time from planting to crop bearing is fifteen to eighteen months where we live. In a warmer climate it can be as early as twelve months.




The Sapodilla fruit, is about the size of a large egg, although there are a number of varieties which can be as large as a table tennis ball. In our area they are very slow growing, as can be seen though they are setting fruit. the whole of the fruit is eaten, skin and all. The flavour is remniscent of cinnamon. They are commonly known as chico chico.




Surprising as it may well seem, we are able to grow a variety of Mulberry here. And ours are fruiting at this very moment. Although they are a nice fruit to have, the variety we have available do not have the flavour, nor sweetness of those grown in the southern areas, nor those I have tasted in California.




This is another of our jak fruit trees which, as can be seen is loaded with fruit, some of which are in the stage of ripening. In the Asian countries they are cooked when green, primarily with vegetables, and used this way as they take on the flavours of other foods.






The Soursop, is the same botanical family as the custard apple, with one variety of custard apple being known as the sweetsop.
When opened the flesh and seeds appear to be vey similar to those of the custard apple, except the flesh is quite stringy, and is sour to the taste. And although it is quite a job to de-seed the flesh, many do so, and then blend the flesh in a blender, claiming it is much easier to eat that way, and enhances the flavour somewhat.



Many will ask the question as to how it is that I have a non-fruiting tree in the orchard? This tree is the Bottle Brush tree. And yes, it does not bear fruit. It is a native plant to OZ and adds a little colour to the orchard.







This is to show that the flower really does look like a bottle brush.









And to show that we do appreciate colour in our environment this is a Pink Bauhinia tree.






The Bauhinia's come in Pink, Blue and White. the one on the left being white. I have as yet to acquire a blue one.