Home Grown Goodness

We are going on our 5th year since moving to the ponderosa and life just keeps getting better in terms of all our wonderful home grown goodness.  In saying this, our home grown ventures haven't always been an easy road with a few trial and errors occurring. 

Reflecting on some past blogs we didn't get any plants from PROPAGATING FROM THE GARDEN.  Unfortunately I forgot to change the timer on the sprinkler within the greenhouse which proved disastrous!

THE OLIVE GROVE is still there, however a few of them were attacked by the local rabbits.  They weren't eating the trees, but they were burrowing into their root system which made it difficult to get established but they are starting to get going now.  Especially when we decided to get rid of the pine trees.

Trimming the chooks wings is a must or trying to grow a vegetable garden turns into a losing battle.  There was a time there when our chook numbers were going to decline at a fast rate and keeping sheep inside a paddock can prove more challenging than we thought.  They definitely aren't like beef, that's for sure!

With all the trials and errors, we have learnt from them to look to improve and learn from the experiences and the results are only getting better.

Happy living peeps!

Fab-u-licious Feijoas

Feijoas have to be one of the best fruits available in New Zealand and from April to May we get a continuous supply of them.  In fact we have about 10 trees of different varieties all formed into a hedge around our garden shed.

To me feijoas send back wonderful childhood memories of sitting under neath my grandparents feijoa tree in Ngaruawahia with my cousins having to spoon all the flesh in a bowl.  It usually went half in the bowl and half in my mouth.  We would take the bowl inside and add sugar .. then eat it all ..and start all over again.

Later in life I purchased my grandparents property and continued reaping the rewards of their wonderful feijoa tree.  When my daughters were old enough, their daily job for the 3 weeks this tree fruited was to pick the fruit up.  We would get a supermarket bag everyday.  It was awesome for the first couple of weeks but in the end I would end up sending bags all over the neighbourhood.  Of course we couldn't eat a supermarket bag of feijoas each day so I would take all the flesh out just as I did as a child and freeze it down.

Every home I've lived in since purchasing my grandparents home has included a feijoa tree or four, although now I don't put sugar in with the feijoa flesh, I tend to use honey for a healthier version to sweetness.

Feijoa's freshly gathered.

Feijoa pulp ready to freeze

I find the best recipes for feijoas is anything that uses banana as the main flavour, such as banana cake or banana loaf, although my favourite has to be fresh from the fruit.

Happy living peeps!!

First Of The Summer Peaches

My dwarf peach trees have been coming along quite nicely this year.   I blogged about them in SPRING BLOSSOMS and again in AWAITING THE FRUITS OF OUR LABOUR.

One tree in particular has produced better than the other two in terms of the size of the fruit and I just had to share some photo's of the crop we picked from it.  I say we because my cousin Marian has been staying with us and enjoying the joys of what the Ponderosa has to provide over the past couple of weeks.

Marian picking the crop from the small tree - the basket isn't even half full yet!

The fruit from the one dwarf peach tree

I was so impressed with the volume of peaches, especially from such a small tree I just had to send a photo of the basket to my husband.  His response 'HECK!'

The birds have gotten to a couple of the fruit so Marian has plans to slice the good bits off and caramelise them for a yummy dessert!!!  The rest will be devoured au naturel

Happy living peeps!!

Awaiting The Fruits Of Our Labour

The Ponderosa sure does look wonderful this time of year and with the weather being so lovely I found myself wondering around looking at all the fruit trees we have planted over the past 12 months.  I blogged about these in HOMEGROWN FOOD.

To my excitement, they are beginning to show some really positive signs of our expected summer crops.

The property has 5 plum trees now with all of them showing great produce. The Japanese plum tree is a mature tree that was on the property when we arrived with its fruit having a lovely sweet yellow flesh with ruby skin. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a good photo of the tree to show all the fruit.



4 of our 5 plum trees.  The tree in the top left has a wonderful yellow flesh & skin which we bought with us from our previous property.  The other 3 are black doris plums.

All 5 of our cherry trees are showing great signs of fruit and I'm very determine to get some fruit before the birds beat me to it.  Fingers crossed I win!!!

3 of our 5 cherry trees.  I'm determined to get some fruit this year before the birds get to them.

We have planted 7 peach trees.  4 of our favourite variety - Golden Queen and 3 dwarf peaches which have a lovely red skin.  I expected it would take a few years for our golden queens to establish themselves before producing the volumes we wish for because we love this variety so much.  Imagine my surprise to find that they were performing better than anticipated.  Although we won't get dozens of fruit, just to have a taste for a couple of days will be suffice for now.

Our dwarf peaches on the other hand are coming along leaps and bounds.  These are the same trees I shared in my blog SPRING BLOSSOMS.  For small trees they are loaded with fruit and I'm so glad I didn't move them like I had intentions to.


3 of our 7 peach trees fruiting well.  Fingers crossed our Golden Queens produce the goodies

Lastly is our nectarine tree.  I've never had much success growing nectarines so this tree is special.  It sits pride of place between the homestead and our shed and last year it produced one lonely fruit - yes ONE.  Every day we would inspect the fruit to see if it was ripe and it was a race between the whanau to see who got to try it first.  Husband 1 - Rest of us - 0.  In fact he devoured it all by himself.  This year the tree is showing signs of at least two nectarines.  :-)Fingers cross my husband shares this season. 

Our nectarine tree.  Not a good photo of the tree, but the pooch looks cute!

Given it's only been 12 months for alot of these fruit trees to establish and we aren't talking production that will "feed the multitudes", I'm still pretty happy with where we are at.  In fact, I'm pretty excited about it!!

Happy living people!!



Spring Blossoms

There sure has been some wonderful spring weather, however having the flu hasn't allowed me to enjoy it.  In fact it's taken a good 2 weeks to try and over it and as usual just as I slowly get over it, the weather turns.

I just had to share this photo of our miniature peach trees that blossomed beautifully this year.  I did have intentions to move them from their current place to a new home on the Ponderosa but couldn't bear to do it once the blossoms came out in spring.

Spring has to be my favourite season as the landscape transforms and new growth inspires you to refocus on what's important in life.

Happy living people!!!

Homegrown Food

In our quest to live off the land for a much healthier and sustainable lifestyle, you learn very quickly that having your own supply of fruit and vegetables is a must.

My husband grew up in Mangamuka, a small town just south of Kaitaia on a large farm with a large old villa .  He remembers vividly at least 1/4 acre of the property housed an orchard and would have a massive supply of fruit and preserves all throughout the year.

Although I didn't grow up on a farm, I did grow up in Ngaruawahia where all properties were 1/4 acre sections and nearly all the houses had fruit trees galore and vegetable gardens.  As a child I would go from house to house eating what fruit I could with all my cousins and it was great!

Imagine my surprise when we first moved onto the Ponderosa and there wasn't much of a supply, especially considering a property as old as this one.  In fact, there was a fig tree, pear tree, lemon tree, grapefruit tree, walnut tree, plum tree, hazelnut tree and 3 cherry trees.  The property did come with a green house, and was loaded with tomatoes and the vegetable garden had heaps of onions.  (Secretly my daughters thought the old owners had an obsession with onions, because they were everywhere).

I have blogged about the cherries, plums and nuts ARE YOU NUTS & SUMMER FRUIT SURPRISE but we took action and planted so much more.  An OLIVE GROVE , a citrus grove with lemons, oranges, limes and mandarins as well as plums, peaches, apples, cherries, pears, almonds and a nectarine tree. 

We repositioned the vegetable garden closer to the house as well.  The old vegetable garden was positioned closer to the front boundary which meant we had to walk a marathon to go and grab something for a meal.  Not good in the rain.  It's pretty close to the back doorstep now, and we get to look at the progress of the garden from the kitchen window which is great!

Beetroots, kale, radishes, spring onions, spinach, silver beet, celery, lettuces, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, sage, marjoram, thyme and bay have served us well over the winter months and I'm starting to think about what needs to be planted for picking this side of xmas.

Kale, Carrots & Beetroots

Beetroot, radiches & spring onions

Sliverbeet, spinac & spring onions

I am currently on the hunt for some maori potato seeds and hope I'm able to secure some soon as I need to get them in the ground this month just in time for xmas.  My favourite fruit tree supplier is Farrels has their annual sale on at the moment so I'm looking to add a few more nectarine trees and citrus as well.

Grapes, passionfruit, raspberries, avocado, pomegranate and asparagus are all on the radar as permanent features too.  I just need to find the right place for them.

Have a great night peeps!

Summer Fruit Surprise

We have been in our home for two years now and it never ceases to amaze me how we are still finding new and exciting things around the house that we've never experienced before.

The lastest is three fruiting cherries and fruiting japanese plum tree.  Don't get me wrong.  I've known the trees were there, but last season I didn't notice any fruit on them and thought they were both of the "ornamental" kind.

Last year we had two plums fruit on our tree which was such a disappointment.  We waited for three weeks before the fruit look ready for picking, only to go out and find .... GONE!!  Not sure where they went as we couldn't see any pips or evidence the birds had got to them.  I got to thinking someone had picked them and didnt' tell us :-(  This year though, it was a awesome. The tree was loaded and we awaited the first plum to be ready for picking.  Hmmmm, it was worth the wait.  A whole year of waiting, with two weeks of fresh plums .. but now the tree is empty.  Stripped from us picking and eating them constantly.  I thoroughly enjoyed this seasons plums on this one tree, although I can't help wonder that we are about one month ahead of ourselves with the weather.

We've planted two black doris plums and two other plum trees on the property to help with our season demand.  Hopefully next season, we will have more than two weeks of enjoying fresh plums.

As for the cherries?  Well that's a completely different story. 

Imagine my surprise when I was sitting at home on my side porch overlooking our land with our beloved dog "bruno", when a flashing red colour caught my eye as the breeze was blowing in the trees.  I ran down to have a closer inspection only to find cherries starting to colour.  I was so excited I yelled 'WE'VE GOT CHERRIES', only to realise I was the only person at home, and my dog was looking up at me with a very strange look on his face :-) I had to text my husband straight away to tell him the news and when arriving home, he found two other trees fruiting as well.  YAY!!!

Unfortunately we weren't as lucky with the cherries as we were with our plums. The birds got to them first, but rest assured, I'll be determined to keep them away next season!!  We've also planted another two more cherry trees and hope that they will also flower and fruit to help provide for us over the future summer months.

Happy living people

Are You Nuts!!!!

I've always wanted to have nut trees, but I've always been put off  by people saying they can take anywhere from 3 to 10 years to produce their fruit ... or should I say nuts.  Although there is a 3 to 10 years statement in there somewhere, I usually focus on the 10 years, think that's crazy, then completely tune right out of the idea, until of course I'm at the local supermarket and see how much I have to pay for my walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds for my homemade granola.  It's then, that I remember my idea of wanting my own nut trees and hear the 10 years again and again ... and again.

You can only imagine how excited I was when roaming the Ponderosa with the old owners just prior to moving in, when I spotted the walnut tree.  In fact I was that excited I think I screamed "IS THAT A WALNUT TREE?  Julie (the past owner) said "oh yes, that's a walnut tree and has produced a lovely crop for us every year".  And on that reply I proceeded to talk about how I've always wanted to have my own nut trees and how excited I was that I don't have to wait for the dreaded 10 years, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla!!!

Fair to say Julie was a little puzzled by my dribble drabble and there was a small silence before she proceeded to say "well if that makes you happy, you'll be pleased to know on the other side of this paddock is a line of hazelnut trees".  To cut a very long story short I nearly pee'd my pants at hearing those words :-)

I was told that hazelnut and walnut trees can be harvested in autumn so out came my handy dandy scriptures "The Tui NZ Fruit Garden" book to confirm this.  Late summer to early autumn was the timing for the hazelnuts it said, so off I went with my husband one afternoon in late March (early autumn) to gauge how the nuts were developing, both without any understanding of what to expect.  My excitement turned to disappointment very quickly when I learnt that we were too late.  The row of hazelnut trees had already produced their crop and the wild critters of the land had feasted on the lot :-( .. "Oh well" said my husband, "we will need to take note for next year and come over the check on a regular basis".  "Grrrrr!!!!", he was right, but the thought of me having to shop at the supermarket for the next 12 months for my hazelnuts was a little hard to swallow.

The walnut tree is much closer to the homestead and is grown with one side in the paddock and the other in the home garden. I was determined to ensure we had some type of harvest off this tree.  Mid to late autumn was the harvesting timing from the "Tui Scriptures" and when one nut drops, all nuts should be harvested. So one day when I had finished taking cuttings from my camellias, roses and lavender plants, and during a visit from my parents we sat under the walnut tree discussing life's stories over a nice cup of tea when my mother (who just so happens to LOVE LOVE LOVE nuts) said "you're walnuts can be harvested, they have fallen off the tree".  With that note, my husband picked up the nuts that had fallen into the garden side, I peeled them ... and my mother attempted to crack some open to have a taste.  They tasted delicious!!! (even when my mother has no talent what so ever in ensuring the nut comes out whole).  Once we had finished that lot of nuts, we concluded they needed to be dried out before shelling them further.  We still needed to pick up the nuts from the other side of the tree (paddock side) and I thought, I'll get that done tomorrow as daylight was drawing to a close.

I went to bed happy that we had harvested some of our walnuts and wondered how many nuts we would need to harvest the next day.  I awoke the next morning discussing the harvest with my husband as we prepared our breakfast.  On a nice sunny morning, we take our breakfast out onto the verandah that overlooks our paddocks and you can see the walnut tree as well.  The sun is always welcoming and I could sit and watch the view for hours as it's quite relaxing and therapeutic.  On this particular sunny morning however, we discovered the neighbouring farmer had placed his cows in our paddock early that morning and the cows were eating all the walnuts on the ground :-(

I was gutted!!!  Gutted that we weren't able to gauge the full crop from the walnut tree, but happy that we had at least harvested some nuts the day prior.  

Learning's from this experience?  We need to ensure that the cows and critters don't get next years crop.

Our hazelnut trees

Our walnut tree - paddock side

Our walnut tree, ... garden side

Some our our harvest from the walnut tree

Have a great day!!!

The Olive Grove

Olive Grove - A small group of olive trees.

The past week has been hectic for me and my whanau therefore many jobs are needed to be completed around the Ponderosa - one of which is planting the olive grove.  

I was gifted an olive tree as a house warming present from our good friends Viv and Kev and I knew that one plant would be the beginning of the olive grove.  The olive type they gave was 'ASCOLANO' and the standard tag that came with it from mitre 10 stated it was a reliable heavy cropper that produces a good table olive with a delicate flavour.  Great I thought, I just need to find the right place for it because I knew my husband would be reminding me constantly that I need to find a home for it.

I took the placement of this tree seriously, therefore after a few weeks I decided that I wanted the tree to go in the back paddock by the chook coop.   Mainly so that it didn't impede on any of our views, had easy access to cultivate the crop, plus provide some shelter for "the gals".  The soil is pretty good there with the exception of the pine trees being thirsty.

After studying my trusty book "Tui - The NZ Fruit Garden" (which my beautiful mother gave when I moved into the Ponderosa) it stated olive trees will tolerate the most unfavourable conditions including prevailing winds, but needed good drainage so I thought, yip ... by the chook coop it is.  I just need a few more trees to accompany this lone tree.

So off to mitre 10 we went to get a few more trees.  5 more in fact - another two ASCOLANO, 1 x FRANTOIO, 1 X PENDOLINO and 1 x LECCINO.  We chose the other types because the mighty tag stated they were good cropping trees for making oil and if planted together would produce better.  I am a little sceptical about these tags, but it's a learning exercise that only time will tell I suppose ... and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from.

After a number of weeks contemplating where to establish the olive grove and numerous glasses of red wine I am very happy with the end result. I can visualise the trees providing nice structure once they are established.

I've always wanted to plant olive trees, ultimately to make olive oil, however I haven't had the land to bring this want into fruition.....UNTIL NOW :-)  Thanks Viv and Kev for the inspiration to kick start the olive grove.

My husband and our beloved dog PAL finishing planting the trees

The gifted tree ... with our cheeky dog JOSEPH in the background

Our Olive Grove .... Small, but with big plans!!!!

Have a great day!!