I will say that I actually am impressed with the size and edibility of the new Zealand varieties. There is a minty aftertaste on my seedling fruit that the Anatoki did not have. The skin on the anatoki is also much thinner and less bitter tasting. You can easily eat the Anatoki whole without too much difficulty…
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30F is fine for feijoa fruit for a few hours duration.
About a week ago I experimented with one fruit that I pinched off the bush at extra-firm stage and put on an indoor shelf near a heat vent. After 3 or 4 days it had a typical ripe softness. The outer flesh just inside the peel remained tough but the interior was fine.
We have been eating a plate-full of these during supper since 1 November.
I have no (variety ‘unknown’) lunkers this year, there will be quite a few in the upper 2-ounce range. The Apollo may well approach 90g but remains wood-hard.
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Had some fruits on the plate for supper last night that were brought in after 28 degrees, the temperature could have been below freezing for 4 to 6 hours. Fruit quality was unaffected.
Portland has now had an extended run (weeks) of well-below average temperatures and it seems to be slowing the on-bush ripening.
Takaka
Less sweet than ideal (12 brix) but very flavorful.
Skin is definitely edible. As close to a regular guava flavor as I can imagine.
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I’ve not had one drop yet! Frustrating
None of my Mark Albert trees have had any drops yet. The fruits could also gain a bit more size. I hope they swell more.
Fruits eaten tonight for supper were subject to last night’s 26 degrees and ~10-hour freeze. Still no difference in quality. The overnight air has been humid but not foggy.
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@LarryGene , have you measured the brix on your fruit?
I feel the NZ varieties,while larger are less sweet than some wild fruit I have eaten in CA.
Maybe because my trees are still young and not established?
Are you sure you are getting them fully ripe, at peak sweetness?
I am not sure. I think many of these fruits may have been knocked down by wind. Or maybe they should
be ripening in more heat?
They are nicely sized up but so far don’t have the sweetness of random fruits I picked from trees grown for ornamental purposes.
Fully ripe feijoa should have a darker gelatinous center, 1/3 to 1/2 the volume of the interior.
The squeeze factor should be similar to those thumb-sized pink pencil erasers.
Brought indoors, my fruits go from very firm to eraser-firm in 2 or 3 days.
I have not measured the brix. My feijoas would mainly be considered a tart fruit with hints of sweetess, although one in ten fruits are an even balance.
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I wouldn’t grow it if it only had hints of sweetness. I hope it sweetens up more.
Tried an Arhart just now. 15 brix. flavor excellent.
Large size
This variety has performed the best so far.
I have Kaiteri, Kakariki and the Mark Albert varieties still on the bushes.
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Found one Apollo on the ground today, a first for this bush. That one fruit had gray rot on the blossom end; this is typical of a small percentage of earlier-ripening feijoas at this location. Four other Apollos came loose after very light handling. They are still very firm, firmer than I would expect a ready-to-drop fruit would be. Several fruits of the ‘unknown’ bush were on the ground today, showing that the ripening process continues slowly even in well-below average temperatures. We have not been coming close to the current 52/40 high/low averages, going back at least two weeks.
The 5 Apollos weighed 12 ounces total (avg ~70gm each).
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Still none falling for me:pleading_face:
Beth, do you have fruits that are egg-size or larger? Sub 1-ounce fruits usually stay on the bush.
Try shaking your bushes or simply bend the fruit sideways to see if it will separate from the stem.
Are they still wood-hard?
We have had several days of wind here, 30mph gusts, no manual shaking needed.
My Albert varieties are holding on but are still small. But I am surprised that they have swollen as much as they have despite the cold weather.
Maybe they won’t ripen until early-mid December.
ramv, where did you get your Arhart?
I finally went to pick up my Kakariki today, that I ordered over a month ago. Just got back from 3 weeks in Thailand.
When I mentioned that I chose the Kakariki because it was the only New Zealand Variety left, they told me they had a few others, that they don’t list everything on the website because they don’t want to disappoint people, or something.
I wound up getting 4 New Zealand Varieties. They also had Kaiteri and Takaka, and still in the trailer from Northwoods, an Anatoki that he pulled out for me. I only have one spot in mind for them, I’m going to have to figure out where to place the others. And I hadn’t gone planning to have a choice. Didn’t want to pick wrong and regret missing the best one.
After I checked out, I learned my wife had also selected a Makrut lime and a variegated dwarf maple tree as well.
Walking the nursery, I saw they had a number of tiny american persimmons, as well as Raven and Saijo. Some of the really small American trees had fruit on them. I think there was a hybrid, maybe Rosseyenka that was larger and had a bunch of fruit.
I missed all of my kaki, and Nikita’s gift while I was gone :(. Even the Matsumoto Wase Fuyu that fruited on this year grafts were gone. There are still a bunch of H118 on the tree, and one lone Coffeecake that the squirrels and I must have missed while the leaves were on. I don’t think its pollenated.
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Arhart was a gift from a friend.
Kaiteri has the largest fruit. Still on the bush. It’s an absolute giant I estimate it is over 200g.
I picked a couple more Takaka today. One was way past prime and brix was only around 10. Not very good.
Another was close to prime and at 16 brix was as sweet and flavorful as anything from California.
Meanwhile persimmons are coming in around 20-26 brix and are very much the stars of this season.
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