Who would've thought it, snow in Central Otago just after New Year, then this long, hot, dry summer. We are currently watering things often. We are so glad we had room for a 6000-litre rainwater tank to augment our town supply, but the weather doesn't bode well for all the people out there with rainwater only. That's where all that mulch around fruit trees will be helping now.
We got to eat a handful of cherries off our Stella tree. We had to cover them a long time before they were even vaguely ripe, so both the humans and the wood pigeons could avoid the temptation to eat them before they were really sweet and ready.
Our Moorpark apricot tree dropped all its fruit around Christmas time, and I bet it wished it had hung onto them now that the summer has turned out to be such a hot one. They are, of course, pretty borderline in this climate, so we may get a crop one year in five, and it will be much appreciated.
There are good crops of apples and pears on the WOO trees around Waitati (for such small trees), and I have noticed good crops on the roadside trees everywhere, so it's looking good for the apple-crushing market days on 17 March and 13 April. Bring apples - buy juice, and note that the April market will be held at the A&P show.
And an update on the War on Fungal Disease: I sprayed downy mildew on the cucumbers with a mild baking-soda solution, and even just the slightest change in pH was enough to be surprisingly effective. This would explain why it is suggested to use either mild alkaline or mild acid (vinegar) sprays. An organic orchardist we spoke to in Earnscleugh told us that they were using a spray based on citrus extracts for fungal disease, and this was totally compatible with organic certifiers.
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