The Old Wagonhouse

The Old Wagonhouse

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Apricots!!

This time of year it usually the only time you might get a traffic jam in Calitzdorp. With all the farmers trying to get the apricots down and to the canners it really is a rush time.
At Withoek we haven't finish yet. There is still block we must pick and the time doesn't seem to be enough. We finished with one canner Langeberg & Ashton last week. Rhodes Fruit Farms still need a small amount of tonnes to finish that contract and then the last is Boland Pulp.
While we are picking the apricots the other things like spray program for the vineyards and training of the younger vines fall behind. Every week I catch myself saying next week. Well next it will be.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

First Pickings

Withoek started to pick fruit last week. So far the fresh market prices were good and quality and size of fruit also. Withoek's Super Gold was finished harvest this week and the plums look as if they will also be gone by the end of the week.
I looked today at the Bullida orchards and got a bit of a scare. The fruit size is good but it seems that the fruit is ripening at a alarming rate. So we are going to start picking the Bullida's allready tomorrow. The bullida is the apricot mostly found in the Calitzdorp region and is used for drying and canning. You can also use it for making jam.
The next variety which is also a packing variety will be the Palsteyn. It is a beautiful apricot but unfortunately can only be used for fresh use. It's jam will turn dark soon after making and pitch black after a month. Nothing wrong with the taste though.
The prices of the dried fruit has gone down dramatically. The push in the markets seems to force us the producers into larger fruit.
It looks like we at Withoek will in future have to start spraying to get still larger fruit.
We are hoping also to plant a new type of Plum / Apricot cultivar which is marketed as a fruit for drying. SAD is very excited about this new product. We will plant about a half a hectare to just see how it grows and how the fruit reacts to our enviroment.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Early bird or early worm?

Well the fruit is ripening. I allready had my first plum yesterday -watery but satisfactory. I will probably start to pick apricots and plums beginning next week. Really something to look forward to. My own diet usually changes considerably during harvest season. I do eat a hell of a lot of fruit from the trees and that usually continues from early November to middle of March.

The predictions for the season looks very uncertain. The certainties being a shortage of apricots and the canning guys don't want any apricots and peaches. The prices they are going to pay is very uncertain and the dried fuit company SAD says they will only have a meeting the 30th of November to decide the prices. The problem is I will be finished drying then. How must I buy in fruit if I don't know what I am going to get.

Well the grapes look well and the addition of Iron to the Peach trees really was what they needed if you look at the additional growth. Buys this week training the young vines - bend them while their young sort of approach.