It’s that time of year where we are all-systems go on the orchard!  Peaches and nectarines have now finished for the season (they will be back in November, don’t worry!), and apples have just begun to be professionally picked. 

Our first varieties to be ready are Gala and Fuji apples! These are both very sweet varieties, and are great in the lunchbox. We are picking these currently - and both varieties (new season!!) are for sale in our farm shop now and online if you want your apples delivered! 

This year has been incredibly wet here - if you live locally you’ll know! We also have had much cooler weather than usual. Aside from not wearing our favourite summer clothes as much - the weather has had other impacts on the orchard! 

In the weeks leading up to harvest, the trees use a large amount of water to ’size’ their fruit. This is when a decent portion of the growing happens! Previously, the trees have been concentrating on growing the physical structures of the fruit - now they are just growing it bigger. Typically, we would need to irrigate our fruit frequently before harvesting. This entire season it has been so wet that we have not used our irrigation system once for any of our fruits (peaches, nectarines, apples or persimmons)!

We are also seeing impacts with the timing of our apples - they are up to two weeks behind in some varieties! We do expect to see variations on this as the season progresses.

Don’t forget - if you can’t make it to our shop in-person, you can shop online. If you live between the Sutherland Shire and Kiama we will deliver to you on Tuesdays and Fridays (minimum $50 spend for free delivery excluding Kiama which has a minimum $75 spend for free delivery).

Keep your fingers and toes crossed for some sunshine in the upcoming weeks for us!

Picture by Sasha Faint Photography