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The rare taste of locally-grown kiwifruit

Fruit from some of the last remaining commercial kiwifruit vines in the Adelaide Hills will be available at the Adelaide Farmers’ Market this weekend.

May 25, 2016, updated May 25, 2016
Otherwood Orchard kiwifruit. Photo: supplied

Otherwood Orchard kiwifruit. Photo: supplied

As well as apples, pears and quinces, orchardists Peter and Joel Brockhoff grow kiwifruit, another variety of fruit that loves the cool climate of their Lenswood location.

The Brockhoffs believe they are the largest and only commercial grower of kiwifruit in the Adelaide Hills.

“Most growers left the industry 20 years ago when the market was flooded with New Zealand fruit,” says Joel Brockhoff. “There are a few orchardists left who may have a handful of vines.”

Kiwifruit – or Chinese gooseberries – are native to China, where they are known as yang tao. During the 1960s, New Zealand growers began using the name “kiwifruit” to give it more market appeal, with the name being commercially adopted in the 1970s.

The idea to grow kiwifruit originally came from Joel’s grandfather during the 1980s.

“He was looking for a new fruit to introduce to the orchard with strong demand and clear profit,” says Joel Brockhoff.

“Since then, kiwifruit production has become financially unviable, but we make up for the losses by selling the fruit ourselves at farmers’ markets.”

At their Otherwood Orchards, the Brockhoffs  have 1500 kiwifruit vines growing on wooden trellising. The location of the orchard, he says, enables the fruit to become much sweeter than the international offerings.

Brockhoff-kiwis-on-trellis

Kiwifruit growing on trellised vines at Otherwood Orchard. Photo: supplied

“We have the cold temperatures through winter which provide adequate chill hours under 10 degrees or lower, which is important for fruit set, but the advantage we have over New Zealand farms is that our summers are much warmer, which produces sweeter, more intense-flavoured fruit.”

And the orchard doesn’t face the risk of cross-contamination of pests and diseases that comes from being near other commercial kiwifruit growers.

“As far as kiwifruit goes, Otherwood Orchards is like an island,” Joel Brockhoff says. “There is no need to spray chemicals directly onto the vines.”

The Brockhoffs have just finished their annual kiwifruit harvest, and the ripening fruit will be sold at the Adelaide Showgrounds Farmers’ Market for the next 10 weeks.

“We have been selling our fruit at the Adelaide Farmers’ Market for five or six years now,” says Brockhoff.

“It’s a real community where you can talk to customers and find out what they want. As a farmer you don’t get much social time, so it’s nice to talk to other growers at the market as well.

“It’s a holistic experience that keeps us returning.”

The Brockhoffs’ kiwifruit and other produce – including apples, pears, quinces, avocados, lemons and limes – can be found at the Adelaide Farmers’ Market on Sundays from 9am to 1pm at Wayville Showgrounds, Leader Street, Wayville.

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