Good Morning!
Today's lesson is all about kiwi berries. Most people will already be familiar with the fuzzy, lemon sized fruits sold in grocery stores as "kiwis". These are cousins to those,and,asyou can see from the above picture, are quite a bit smaller. Luckily they have smooth, tender, edible skins, so the small size is not an obstacle. They grow on vines, which we trellis. Here is a picture of them in winter: 
They look so innocent, right? Then spring comes and they go crazy! Here's what they look like now, and bear in mind, we've pruned them three times already this year:
Luckily all the many hours of care have paid off, and we are now experiencing a bounteous harvest. Here's what they look like ready for the plucking:
How to eat kiwi berries-- important!
In order to have a storage life of more than two days, kiwi berries are picked slightly underripe and refrigerated. A couple of days before you ready to eat them, take them out of the fridge and let them sit on the countertop. They will gradually ripen. When they are soft and starting to get wrinkly, they are ready to eat. If you eat one and experience astringency or starchyness, you didn't wait long enough. The berries don't all ripen all at once, so check each berry once a day (or, if you are like me, ten times a day) to see if it is ready. The effort is well worth it, as the flavor is sweeter and more intense than the fuzzy kiwis. Probably my second favorite fruit, although it is hard to choose...
In other news, our friends at Village Acres Farm a few miles down the road grew some sweet corn and have some extra. As you know I do not grow sweet corn (and can go on at some length as to why, but I'll spare you this time), but thought I would offer some of theirs as an extra you can purchase (that is, it isn't part of your regular share, you have to pay extra for it). It is delicious, with large, well filled out ears, certified organic, but not completely free of worms. Most ears don't have any, but a few do, so be forewarned.
Kale coming next week. Bye for now!
