O'Reilly's News - November 2005
24/11/05
3 weeks until harvest will be in full swing and there are days I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry… there is just so much to do.
Wonderful spring rains have given good drinks to all our young trees, alleviating any pressure to irrigate prior to completing slashing – of which there is plenty still to be done as both the slasher and the brush cutter have taken turns at “playing up”.
The last few weeks has seen our annual visits from both the local health inspector and the organic certification auditor. Whilst we “passed” with full marks and really have nothing to worry about, I still find these things a bit nerve wracking; making sure all our paper work is in order etc.
We have a fantabulous peach crop this year, which has meant lots of thinning of the fruit-lets. Thinned trees produce a larger and better tasting quality fruit. If the task is not completed prior to “stone set” (meaning it needs to be done whilst you can still bite through the peach), the trees hormones will signal to make less fruit bud for the following year, causing a biennial cropping situation to arise.
Unfortunately the apricot crop is light and has quite a bit of freckle on it this year (a downside of the constant spring rains).
Summer vegies are continuing to be transplanted into permanent beds and Brassica seeds are regularly being sown into trays, with the first lot of cabbage and broccoli seedlings going out this week. Weekly beds of corn, beans, lettuces and root crops are continuing to be direct sown. I’ve been a bit late with cucurbit family but slugs are giving the ones I have put out a hard time, so perhaps it’s a seasonal thing due to the very mild spring and I’m not late at all! I really quite enjoy hand weeding all these veggie beds and checking out all the biology.
A few of us locally have started a Producers Market in Wirrabara and the first two have been very successful. It has been wonderful to watch a very diverse bunch of people come together on market days and it brings about a great sense of community. Whilst the main focus at O’Reilly’s Orchard will remain on supplying our seasonal mixed boxes, the market will be great for the times of year when we simply don’t have the volume or variety to warrant making deliveries. A few of our regular clients have rung concerned that we are “selling out” on them but they can be assured that they will see us as soon we start picking fruit.
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