How To Grow Kiwi Fruit

Let us face it Kiwi fruit are delicious to eat yet this great taste often comes at a price with some supermarkets charging up to £1 per fruit. They are often used as an accompaniment to deserts, such as ice cream, yet they are just as good to eat on their own, however you must always remember to skin them as the whilst the fruit is harmless to eat the skin is not and is poisonous to eat, which can result in a very upset stomach at best!

Now if you want to grow kiwi fruit there are two options available to you: -

The easy option, search online and buy a baby kiwi tree that will just need watering and a nice warm, sunny position to place it in. All you will then need to do is ensure that it is kept free from pests and diseases, and that it has sufficient space to grow in to, as they can become quite large plants and will grow upwards similar to a grapevine. Indeed you will only be able to keep them indoors in a conservatory or similar for around two years, as after that they will simply become too big to keep indoors.

Grow a kiwi plant from seed – This is not as hard as it sounds at all as each Kiwi fruit has hundreds of seeds inside it, which are normally eaten with it. To grow kiwi plants from seed then simply scrape off some of the brown seeds, soak them in warm water and then leave them to dry on some kitchen roll.

When they have dried out then plant them in a 4 inch pot filled with wet compost, scatter the seeds on the top of it and then add another 5mm of wet compost over the top. The pot should then be kept in a warm, sunny location, ensuring at all times that the compost is kept moist, the seeds should then germinate in around 3-4 weeks time.

Then as the kiwi plants grow either thin them out or re-pot the seedlings. Other than water and the occasional dose of liquid plant fertilizer the kiwi plant is fairly easy to grow, although you will need to train the plant and support as it grows up. They will grow slowly to start with but then rapidly once they get going.

Of note is that kiwis are not self fertilizing and you will need a male and a female kiwi plant to make fruit, thus you will either have to open the window and let bees in to do the job for you, or pollinate the flowers yourself.

By Richard Allen -