In our business, we have occasion to purchase quite a bit of varying plant material, the majority very young, and I've noticed that several growers are using better mixtures for their rooting or potting. I've come across varying sizes of fir bark, lots of perlite, some lava and other stone bits... and from one grower, what looks like crushed brick particles in the medium. I'm getting a little more impressed by the various mediums as time goes by. I've been a strong supporter of Al and his very logical, scientific methods for quite a while, now... and I use the Gritty Mix, or varying renditions of it, almost exclusively for my indoor growing. I find the better drainage and aeration to be very beneficial for my containerized plants... and for getting quick results in rooting cuttings, as well. Al knows how indebted to him I am... he's really opened my eyes to how uncomplicated it really is to grow wonderfully healthy plants... from the roots up! I think a lot of times, we tend to be a bit intimidated by some of the more technical writings in this area, and there's still so much misinformation and myth floating around... one doesn't think in terms of the gardening industry being only for profit, but it differs little from any other. Repeat sales at any cost. Anyway... just a shout out, I guess, along with yours... to Al, and to everyone who has made a difference, or is making a difference, in the wonderful world of growing! :-)

The green Zespri brand kiwis are small like the first kiwis I saw in the grocery stores many years ago. I bought some very large green kiwis a few months ago, and they almost looked like two fruits fused together. The cashier told me she used to enjoy kiwis, but said she didn't like them anymore. The flavor of the large fruit was bland, and I remembered why I stopped buying them. When I saw the Zespri brand green kiwi, I decided to see if they were as good as the golden kiwis. They were not, but still alot better than the other green kiwis. So that is what had me suspecting there was more than one clone used other than Hayward. Is the ZespriGold a single clone grown only by Zespri growers? It will be a while before my gold seeds grow into fruiting plants, so if anyone knows where mature plant material can be found for sale or trade, I'd love to get a a pair. They should mature well here in Virginia. mescalito@operamail.com

MHG, I've read that hardy kiwi are from northern China and Japan. I'm not sure, but I think the climate would be a lot like ours in the north east. JD, I'm definitely not an expert- just getting started with them. I was able to propagate some from cuttings last June (I've read dormant cuttings don't work well). Now, a year and a half later, they look about like what you would get from a nursery. Rather than starting from cuttings, I'd suggest getting some nursery plants- Rolling River Nursery is a great source. Later, let me know if you want some scionwood to graft some more varieties. Scott, I've had lots of bad ones, but none were ripe enough. From the nursery descriptions, they were all supposed to ripen earlier than mid-October. Some of them I've been sampling 1-2 per week since the start of September. When did you pick yours? If you picked them earlier, even a wrinkled surface may not have been enough to make them taste good. You've got me looking forward to Ken's Red, though it is taking it's time. How much different are the kiwi you grow from the ones in the store? I like the hardy kiwi a lot better than the store-bought fuzzies, even before considering that I don't need to peel them. But, if home-grown fuzzies are great, I should at least give them a try. Here's a pic of what they look like when I eat them. I think the wrinkles is what made some people hesitant to try them...Most of these were 21-23 brix, with one at 24 and one of the smallest ones at 14 (not sure what happened with it). Note- none of these are the biggest- I've already finished most of them :)

I'm adding to a very old thread, but maybe it's good to round the answer for those that don't have a refractometer. I have one (i believe hayward) kiwi / first crop and was about to harvest the fruit. It's now mid december and the temperatures have been very mild this month the lowest not going below 2C - 3C and upto 15C during the day, so I left the fruit on the vine thinking I would harvest when the forecast was going towards 0C. In the meantime I did a quick check on the web for when the kiwi should be harvested and saw suggestions (other than use of a refractometer) of checking for seed color (black) and leaving the fruit till there was at least one day of temperatures around 0C. The other day I picked a kiwi to test and saw that the seeds were dark - the problem is that today I started picking them and again tried a few but the seed color varied : completely dark brow, very dark with a little dark brown and some that looked almost black. So, without a refractomer, how can I judge whether the kiwi is ready for harvest (is the seed color a good indicator) and is it a good idea to leave them so long on the vine ?