For Mothers Day, I took Kim, Adam and Ben to visit our daughter Amy in Ballarat. On the way through, we stopped off at Bacchus Marsh and picked up some local apples, persimmons, potatoes and onions from Jeff Jones produce.
Here are a few shots of her small veggie patch and pet dwarf rabbit that fertilises it for her. She is growing bush beans, peas, carrots and potatoes. She has a bit of weeding to do, me thinks, but at least she is giving it a go.
After lunch we went out into the back yard, where Amy showed me a Guava tree that was overhanging into her yard from the neighbours house. It was one massive tree fully laden with fruit.
The fruit is a bit difficult to make out as it is the same colour as the leaves of the tree. Suffice to say, there are lot of them, and they were all over the ground as well.
Kim and I had never eaten Guava before, so we tried one of the larger ones that had fallen off the tree. It was delicious, so we collected about 4 kilograms of fruit that was laying around Amy’s yard. Besides eating them raw, which is a treat in itself, I am looking for some jam recipes that I can use quite a few more in. Ballarat is well within our local zone, so no problems there.
I also took some cuttings from the tree and wrapped the branches in a wet cloth so that they would survive the trip home. When we got home, I trimmed up 8 decent sized cuttings and dipped them in root hormone powder and put them in tube stock pots with some good potting mix. I am hoping they will take and if so, I will give some away as gifts and plant a few in extra large pots to add to our orchard. I don’t know how many years they will take to bare fruit, but it is all in the fun of trying to grow it.
Once again, local fruit is such a great find, and when it is free, you really have to abuse the privilege of knowing someone who has access to a neglected backyard fruit tree. Thanks Amy for letting us collect as much as we wanted. I promise to bring you a jar of Guava jam next time we visit!
I know your guavas by another name – feijoas, apparently they are also known as pineapple guava. I have made them into an open tart combined with apples, my mother used to make jam and they are also very nice when dried. I’m planning on growing one this year.
Gavin watch those the little seeds are not good for people like you and my mum with tummy problems, as the tiny seeds get lodged in the intestines.Since staying away from things with a husk or shell(peas ect) mums problems have vanished
may pay you to look into it.I agree guavas are the best, love em!
Good find. We used to grow strawberry guavas and they started fruiting in the first year.
Can you possibly make guava jam, and sieve the seeds out?
Lucky you!
Guava is something we will NEVER grow. And I do really miss the mango season from when I lived in Oz.
But to make up for it we have strawberries by the bucketload when they’re in season, and I’m in the middle of preparing a large patch that will become a rather enormous new asparagus bed in springtime!
Swings and roundabouts…
Enjoy those guavas!
I love feijoas, they are my favourite, I have 7 trees. The fruit flies got most of mine this year – I am thinking of moving to a colder climate just to get away from them.
Hope they don’t affect your tummy.
Thanks ladies. Would you believe that I received a Diggers club catelogue and it had the feijoas featured in it as well as Strawberry Guava, which I am going to order for my birthday in a few weeks.
The cuttings have survived the first day, so hopefully they will strike roots and grow. In just 3 years I should have some fruit.
Gav
Oh, and BTW, I found a recipe for Guava Jelly, so I will be straining the seeds out.
Hi there Gavin – just found your blog today and living in Seddon VIC. I’m so inspired to work towards the 100mile diet.
Have you created an ultimate list of producers you use? Is this cheating if I ask??