Hi all:

We've built our new kiwi trellis, and I'm wondering if it is actually big enough that I could have both a hardy kiwi, and a fuzzy kiwi female on it. I have a male hardy kiwi near the end.

Is that possible or am I deluding myself?

The trellis is 16 feet long, and 4 feet wide.

Your trellis is definitely big enough. I have worked on a long established fuzzy kiwi farm in Hillsboro and the females are roughly 8' in diameter. They can be kept smaller if you stay up on the pruning. From pictures I've seen, the kiwi trellis at the USDA repository in Corvallis is only about 4' wide, so you should be fine.

Galen
Portland, OR

I agree with Galen. The one at One Green World is about that size. Don't let it grow out of control or it may not be big enough. Hardy don't need that much trellis. Its the fuzzy that really needs it.
John S
PDX OR

Yay, so glad to hear it! Thank you!

Jade,

That's a nice sturdy looking trellis. I have something much flimsier in mind for my first hardy kiwis.

I bought a Ken's Red and male from One Green World at the exchange. I've heard good things about Ken's Red.

What variety did you choose?

I chose Ana for the hardy kiwi and Hayward for the fuzzy kiwi. The male is also a hardy kiwi, which I believe works?

I just chose those varieties because that's what I've tried before. Why did you choose those varieties?

I chose Ken's Red because I read very flattering comments about it in a web forum and because my wife has been brought up wanting hardy kiwi several times. When I ask what variety she prefers she says "red".

One poster said that Ken's Red was uniquely free of funny greenbean off taste that many hardy kiwi have.

I've heard only good reports about it so I figured that was the one.

Ken's Red is delicious and productive. I also like Anna. I wanted Ken's Red mostly because of the antioxidants that would be different, but partly also because my wife has red hair Watch out-slugs kill kiwis! Also set them into the ground at exactly the same depth as in the nursery.
John S
PDX OR

Thanks for the advice.

Last year at this time we had millions of lugs on our lawn (at least many thousands). I thought that was something we were going to be in for every year and I'm not entirely sure that we won't.

The property had been allowed to overgrow for a couple of years and apparently that is good slug habitat. Last summer I mowed down the thistle, grasses, blackberries and weeds.

Our neighbors have a big flock of ducks and a few times last Fall we heard them in our yard going nuts. I think they ate nearly all of the slugs.

I'm hoping that our future slug pressure won't be nearly as bad as I'd feared. I'm guessing the ducks stayed away when it was a jungle but thought it was great when the slugs were just all out in the open lawn. Either that or our neighbors just lost contain on the ducks a couple of times and these were their first chances to get over to our yard.

I would definitely put out slug pans full of cheap beer and or Sluggo.
John S
PDX OR

Funny i'm thinking about getting ducks and was looking into hardy kiwi specifically to grow for them (using their housing as trellis). Who knew the hardy kiwi needs the ducks, symbiosis!