Harvest 2026: how the orchard's looking.
Three weeks in. The trees on the south slope cropped harder than last year. The northern rows still need another fortnight. By volume we're already past where we finished in 2024, and the fruit's running sweeter than last May. Mark thinks it's the rain in March.
The picking is slow work, even with help. We pick by hand — no machinery, no shaking, no gas treatment to ripen what isn't ready. A tree gets two or three passes across a fortnight as the fruit comes on at different paces. The trees on the south slope catch more morning sun and crop earlier; the northern rows we're still walking past, leaving the fruit on for another week or two.
What we've already pressed has gone straight into the Limoncello vats. The first 200 litres are steeping now — peels off the early pick, juice from the same fruit, alcohol bought local. We'll bottle in August.
The icy poles are back at the farm gate too. Cash or tap. Honesty box for after-hours. The kids who live up the road have already done a lap.
If you're driving past Mackie Rd in the next fortnight and want a bag, message us first. Easier to know we'll be at the shed.