Horticultural Delights

This morning we went for a drive out to Ricardoe's Strawberry and Tomato Farm. This is a farm about 20 minutes from Port Macquarie where tomatoes, lettuces and strawberries are grown. Visitors can pick their own strawberries and sample jams and chutneys in the cafe and also go on a guided tour of the farm.

The process of hydroponically growing tomatoes in the green houses is very interesting. By limiting the plants to just one stalk and limiting the number of leaves on each plant, the yield of each plant is maximised over a period of about 12 months. Because they don't sell through supermarkets, tomatoes can be picked when they are properly ripe and have maximum flavour. They are truly yummy.

Margaret got excited about the idea of growing vegetables hydroponically, but I'm not so sure that's the way to go for home vegetables- we will see what develops there.

Here is Margaret, having a great time choosing the best looking strawberries.





The strawberry plants are grown into storm water pipe arranged on a frame. The hydroponic solution is pumped through individual drippers at the top of each pipe and thence over the roots of each plant, and then recirculated back to the pump tank.





These photos were taken in the tomato growing green house. Look how big the plants are and how many fruit are on them!