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Easy to grow, easy to harvest and easy to peel… the super-sweet mini kiwi is a grape-sized delight

Imagine if a food-industry marketing board sat down to redesign the kiwi fruit: “First, let’s get rid of that nasty fuzz. Consumers want easy-peel.”

“Yeah, and can we up their sugar content? Maybe give them added Vitamin C?”

“How about making them fun size?”

Ladies and gentleman, introducing the cocktail kiwi: the easy-to-grow exotic fruit that is ready to plant (and harvest) right now.

Far from a marketeer’s concoction, the catchily named cocktail kiwi (Actinidia arguta) is a wild relative of the familiar furry kiwi fruit (Actinidia deliciosa). But it hails from much further north, stretching up to the forests of Siberia, making it hardy down to a positively Arctic -35C.

The autumnal, grape-sized fruit hangs in small clusters. Not only are they significantly sweeter, but they have edible, grape-like skins and tender flesh. They only betray their close relation with regular kiwis when sliced open, with a quick flick of the knife revealing an identical “starburst” interior of tiny black seeds. From a grower’s point of view they are also far more reliable fruiters in soggier climes, kicking out up to 300 fruit on mature vines each autumn.

So why do supermarkets stock only the rock-hard, furry type? It’s all down to shelf life. Picked immature, regular kiwis last in cold storage for weeks in order to be shipped across the planet. But their smaller, sugary cousins’ delicate flesh means they last just days on the shelf.

In their native East Asia, cocktail kiwis have been a revered autumnal treat for centuries. Their larger cousin is called “Macaque Peach” in Chinese, alluding to the belief that they are only fit for consumption by monkeys. Trust me when I say that when Chinese people don’t eat something, there has to be a pretty good reason why. Make the swap and I promise you, you will thank me for it.

How to grow cocktail kiwis

These vigorous vines occupy a similar ecological niche to brambles and buddleja in Northern Asia, making them one of the easiest crops to grow. Unfortunately for the domestic grower this same vigour is also their biggest downfall, as if left unpruned they can swamp a garden. A quick snip with the secateurs once a month in the growing season will remedy this, leaving neater plants that fruit earlier and more prolifically. It is also important to pick a self-fertile variety, like ‘Issai’, unless you have space for multiple male and female plants. Give it a sunny spot against a fence or wall, in rich, well-drained soil, and it will provide you with one of the tastiest fruit crops around for years to come.

Email James at james.wong@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter: @Botanygeek

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