How to Grow Kiwi From Seeds

Kiwi may not mature and produce edible fruit for five years.

Kiwi fruit, or simply kiwi, is a fruit that is often associated with New Zealand, but is actually native to the Yangtze region of China. Kiwi fruit is easily damaged by cold temperatures, and should be planted after the last frost of the season. Kiwi fruit plants grow as a vine, and require support in the form of a fence, or trellis posts and wires. It takes patience to grow kiwi fruit, as it often takes up to five years to mature.

Things You'll Need

• Compost
• Kiwi fruit seeds
• Fence or trellis posts and wires
• Dirt rake
• Tiller

Instructions

1. Select a planting location that receives six to eight hours of direct sunlight during the day.

2. Spread a layer of compost on the soil with a dirt rake.

3. Till the soil about 6 inches deep in the fall, four to six months before you plant the seeds.

4. Sow the seeds after the last frost of the spring. Place a seed into the soil, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch deep. Space the seeds 3 or 4 inches apart. Plant the seeds next to a fence, which will support the vines as they grow. Install trellis posts and wires next to the seeds if you do not have a fence.

5. Thin the plants out once they are 2 or 3 inches tall, which should take up to five weeks. Space the plants every 10 feet, so they will not compete with one another once the vines are larger.

6. Add 10-10-10 fertilizer to the soil during the spring of the second growing year. Refrain from fertilizing the plants during the first growing year.

7. Harvest the fruit in October of the fifth growth year.

References

• Kiwi Fruit Info: Kiwi Fruit Cultivation
• California Rare Fruit Growers: Kiwifruit
• USA Gardener: How To Grow Hardy Kiwi
• Cornell University: Hardy Kiwifruit

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish