About Us

​

Our New Zealand Edible Garden Journey

Welcome to Fruitfool! We're a Kiwi family passionate about growing our own fruit and creating a thriving edible garden on our suburban section. Like many New Zealanders, we've discovered both the joys and challenges of choosing the right fruit tree varieties for our climate and space, and we created this home orchard planner and fruit tree selector to share what we've learned along the way.

Our Story

Like many Kiwi families, we fell in love with the idea of homegrown fruit but quickly discovered the complexities of choosing the right varieties for our 720m² section. When we started researching different fruit tree varieties, we found it incredibly difficult to compare options across nurseries and remember which varieties we thought we were after. This frustration led us to create Fruitfool – our way of sharing the research and discoveries we've made while building our own edible garden.

The Questions That Drive Us

Our edible garden journey has been filled with important questions that every New Zealand fruit grower faces:

• Harvest timing: How can we extend our homegrown fruit season throughout the year?

• Usage versatility: Which fruit tree varieties are best for fresh eating, storage, preserving, or cooking?

• Pollination requirements: Does a variety self-pollinate or need specific companion trees?

• Climate suitability: Which varieties perform best in New Zealand's diverse microclimates?

• Space optimization: How can we maximize production in limited suburban spaces?

While local nursery experts provide invaluable advice, we believe in empowering gardeners with comprehensive research tools to ask the right questions and make confident decisions about their edible garden investments.

Our Growing Experience

Today, our property hosts over 30 fruit trees alongside an equal number of berry bushes, grape vines, and productive shrubs – a true testament to maximizing edible garden potential in suburban New Zealand. Last year we harvested over 300kg from the garden, with at least 200kg of that being fruit. We're currently renovating a vintage glasshouse to extend our growing season and experimenting with food preservation techniques including dehydrating, fermenting, bottling and pressure canning.

Our approach isn't about complete self-sufficiency – that's unrealistic on a 720m² section – but rather about producing a meaningful proportion of our family's fruit and vegetables while improving soil health through composting and vermiculture. As parents of two young children, we understand the reality of limited gardening time, which is why we focus on choosing fruit tree varieties that work well in New Zealand conditions without requiring too much fuss.

Our Journey Continues

This journey has deepened my passion for environmental sustainability and community resilience. We believe that growing our own food – even just some fruit trees in a backyard edible garden – makes a real difference to our environment through reduced packaging, food miles, and waste, while bringing our family closer to the food we eat.

Fruitfool is our way of sharing what we've learned about which fruit tree varieties work well in New Zealand's widely varying climate and unique growing conditions. We hope our home orchard planner and fruit tree selector tools help other Kiwi families create their own productive spaces, no matter how big or small.

We'd love to hear about your edible garden journey – your successes, challenges, and discoveries help inspire us to keep learning and sharing what we know.