Pomegranate hill

16 varieties of pomegranates to trial

In late winter we planted over 220 pomegranates in the former East Blackberry Hill. This hill is now renamed Pomegranate Hill. We removed the Navaho blackberry variety from both blackberry sections of the farm as this variety did not grow well on our farm. Every other blackberry bush on Pomegranate Hill was dug up and moved to Blackberry Hill near the farmhouse. We are also trialling a new trellis system in these 3 rows on Blackberry Hill.

Back to the pomegranates, there are 16 varieties with at least 10 to 11 trees. These varieties are different to our biodynamic Demeter certified family farm in Australia (The Pomegranate Farm). Georgia is much more humid and has nearly 4 times the amount of rain compared to our Australian family farm (which is similar to California). We have researched and chosen cold-tolerant varieties that have a Russian background along with dooryard varieties that have previously performed well in humid or cold climates. Our last frost date is April 16 give or take, and pomegranates do flower before this date in which case some years may see a reduced yield. Over 2000 varieties of pomegranates exist around the world although most of us have only seen one or two in a grocery store. It is our aim to grow a delicious range in size, skin color, aril (seed) color, seed texture and flavour that these fruits offer without fungicides, pesticides or herbicides.

family final prep of pomegranate planting

spreading roots on new pomegranate tree

digging holes for pomegranate planting