Passionfruit and a win in the rugby

The other night I was on the sports network and happened to catch an interview with a few of our fanatical Rugby supporters. It must have been one of those earlybird specials. Watch the lads training around six in the morning followed by a decent supporters breakfast of muesli and yoghurt, with fresh strawberries and passionfruit. I’m seriously considering a trip across for the final but was hoping to join you guys for breakfast beforehand. I’m a great believer in the health giving properties of passionfruit. I almost mistook yours for dark plums but then you cut one open and spooned out those characteristic dark seeds surrounded by their pulp.

It might surprise you to learn that I’d never tasted passionfruit until I visited Italy as a young tourist in his late twenties. The locals made a delightful ice confection known as Gelato. It was served in most of the pizza and coffee houses around Rome and Naples. The best Gelato was made with fresh fruit. I enjoyed the melon, citrus, and berry blends but primo was their donatello passionfruit. This smelled so refreshing and possessed some amazing ability to instantly cleanse and purify a jaded palate. It’s no secret that I became slightly carried away, ordering enough of these special desserts to become a minor source of local amusement. That was a long time ago.

Perhaps it was the cooler climate of England or the lack of enthusiasm for their tangy, somewhat acidic flavour profile. I’m not sure. They just didn’t turn up in the shops and I can assure you that their twisting green vines never made an appearance on the Cotchcroft estate or any of the less formal grounds on my watch. After returning home, I made some discreet enquiries and found a decent group of enthusiasts who managed to promote some hardy grafted varieties in and around the home counties. Nowadays, I get the occasional trip to Montserrat which is sufficiently warm to enable the wild vines to thrive. Of course, most of my time is spent in cooler climates, so I’ve picked up a few tricks to keep them reasonably cheerful and out of harms way.

Start with the toughest varieties you can find. There’s a relatively new graft called Black Magic which is vigorous, disease resistant, and quite capable of withstanding the occasional frost. They have become quite popular with organic growers and the nurseries frequently run out of stock by the middle of Spring. Next year, I’m going to try a new Granadilla which was initially recommended by one of the organic experts at IFOAM.

It’s pretty essential to find a suitable location for these vines which need plenty of sunlight and fresh air to succeed. Avoid dampness, draughts, and darkness. Most of my well established vines have enjoyed climbing over a brick wall which warms up nicely during the day and holds some protective heat overnight. I’ve seen them growing over wire and wooden trellises although care needs to be taken to avoid any draughts which will certainly stunt growth and ultimately restrict their fruit development.

Passionfruit seem to cope with a range of soil types with the exception of heavy clay. Their roots tend to be wide ranging but shallow so it’s important to avoid digging or other forms of cultivation until the vine is well established. Providing your vines with plenty of organic matter is a good approach although if you’re using manure, try to ensure it’s well dried as this enables nutrients to be efficiently transferred to the upper layer of most soils. Allow your vines to establish themselves before harvesting the initial crop. In cooler climates this will require patience. Don’t worry; it becomes worthwhile when you fill your first bucket with those ripe, sweet smelling gems. In the meantime, let’s join our fanatical supporters for breakfast and cheer our mighty rugby lads toward their consecutive world cup triumph.