Hows about them apples!

I looked up to see if apple blossom can be eaten by slugs and snails and it is possible .
I'm replanting the section in which I plan my apple trees and I shall put in some lavender and rosemary , which apparently deters them .
Foxgloves have naturalised in that bit of the garden anyway and they are disliked by molluscs .

Has anyone grown Greensleeves ?

Can’t beat Queensland mangoes and avocados.

Wonderful, aren't they!
The avocados we get in the UK are terrible in comparison.

Yes the English fruit is lovely and the taste is beautifully rich. Our tomatoes, raspberries, blueberries etc are nothing like as nice. I think they must ripen too quickly over here. Tropical fruits are good,though . Can’t beat Queensland mangoes and avocados.

Weston's do a tour of their factory in Herefordshire which is really interesting and the restaurant there is ok too. I'm surrounded by orchards, apples,pears, Cherries,plums and also soft fruit, mostly PYO these days but everything is very good, nothing like English fruit when it's in season.

I’m jealous, used to love the Cox’s but you can’t get them anymore.

Yes , lovely refreshing scrumpy on a hot day !
I forgot about Herefordshire having orchards .
The inhabitants have not forgotten about Monty Don complaining about their unsightly poly tunnels to the local council .
Not everyone has a nice salary from the beeb , Monty -wonderful as your dulcet tones are !

valdavi

East Herefordshire too was all hops & orchards. A lot got grubbed out when golden delicious from France appeared everywhere. English beer is an endangered drink these days & also there was a hop-virus which decimated the hopyards.Just the converted oasthouses left as a reminder now.Although compared with other areas, it's not become built-up.

There is still a tradition for cider making in Herefordshire and Somerset.
Nothing beats a dry cider on a hot day.

Herefordshire is polytunnel heaven now.

East Herefordshire too was all hops & orchards. A lot got grubbed out when golden delicious from France appeared everywhere. English beer is an endangered drink these days & also there was a hop-virus which decimated the hopyards.Just the converted oasthouses left as a reminder now.Although compared with other areas, it's not become built-up.

Allira - I agree that so many orchards have been lost .
What a shame .
Kent was once the garden of England .

Thank you for the programme recommendation ,Witzend .
I'm looking forward to it .
And a thank you to Farmorl15 for the apple tree care advice I shall do some research before ordering any trees .
And I have to prepare the proposed area .

Witzend

Esmay

It's my ambition to have some lovely apple trees in my garden and the old varieties appeal to me .
There are over 7,500 varieties worldwide .
There used to be more .
The Romans introduced them to Britain . They grew well . After they left , the orchards were neglected then , after the Norman invasion the French improved the species .
Crab apples are the only apple , which is native .
Apples are incredibly good for you .
It's not a myth !

A TV prog the other day about Kent (a new one) featured an apple farm with masses of varieties, lots of old ones - apparently more than anywhere else in the world!

It was the first prog. we saw. Just checked and it’s on Channel 5 on Weds at 8, if anyone’s interested. ‘Kent, the Garden of England.’
We certainly enjoyed the first one.

We have lost so many apple orchards in this country.

It would be wonderful if they could be revived.

Esmay - my husband prunes them in January/February. They're quite big and untidy looking, despite the pruning. Yes, it's possible the varieties are good for pollination, but the garden is also quite sheltered as we've lots of other trees. We have a fairly big garden, in a rural area of SE Ireland. The ground seems to suit trees of all sorts as they grow vigorously!

Esmay

It's my ambition to have some lovely apple trees in my garden and the old varieties appeal to me .
There are over 7,500 varieties worldwide .
There used to be more .
The Romans introduced them to Britain . They grew well . After they left , the orchards were neglected then , after the Norman invasion the French improved the species .
Crab apples are the only apple , which is native .
Apples are incredibly good for you .
It's not a myth !

A TV prog the other day about Kent (a new one) featured an apple farm with masses of varieties, lots of old ones - apparently more than anywhere else in the world!

It was the first prog. we saw. Just checked and it’s on Channel 5 on Weds at 8, if anyone’s interested. ‘Kent, the Garden of England.’
We certainly enjoyed the first one.

Farmorl15 -
I'm interested in your selection of apple trees and I'm wondering if you have a perfect combination of pollinators as they are cropping well .
Do you prune them ?
And when ?
Advice please !

Some NT properties have apple days when you can take your apples for identification.
Some trees only have a good crop every other year. I personally like the Laxton varieties, Superb and Supreme,
Look around to see what grows locally as different varieties are suitable for different regions.

The fount of all apple knowledge:

Andrew Howard ([email protected])

Andy runs courses on apple identification and tastings/ grafting / etc.. (https://www.heritageappletrees.com). Look out for apple days / festivals - always worth a visit Have fun and wonder at the huge variety of our apple heritage when you attend.

Outcast52

My late father told me that you can identify Cox Pippins by shaking one next to your ear. If it's a Cox, you can hear the seeds rattling inside.

Oh yes, I'd forgotten that!

I picked a bag of russets from my mum's tree yesterday, it is early for russets but they are ripe, & they were on the point of falling so definietely needed picking. My favourite apple (especially with a smidgin of cheddar) & they do keep so well.

About half of the Bramleys have insect damage but harvested lots of good one to keep and blanched a lot more for the freezer. Also picked Cox’s and the very last of the plums, potatoes can stay in the ground a bit longer. It’s been an abundant year in the garden.

My late father told me that you can identify Cox Pippins by shaking one next to your ear. If it's a Cox, you can hear the seeds rattling inside.

We have very 6 apple trees - most about 40 years old - and get loads of apples every year. James Grieve, Bramleys, Cox's, a red one I don't remember name of, and Charles Ross. They get pruned a bit, but that's all. Not sure why ours do so well as some neighbours have very few this year.
I bought an apple press some years ago and make juice and cider. Also blackberry and apple jam and any other recipes using apples. I give away as many as I can too, but still can't use them all. Birds enjoy some .

The apples on my very old tree were particularly scabby this year but made lovely spicy apple and cinnamon chutney, a few apple crumbles and lots of puree in the freezer. I am ever hopeful that, after pruning, the next year’s apples will be less scabby!!

This has been the most extraordinary BAD year for nearly all my fruit and veg. Yes my apples have a lot of scab including James Grieve, Bramley and 2 other trees with no name (cannot remember). Also most of my plum trees have been scabby too. I have also had only 3 very small courgettes (mine usually become marrows) as we go on holiday when they are about right. Even the tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse are not yet ripe and as for the brassicas .... well they have all been eaten by a late emergence of cabbage whites etc. The saving grace in my garden this year are the blueberries they obviously loved the long wet cool summer...who would have thought. What is a grease band? We have the added problem of deer eating everything and anything but they are a delight to watch!

Lots of cooking apples this year. Any ideas on how to prevent earwigs and wood lice getting into the apples whilst still on the tree as many of the ones I picked had insects eating away inside.