Apples

[eschscholtzia Profile]

We have a small Golden Delicious (nothing like the awful French ones) which is usually laden with lovely apples which you can't pick before the end of November. This year the apples are all marked and most of them are really small. Is it a bad year for apples or are we just unlucky??

[Suelle Profile Website]

It seems to be a mixed bag this year. My Mother has one tree which has been heavily laden; we have three columnar trees of three different varieties, two of which have hardly any fruit and one of which has more than last year!

IIRC we had high winds and cold nights while the blossoms were out.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

The BBC thinks the UK apple crop will be about 60% of normal - wet weather is the culprit, and a lot of apples are going to be fit only for juicing, so marked that apart from the appearance, they won't keep well

[Linnet Profile]

Our old Bramley is usually laden with fruit, but this year we'll be lucky if we get two apple crumbles from it - the grandchildren are in for disappointment!

I think it was too cold and wet here for the pollinating insects in spring.

[Sakkarin Profile]

To be honest, it's been such a lousy year, coupled with the facts that I now do night shifts, that I hadn't really looked at my apple and pear tree. Last year both were groaning with fruit.

I just had a look in the light of this post, and realised that they are both in very bad shape, the apple tree has hardly any leaves, and the branches look mildewy, and the pear tree, although more leaves, is still looking like it's shed most of them at the end of autumn, and thinking back, it has been very sparse all year.

More to the point, there are just a single pear and a single apple on each tree respectively

[Sakkarin Profile]

Apples 2011:



Solitary lonely apple 2012:

[Joanbunting Profile]

Oh dear. What are you going to do with the poor thing?

[Sakkarin Profile]

It's a shame to pick it, it's been so valiant in growing there! Incidentally, it is only about 1 3/4 inches in diameter, my apples are always smallish, and this is a "small small" one, so it would not go very far anyway! I think it should stay there as a reminder that it's supposed to be an apple tree.

[Wokman Profile Website]

If you decide to prune the tree Sakkarin, just remember to keep the wood as it gives great flavour to a BBQ.

[jeral Profile]

It occurs to me that you could plant the lonely apple.

Next door's had a tree overhanging which produced lovely green but not sour eating apples. At some stage an apple must have fallen; I doubt it had been deliberately planted by the previous owner as the ensuing tree grew up in the soil right in front of the shed door. Doh!

Incidentally, to the best of my knowledge the mother tree was not a graft as many commercial ones are, so perhaps yours will grow also.

[hungryhousewife Profile]

Yes, its the same here in Berks! We had a bumper year last year, and pears, but virtually nothing at all this year. We had wind, rain and frosts at just the wrong time.

Had a few lovely greengages though, and as mentioned on an earlier thread, I've seen good Bullace and Sloes, and the Blackberries have been plentiful.

HH

[Sakkarin Profile]

Good idea, Wokkie. Shan't plant a new tree though, my garden is fairly wee, and already has a pear and a napple tree, so the sun has some difficulty finding a green bit to shine on, along with the fact that my neighbour has let her small bordering bushes run riot, and they are now to all intents and ourooses 15 feet tall trees all along the sunny side of my garden, completely blocking out the sun on that side

[Stokey Sue Profile]

A big item on BBC Breakfast this morning about how the English apple crop is down, and the apples will be at least 20% more then last year

Didn't watch it all, but there is some info on the Beeb site

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-19604885

[Joanbunting Profile]

Hi Sue

I heard that too. I suspect that the apple growers here are in for a good time as the crops - really hot dry summer but all the orchards , around the Durance, are irrigated. Stand by for wooly Golden Delicious etc. There is a wonderful pick-you-own near here called Terres des Pommes!