I've been taking photos of the garden as it develops. I started a few years ago now and occasionally I turn some of the photos into timelapse movies that highlight the changes over time. I thought it would be nice to focus in on the apple and pear trees closest to the house. The video shows developments over four and a half years. On the left is a Tydeman's Late Orange apple being grown as a standard and on the right a Redsleeves apple grown as a bush. In the middle is an arch with an Onward pear growing as a single cordon on the left and a Blue Pearmain growing as a double cordon on the right. If you look out for it you can see the blossom in spring, the trees putting on new growth, apples growing and bending down branches, leaves falling and even pruning.
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I've managed to get away for a couple of trips this summer, each of a week long. The garden has hardly noticed my absence. There has been plenty of rain that has stopped the small number of pots from drying out (mostly blueberries). The polytunnel coped ok with the doors left open at night and 30 minutes of watering through irrigation hose at ground level underneath the tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes and peppers. The other side manged ok getting lots of watering before I went. On returning from the first week away most of the harvest was courgettes and cucumbers from the polytunnel, plus a few tomatoes and climbing french beans. The forest garden yielded lots of Japanese wineberries, some blackcurrants, blueberries and a few pears. After the second week away things have changed a little. The polytunnel is still producing lots of cucumbers and the tomatoes are accelerating. Outside the hazelnuts are going brown and I've started to pick them. I try to pick them a little early and dry them inside to beat the squirrels to it. I picked about 3 kg yesterday and there are still lots more to be picked. I picked the remaining pears, which haven't done very well this year. By contrast there are lots of apples in the garden. For each variety there are typical times for picking and storage in the books. My early Redsleeves tree was even earlier than the recommended picking time. It seems as though the others are ready earlier too. For example, the Court of Wick apples are supposed to be ready for picking in late September, but come away easily now when lifted up. I've picked a few, but am slightly nervous about picking them so early. They keep until October to December so I don't expect to be able to tell from the flavour whether they are ripe yet. Most of these are in good condition and look as though they will keep well. In general the apples have suffered from Codling moth quite badly. Many of the fruit have holes in. The tree that I grafted in 2011 with Egremont Russet and Merton Russet now has a good crop of both. Some of these have fallen off while I was away. Both varieties again have a later picking date according to the books. I picked some of the Egremont Russet yesterday as they came off easily. About half looked as though they will keep, others look too holey. Many of the apples have woodlice in holes in them too. I'm not sure if this is because of the Codling moth holes or from bird damage. I probably will slice and dry the ones that won't store. The Blue Pearmain apple is a really interesting one. I have a double cordon of this and the largest fruit are enormous, but it also has some very small ones too. Some of these have holes in too so I have picked all of them to see if the good ones will ripen inside. nest year I'm going to experiment with pheremone traps as I've heard positive things about them from friends. Late August harvest from the forest garden. From 12 o'clock, cucumbers, courgettes, tomatoes (from the polytunnel), Onwards pear (centre), Concorde and unknown pears (1 o'clock), Nottingham cobnuts (3 o'clock), Egremont Russet and Court of Wick apples, Kentish cobnuts (9 o'clock) and Blue Pearmain apples (11 o'clock). Just a quick post with a picture of a couple of Blue Pearmain apples growing on a double cordon around an arch. The name stretches the imagination a little, but they do have a bluish tinge and I love the texture of their skins. Hope they make it to harvest time unscathed!
This is a few weeks ago now, but I thought I would post some photos of the quince and apple blossom in the garden from the beginning of May. The flowers on the quince tree always surprise and delight me. The petals start life tucked into each other in a kind of spiral and gradually unfurl. The whole tree is covered with flowers and it makes a great display and it makes me glad that it is close to the house and I can see it every day. So far most of the flowers don't result in fruit, but each year brings a few more and I'm happy to be patient when it looks this good. The apple blossom develops at different times on the different trees in the garden. The varieties were chosen to overlap and whilst the timing varies from year to year they are in flower together for the most part. They have a variety to their colours too, from red, pale pink, to purple and peach. The blossom smells wonderful close up too - definitely not the case for pears! After a bumper year last year, this year the Tydeman's Late Orange had very little blossom. The rest of the trees have had a decent set of flowers, including the grafted tree for the first year.
It has been a brilliant year for apples and pears in the forest garden, both in terms of the weather and because the trees are starting to mature and bear fruit. I wanted to capture aome of the variety in the fruit so I've been doing my best to take portraits of some of this year's crop. First up is fruit from the Blue Pearmain apple. I have a small double cordon trained around an arch. The tree is still small but this year bore its first fruit. There were two fruit, one of which was enormous - weighing in at 380 g. Unfortunately by the time I picked it it had a hole in the top, probably from bird damage. The other was half the size and weight but still larger than many other apples. The apple gets its name from the blue bloom it has, which just about comes across in the photos. My book (The New Book of Apples by Joan Morgan and Alison Richards) says that they are best used from December to February, although they have lasted as long as May. Seems like I will have to wait a while to taste this one. Next is a pear from a tree that pre-dates the planting of the forest garden. I don't know the variety. The tree is narrow and tall - about 5 m high. It crops only moderately well and unlike the other trees in the garden it bore a little less than last year when it was one of the only pears or apples to bear a crop. The fruit this year were of good quality though. They take a couple of weeks to ripen once they have been picked but have a good flavour. If anyone wants to hazard a guess as to the variety I would be very interested. One of the two trees that I am growing as a standard is a Tydeman's Late Orange. The tree is a fast grower with long flexible branches. This year is the first year it has cropped more than a couple of apples. As the name suggests the apples are for use late in the season from December until April. The idea was that this would provide apples that could be stored and would see us through the winter. This photo shows a couple of problems I have had with the tree that I've mentioned in other posts. I broke off one of the main branches whilst bending it down in cold weather in the winter - bad idea. Also, despite my thinning the apples one of the branches broke under the weight of the fruit. It remained partially attached though and the fruit developed on the branch nonetheless. I will prune it out in the winter I think. The fruit had some scab earlier in the season and I picked out the affected apples. Most of the remaining fruit looks very good apart from a few which have been partially eaten by tree climbing snails. You can see an example in the middle at the top. My apple book says pick mid-October but some of the fruit was starting to fall. I guess the season is earlier because of the warm weather. I have been picking for the last week and a half and finished picking the last ones today. In terms of size they are what I think of as average apple size. The other standard apple is a Court of Wick. The tree is growing more slowly than the Tydeman's Late Orange but seems to be healthy. It bore only about 10 fruit this year and the fruit are smaller than average. They have a flattish shape and have an attractive colour with some russeting.The season of use is October to December. The idea was that this tree would complement the season of the later Tydeman's Late Orange and the earlier Redsleeves to give apples from August through to April. Lastly the pears on a slightly newer cordon were ready for picking. These are of the Concorde variety. The tree was really productive, producing nearly as many fruit as the large tree. There were some fruit last year and the flavour was excellent. They are not yet ripe. There are still a few other fruit to be harvested. I'll post some more photos soon.
It feels like it has been a long time coming, but finally there is fruit in the garden. I've been harvesting salad for a quite a while now from the raised beds, but as of last week I got a nice surprise - lots of the fruit on the blackcurrant Ebony had ripened. Since then the garden hasn't looked back. There have been a few gooseberries, more blackcurrants and now lots of raspberries. The Glen Ample variety I put in a couple of years ago has been steadily cropping with lots of large well flavoured fruit. I've been picking most days and today got more than 350 g and there are only three large canes. The other raspberries are starting to ripen now so hopefully there will be a continuous supply for weeks to come.
There are lots of other promising looking fruit this year, with apples on all the trees including the first fruit on the Blue Pearmain double cordon. The sweet cherry is also covered in fruit that is nearly ripe. One other great surprise was to find the first few mulberries on the black mulberry tree. I had read that they could take up to seven years to fruit so its exciting to see it fruiting after four years. I'll post some pictures soon. |
AboutA blog following the development of a small edible forest garden in Salisbury, Wiltshire, first planted in winter 2008.
AuthorA forest gardening enthusiast with an interest in growing food sustainably, locally and with minimal effort. More blogsAnni's Perennial Veggies
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Check out the resources page for lots more forest gardening websites, books and videos.
Details of my young forest garden are here and photos here. Produce 20161 Jan - 31 Mar
0.640kg Babington leek 0.417kg Cabbage 0.742kg Celeriac 0.005kg Coriander 0.343kg Daikon 0.003kg Fennel 0.091kg Garlic shoots 0.005kg Goji berry leaves 0.259kg Lettuce 0.002kg Mint 0.020kg Pak choi 0.233kg Parsley 2.100kg Potatoes 0.041kg Radish 0.006kg Red veined sorrel 2.069kg Rosemary 0.888kg Ruby chard 0.002kg Thyme 0.065kg Winter purslane 1 Apr - 30 Jun 0.008kg Alpine strawberries 0.555kg Babington leeks 0.003kg Basil 0.989kg Beetroot 1.987kg Celeriac 0.019kg Chillis 0.076kg Chives 0.466kg Cleavers 0.227kg Coriander 0.075kg Courgettes 0.034kg Fennel 0.045kg Garlic shoots 0.004kg Gooseberries 0.048kg Holly leaves 0.006kg Lemon balm 0.541kg Lettuce 0.005kg Lime leaves 0.012kg Mint 0.108kg Nettles 0.440kg Oca 0.295kg Parsley 0.003kg Radish 0.241kg Raspberries 2.570kg Rhubarb 0.052kg Rocket 0.001kg Rosemary 2.338kg Ruby chard 0.022kg Sage 0.099kg Spring onions 0.464kg Strawberries 0.001kg Sweet violet 0.064kg Wild garlic 0.001kg Winter purslane 1 Jul - 30 Sep 0.030kg Alpine strawberries 22.360kg Apples 0.003kg Basil 0.317kg Blackberries 0.706kg Blackcurrants 0.595kg Blueberries 0.085kg Chillis 0.002kg Chives 8.255kg Courgettes 0.003kg Fennel 0.205kg Gooseberries 2.674kg Hazelnuts 0.429kg Japanese wineberries 2.404kg Jostaberries 0.209kg Loganberries 0.025kg Mint 0.167kg Mulberries 0.006kg Nasturtium 0.004kg Parsley 4.068kg Pears 4.097kg Rapsberries 3.988kg Redcurrants 0.016kg Rocket 0.522kg Rosemary 0.026kg Spring onions 0.837kg Sweet cherries 0.234kg Tayberries 2.142kg Tomatoes 1.229kg Whitecurrants 1 Oct - 31 Dec 2.263kg Apples 0.317kg Chillis 2.697kg Courgettes 0.060kg Mashua 0.030kg Mint 0.250kg Oca 0.080kg Parsley 0.581kg Pears 1.360kg Potatoes 0.011kg Rocket 0.056kg Rosemary 0.050kg Sage 0.651kg Tomatoes Produce 20151 Jan - 31 Mar
0.187kg Babington's leek 0.031kg garlic shoots 0.005kg mint 0.560kg salad 1 Apr - 30 Jun 0.021kg alpine strawberries 2.074kg Babington's leeks 0.017kg basil 0.975kg blackcurrants 0.434kg cabbage 0.016kg chives 0.095kg coriander 0.009kg dill 0.156kg garlic shoots 0.443kg gooseberries 1.801kg kohlrabi 0.297kg lettuce 0.015kg lime leaves 0.035kg mint 0.033kg mustard leaves 0.231kg nettles 0.089kg onion 0.470kg oregano 0.013kg pak choi 0.013kg parsley 0.626kg peas 0.107kg peppermint 0.871kg purple sprouting broccoli 4.219kg raspberries 1.406kg red onion 0.048kg red-veined sorrel 1.751kg rhubarb 1.618kg ruby chard 0.324kg spring onion 1.157kg strawberries 0.577kg sweet cherries 0.242kg tayberried 0.001kg thyme 0.160kg wild garlic 0004kg winter purslane 1 Jul - 30 Sep 0.003kg alpine strawberries 0.002kg apple mint 37.964kg apples 0.033kg basil 0.753kg blackberries 7.207kg blackcurrants 2.441kg blueberries 0.073kg cabbage 0.039kg celeriac 0.019kg coriander 6.329kg courgettes 15.960kg cucumber 0.012kg dill 0.466kg french beans 0.312kg garlic 1.447kg gooseberries 12.822kg hazelnuts 0.967kg Japanese wineberries 2.390kg jostaberries 0.205kg lettuce 0.001kg lime basil 0.848kg loganberries 0.018kg mint 0.203kg mulberries 0.005kg oregano 0.041kg pak choi 0.004kg parsley 2.010kg pears 0.006kg peppermint 8.529kg raspberries 6.138kg redcurrants 0.005kg rocambole 2.198kg ruby chard 0.024kg sage 1.605kg sour cherries 0.191kg strawberries 0.843kg strawberries 0.651kg tayberries 0.001kg thyme 15.138kg tomatoes 0.977kg whitecurrants 1 Oct - 31 Dec 0.117kg chilli peppers 0.018kg coriander 0.022kg courgettes 6.716kg cucumbers 0.008kg dill 0.223kg french beans 0.115kg hazelnuts 0.025kg lettuce 0.002kg mint 0.065kg parsley 0.524kg pears 1.412kg ruby chard 0.072kg spring onion 6.489kg tomatoes Produce 2014
1 Jan - 31 Mar
0.308kg Babington leeks 0.034kg garlic shoots 0.001kg parsley 0.004kg red veined sorrel 0.011kg rosemary 0.025kg sage 0.016kg thyme 1 Apr - 30 Jun 0.010kg alpine strawberries 1.350kg Babington leeks 0.104kg blackcurrants 0.012kg chives 0.210kg garlic shoots 0.092kg gooseberries 0.006kg lemon balm 0.529kg loganberries 0.015kg oregano 0.006kg parsley 0.035kg peppermint 5.655kg raspberries 0.177kg redcurrants 0.051kg red veined sorrel 7.180kg rhubarb 0.120kg salad 0.006kg salad burnet 0.896kg strawberries 0.509kg tayberries 0.084kg wild garlic 1 Jul - 30 Sep 5.121kg apples 0.008kg alpine strawberries 0.857kg blackberries 1.190kg blackcurrants 0.904kg blueberries 1.840kg garlic 6.102kg hazelnuts 0.467kg Japanese wineberries 0.716kg loganberries 0.313kg mulberries 3.742kg pears 2.752kg raspberries 2.349kg redcurrants 0.054kg rocambole 0.050kg sage 1.655kg sour cherries 0.021kg sweet cherries 0.298kg tayberries 0.242kg whitecurrants 0.078kg worcesterberries 1 Oct - 31 Dec 0.113kg salad 0.382kg oca 0.200kg potatoes Produce 2013
1 Jan - 31 Mar
0.024kg garlic shoots 1 Apr - 30 Jun 0.326kg Babbington leeks 0.222kg blackcurrants 0.363kg garlic shoots 0.147kg gooseberries 0.002kg lemon balm 0.121kg lettuce 0.004kg lime leaves 0.058kg mizuna 0.121kg oregano 0.010kg pea shoots 0.015kg peppermint 0.223kg raspberries 0.020kg red veined sorrel 3.900kg rhubarb 0.400kg salad 0.005kg salad burnet 0.008kg shitake mushrooms 0.076kg strawberries 0.013kg thyme 0.136kg wild garlic 1 Jul - 30 Sep 0.101kg alpine strawberries 13.653kg apples 0.276kg blackberries 2.816kg blackcurrants 1.380kg blueberries 0.159kg broad beans 0.965kg courgettes 1.340kg garlic 1.808kg hazelnuts 0.118kg Japanese wineberries 0.493kg loganberries 0.008kg mulberries 4.368kg pears 0.036kg peppermint 1.143kg potatoes 0.063kg quince 9.226kg raspberries 0.699kg redcurrants 0.223kg rocambole 0.150kg salad 1.448kg sour cherries 0.064kg spearmint 0.660kg spring onions 0.863kg strawberries 1.622kg sweet cherries 0.156kg tayberries 0.721kg whitecurrants 0.010kg worcesterberries 1 Oct - 31 Dec 0.938kg pears 0.095kg quince 0.091kg oca 0.242kg mashua Produce 2012
1 Jan - 31 Mar
0.050kg fennel 0.009kg garlic shoots 0.030kg goji berries 0.050kg rocket 1 Apr - 30 Jun 0.004kg alpine strawberries 0.480kg cabbage 0.323kg garlic shoots 0.050kg lemon balm 0.002kg loganberries 0.050kg mint 0.402kg mushrooms 0.360kg potatoes 0.730kg raspberries 0.030kg red veined sorrel 0.130kg redcurrants 4.000kg rhubarb 0.540kg rocket 0.020kg sorrel 0.134kg strawberries 0.007kg tayberries 01 Jul - 30 Sep 0.020kg alpine strawberries 0.180kg apples 0.552kg blackberries 0.178kg blackcurrants 0.711kg blueberries 1.020kg garlic 0.201kg gooseberries 0.263kg hazelnuts 0.051kg Japanese wineberries 0.028kg loganberries 3.354kg pears 1.610kg potatoes 0.910kg raspberries 0.353kg redcurrants 0.063kg sour cherries 0.049kg strawberries 0.014kg tayberries 0.192kg whitecurrants 1 Oct - 31 Dec 7.690kg Jerusalem artichokes 0.211kg oca 0.010kg peppermint 0.820kg potatoes 0.010kg thyme Produce 2011
1 Jan - 20 Mar
Firewood Rosemary Sage Chives Salad burnet 21 Mar - 31 May 0.035kg chives 0.070kg lemon balm 0.005kg nasturtium leaves 0.017kg raspberries 4.060kg rhubarb 0.060kg rocket 0.020kg rosemary 0.280kg sage 0.070kg salad burnet 0.050kg sorrel 0.065kg spearmint 0.429kg strawberries 0.012kg sweet fennel 0.003kg tayberries 0.010kg thyme 1 Jun - 31 Aug 35.2kg 29 different crops: 0.030kg alpine strawberries 8.884kg apples 0.492kg beetroot 0.258kg blackberries 0.377kg blackcurrants 0.337kg blueberries 0.010kg chives 7.095kg courgettes 0.001kg fennel 0.946kg garlic 1.481kg hazelnuts 0.001kg Japanese wineberry 0.007kg lemon balm 0.005kg mashua leaves 0.004kg nasturtiums 0.100kg pears 0.005kg peppermint 11.920kg potatoes 1.130kg raspberries 0.262kg redcurrants 0.005kg rocket 0.064kg salad burnet 0.460kg sour cherries 0.024kg spearmint 0.558kg strawberries 0.311kg sweet cherries 0.086kg tayberries 0.087kg whitecurrants 1 Sep - 31 Dec 11.633kg apples 0.040kg aronia berries 1.299kg beetroot 0.036kg blackberries 2.472kg courgettes 0.034kg hazelnuts 6.205kg Jerusalem artichokes 4.250kg mashua 1.801kg pears 37.135kg potatoes 0.371kg raspberries 0.024kg strawberries 0.044kg whitecurrants Produce 2010
A record of produce from the garden in 2010. I expect this list to get much longer in later years.
1 Jan - 20 Mar 2010: Firewood - kindling and small logs for wood burner Herbs - rosemary Vegetables - 5 leeks Greens - Handfull of sorrel, salad burnet and dandelions. 21 Mar - 4 Jun 2010 3.600kg rhubarb 0.250kg sorrel rosemary salad burnet mint chives rocket a few strawberries 5 Jun -> 1.120kg garlic 1.063kg raspberries 3.430kg rhubarb 0.165kg strawberries 0.104kg sweet cherries 0.065kg tayberries 0.130kg gooseberries 0.029kg alpine strawberries 0.100kg loganberries 1.710kg sour cherries 0.486kg blackberries 0.039kg blackcurrants 0.220kg blueberries 3.264kg courgettes 0.240kg lettuce 8.375kg pears 3.820kg potatoes 9.300kg apples 0.076kg hazelnuts See archives from October 2009 below for last year's produce. Archives
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