It's been a while, but last month I planted two new trees in the garden. When I replaced the shed with a polytunnel I opened up some space at the back of the garden. I replaced the south facing fence last year and realised that the strip behind the tunnel, about 1 m wide and 3-4 m long, would be ideal for some trained fruit trees. The hard thing was choosing what to place there.
Because the fence is south facing I chose a dessert pear cordon for one of the trees. I went for a Nouveau Poiteau pear on Quince C rootstock. The description is as follows: Dessert pear. Pick October. Use November. Flower Group E. Fruit russetted, flesh sweet, very melting, rich flavour. It should be fine for pollination as there are two other group E pears in the garden and a group D (althouth that one is a triploid). Hopefully it will enjoy the sheltered spot. The other tree I chose was a quince cordon. This form for a quince doesn't seem very common but I am hoping it will be fine. I have another larger quince tree (Agvambari) at the other end of the garden which has been disappointing so far. The Agvambari is supposed to be self-fertile, but I am hoping the new cordon will help with pollination. I chose Serbian Gold for the cordon on Quince A rootstock. The description is: early ripening,, very productive, healthy tree. Sounds good. Both trees were from bought from Agroforestry Research Trust which has a really good selection of trees that are well suited to UK forest gardens. Worth a look if you haven't already.
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So compared to last week the leaves are starting to fall now. The sweet cherry is bare and the apples nearly so. The mulberry is a wonderful yellow colour.
I took the opportunity to clear some grass from around the Court of Wick apple tree. The Babington leeks were coming up already at the base of the tree and I wanted to make sure they didn't get overwhelmed. In pulling up the grass I was encouraged to see that the log mulch around the tree was covered in mycelium. Hopefully it extends well underneath the logs and won't be too disturbed by being uncovered at the top. I cleared some of the vegetation that had taken over a narrow strip behind the polytunnel. I repaired the fence there earlier this year and have been thinking that it would be a good spot for some trained fruit trees. It it south facing and it protected but not shaded by the polytunnel on the south. It is about 4-5m long and has a corner with a short length (~1.2m) of east facing fencing. I can't make my mind up what to plant. Some things I'm considering are pear or apple cordons to complement the other varieties, an apricot fan (but I don't think I have the height) or a quince fan or cordon (anyone know if you can successfully train them as cordons?). I need to get moving if I'm going to be able to order something before the nursery stock run out. The other job for yesterday was carving a pumpkin for Halloween. Of course it had to have a forest garden theme... I caught up with some of my timelapse photos of the garden and put together this short video of the fruit tree blossom this spring. It runs from the 4th April to the 22nd May. If you view it at full size you can see the different trees coming into flower. First up are the cherries, then pears, apples and finally quince. I haven't noted the times for the different varieties, but there is a definite order within the different apple trees. This week the pear trees in the garden are out in full bloom. The cherry trees are just a little behind them and the earliest of the apple trees (Redsleeves) has a few flowers. It's one of my favourite times of year when the fruit trees come into flower and they transform the garden. Everything else in the garden is growing away now too. The rhubarb is ready, wild garlic is in leaf and the peppermint is coming up all over the place. The red-veined sorrel is in full leaf and lots of tiny self-seeded seedlings are coming up, including a few from last year that are a bit larger. Hopefully that means it is spreading on its own.
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.
Things are changing fast now in the garden. The large pear tree has lost much of its blossom, washed off by the rain or blown away by the wind, leaving confetti on the ground as a reminder. The small pear cordon still has most of its blossom though. The sour cherry half-standard is covered in open blossom and you can see it emerging here. The sweet cherry fan has fewer flowers and they are starting to fade. The flowers on the apples are starting to open up. The Redsleeves came first, then some on the Tydeman's Late, then the Annie Elizabeth which has a beautiful red colour to the outside of the petals. So far this apple is showing no sign of the lime-induced chlorosis that it suffered from last year - I'll follow that up when the leaves are bigger. About 10% of the flowers on the existing apple at the end of the garden are out now. The flowers on the Court of Wick are just starting to appear. My neighbour also has a big standard apple that is now in full bloom and looks beautiful. So it looks as though there should be plenty of overlap in flowering times between the apples and hopefully that will lead to really good pollination. One thing I've noticed is the difference in scents from the blossoms. None of them are very strong, the pear blossom has a slightly fishy smell, the cherries don't seem to smell at all and the apples have a really nice rose-like smell. Flowers are starting to appear on the quince tree too now. The tree is interesting because it flowers after it has put on some growth in the spring, unlike the rest of the trees which flower from buds that are there at the start of the spring. Lower down there are other plants in flower now too. Rosemary has small delicate blue flowers, the grape hyacinths are fading, but Spanish bluebells are taking their place. Forget-me-nots and dandelions are still going strong. One of the blueberries has developed its pale bell shaped flowers and the other's flowers are developing shortly behind.
The large pear tree has been in flower for a few days now. The first flowers opened on the 17 April and now they are nearly all open. It is making the garden look very spring-like. The flowers on the nearby cordon (Onwards) have just started to open on the 21 April - see below. Hopefully this might be just close enough to pollinate some of the larger pear tree flowers. There are a few flowers on the larger tree that have still to open so hopefully these will be pollinated by the Onwards tree. The flowers started to develop at the beginning of April and I captured the process in a time lapse video. Other trees in the garden are starting to develop flowers too. The sweet cherry fan is in flower and the acid cherry and apples have young flower buds. All of these flowers are making the garden a beautiful place to be at the moment. There are lots of bees and other insects enjoying them too. I'm also seeing an unexpected benefit of cutting down the huge Leylandii at the end of the garden - I now have a view of lots of different trees, half of which are in bloom too. It feels like a small woodland spread across all the gardens. Hopefully that's how it looks to the wildlife too.
Spring is definitely on its way. I saw the first butterfly of the year today - a yellow one flying through the garden. It was probably a Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni). The sun was out today and warming the mulch up around the trees. I noticed lots of small spiders scurrying around on the ground. The buds are developing on the pear and quince trees too - see the pictures below. When I planned the original tree planting there were a few trees that I couldn't get hold of at the time. I wanted to plant an edible hawthorn to introduce some different fruit, because they apparently do well on chalky soils and are also ornamental. Having looked at the Plants for a Future database I settled on Crataegus schraderiana and ordered one from the Agroforestry Research Trust. Looking back at the pfaf listing, I had missed the part about the smell of the flowers - hopefully it won't be too stong or last too long! I'll give it a try anyway.
I also realised that I can get in a couple of cordons, one on either side of the sweet cherry growing along the west-facing wall. I've ordered a Concorde pear for one side, as I thought a pear would benefit more from the heat of the wall. I chose that variety because it is supposed to be of very good quality and it's flowering time fits in with the other pear cordon I planted (Onwards). In some ways it might have been better to choose a variety with a slightly different flowering time to make sure that the existing pear is fertilised, but I liked the sound of the Concorde, so I will wait and hope that they will all be compatible. I'm going to leave the space at the other side of the cherry tree for another year as it currently has a small stack of Leylandii logs being seasoned for firewood (I'm hoping that most of the resin will get washed out if I leave them long enough). I was thinking that I would like to get an older, more unusual apple variety, but I will wait and see how the other trees do before I decide. |
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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