THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
SLOG QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 7 – SPRING 2011
* FRUIT GROWING *
*CONSERVING LOCAL ORCHARDS*
*PROMOTING HERITAGE VARIETIES*
www.slorchards.co.uk
In this Issue
Editorial
Forthcoming Events
Recent Events
Fruit-Full Schools
“How not to grow fruit trees”
Orchard Profile : Brantwood
Fruit Focus : Crab Apples
New Rootstock : M116
Grafting to Order/Trees for Sale
National Trust Orchard Project
Robin Page talk Poster
1
2
3
3
4
7
8
9
9
10
11
Editorial
On Friday March 18th SLOG will hold it’s most
ambitious meeting yet. We have invited a
significant national speaker, Robin Page, to
speak at the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal. The
objectives are numerous: in addition to the
obvious opportunity to listen to and question a
Countryside Champion, it is a chance for SLOG
to raise its public profile and to recruit new
members. We hope it will also appeal to all
members, indeed we hope members will turn
out in force for what promises to be a
fascinating and provocative evening. Robin
Page is a former presenter of the well-loved TV
programme, One Man and His Dog. Robin’s
talk is entitled: ‘A Walk in an English
Orchard’, but no doubt he will talk about a
range of subjects with the honesty and
forthrightness for which he is nationally known.
As well as being a scourge of the establishment,
Robin is an entertaining yet thought-provoking
speaker who is passionate in his views and love
of the English countryside and all things rural.
He was born on a small family farm which he
still runs, in Barton, Cambridgeshire. Robin is
founder and Chairman of the Countryside
Restoration Trust (which includes a traditional
orchard amongst its farms, see its website
http://www.livingcountryside.org.uk/), Patron
of Save Our (red) Squirrels and a Council
Member of the National Trust. He has regular
columns in The Daily Telegraph, The
Countryman and the Shooting Times – although
he does not shoot - and regularly contributes to
the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. In addition
to his talk, Robin will also answer questions and
sign books: he is a prolific author (31 books)
such as Rustic Rebel, Revolting Peasant etc.
This is an evening not to be missed!
We will have a SLOG membership stand at the
talk which will feature our latest purchase: the
new “Shark” electric fruit mill which, coupled
with the small apple press will speed up the
process and significantly increase extraction rate
at next season’s harvest.
Our sister group NCOG (North Cumbrian
Orchard Group) are now fully functional and
have established a schedule of meetings for
2011. We have agreed a reciprocal membership
arrangement with them so that their members
can attend SLOG meetings and SLOG members
can attend NCOG meetings. For details of
NCOG
meetings,
visit
the
website:
http://www.slorchards.co.uk/SLOGevents.html
SLOG will also have a busy schedule of events
this year (see page 2), starting with pruning and
grafting days and involving two orchard visits.
Now that the frost is out of the ground, it’s time
to plant trees such as those you grafted a year
ago. If your grafts didn’t take, have another go
next month (details page 2), or else use SLOG’s
“Grafting to Order” programme to get the
variety you want on the ideal rootstock – for
THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
details see page 8.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
For the most up-to-date information look in:
http://www.slorchards.co.uk/SLOGevents.html
Saturday 5th March 11am-4pm Grafting
Workshop, Growing Well, Sizergh
Graft your own apple trees using a choice of
M26 or MM106 rootstocks at £2.50 each and a
wide range of scion wood varieties. Led by
Hilary with advice available from other
experienced members. Bring your own Stanley
knife (a few will be provided) and gardening
gloves for protection. Wear suitable footwear as
the path to the yurts may be muddy. Start time
from 11am with demonstrations through to 4pm
so you can join in the morning or afternoon, or
bring a picnic and stay all day! Note that 11am2pm is exclusive to SLOG members while 24pm is open to both SLOG members and
Growing Well Customers. DIRECTIONS: On the
A591 south from Kendal, turn into the car park at
Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop and Tearooms. Park
at the far end of the car park and walk over the fields
past the chicken house as signposted.
Saturday 12th March - National Trust
Grafting Workshop at Acorn Bank,
Temple Sowerby, Penrith CA10 1SP
If you miss the SLOG workshop, try this one!
Organised by Chris & Sara Braithwaite,
assisted by Hilary and others. Learn all about
grafting and graft your own trees to take away
with you. Places must be pre-booked, charge to
be advised. Directions:
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/wfindaplace/w-acornbankgardenandwatermill.htm
Friday March 18th. Doors open at
7.00pm for an 8.00pm start. Robin Page
gives the SLOG Celebrity Talk. Castle
Green Hotel, Kendal. Tickets £7.50 to
include refreshment.
Robin is a farmer, writer and conservationist.
Founder of the Countryside Restoration Trust,
he sits on the Council of the National Trust and
is patron of Save our Squirrels. An entertaining
speaker and a thorn in the flesh of politicians
and bureaucrats. For tickets, contact Ros on
applepress@slorchards.co.uk tel: 01539
741943 or Andy on
andyjgilchrist@hotmail.co.uk tel: 01539 727772
DIRECTIONS: Castle Green Hotel, Castle
Green Lane, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 6RG
Saturday 16th April, Damson Day at Low
Farm, Lyth Valley This event enjoyed
beautiful weather last time and attracted record
crowds so we hope for more of the same in
2011. SLOG stand will be there. Keep an eye
on the WDA website on
http://www.lythdamsons.org.uk/index.html
Directions: Take A590 to Gilpin Bridge, then A5074
direction Bowness for 2 miles to Low Farm
Saturday 21st May 2.00-4.00pm - Spring
orchard visit to Kentmere
We are visiting Mark Kidd's organically certified
orchard in Kentmere. The older orchard is
mostly apples planted fairly close on a hilly site
of about 1 acre, and Mark has a new 'traditional'
style orchard in the process of being planted
lower down. He has 3 miniature sheep which
graze under the trees (a special breed that don't
strip the bark). There are some bee hives for
pollination. The oldest trees are about 4 years
now and he sells the fruit at the gate and at
markets. DIRECTIONS: Sunny Orchard Farm,
Kentmere Rd., Staveley, Cumbria LA8 9JF
This is just on the main road to Kentmere on the
right. Approx a mile from Staveley. You will see the
sign 'Duck eggs for sale'. There is parking for 6/7
cars and more space on the road.
Saturday May 28th and Sunday May 29th
CountryFest, at the Westmorland
Showground, Lane Farm, Crooklands,
Kendal.
Last year’s show attracted over 9,000 visitors.
We will have our stand in the Grow Your Own
area. For more information go to:
http://www.westmorlandshow.co.uk/index.html
Tues July 26th 7.30pm – SLOG AGM at
Levens Institute
This is your chance to air your views on what
SLOG should or should not be doing and help
shape our future strategy.
Saturday July 30th – Summer Orchard
Visit, Briery Bank, Arnside
This is a beautiful old traditional orchard,
restored by SLOG member Peter Goulder,
which contains a wide range of old varieties,
situated on the hillside overlooking Morecambe
Bay
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THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
Saturday August 20th – Budding
Workshop, Growing Well, Sizergh
WINTER TALK
Monday 6th
December, Levens Institute
Despite sub-zero temperatures, a hardy group of
twenty or so SLOG members turned out for our
annual winter talk supplemented by an apple
tasting competition, a bring-and-buy table, a
raffle and the first sales of our own SLOG
Recipe Book.
The apple tasting comprised of ten different
varieties which were all peeled so that
judgement had to be made on taste alone
without the clues of appearance based on skin,
size and shape. Hugh Connor scored eight out of
ten to win the Cooker, Eater or Russet?
category. The Local or Supermarket? category
resulted in a tie between Hugh Connor and
Mark Evens who each scored eight out of ten.
However, determining the variety from the list
of ten varieties proved extremely difficult and
the winner with three out of ten was Nick
Birkby. The clear favourite for taste was
Pitmaston Pineapple, with Adam’s Pearmain
second and Herefordshire Russet third. Very
few tried to estimate retail prices, so for the
record the Gala and Golden delicious from
ASDA both cost £1.40/kg. This compares with
Morrison’s prices ranging from £0.84/kg for
Dutch Jonagold (always cheapest) to £2.99/kg
for New Zealand Jazz. Why would anyone pay
£2.99 plus the carbon footprint for apples flown
halfway round the world when you could buy
English Cox at £1.37/kg? Or better still, grow
your own favourite variety to eat fresh from the
tree with a variable cost of zero and a carbon
footprint of zero!
Our speaker, Simon McDonald, explained how
he and his business partner, Gareth Ellis
founded Lancashire Cider (in their spare time)
because the microbrewery segment was very
competitive but nobody was brewing cider
commercially in North Lancashire despite a
surfeit of apples going to waste. He stressed the
importance for a new business of developing
relationships
with
other
people
and
organisations to create opportunities and solve
problems. Despite all the media stories of
difficulties in dealing with government bodies
such as Customs & Excise etc it was refreshing
to hear how helpful some of these bodies had
been. Once established, Simon realised he
needed access to real cider apple varieties in
order to create a quality product and he
explained how he and Gareth developed a
business relationship with a local farmer and
planted over 250 apple trees, the majority being
cider varieties. It was clear that Simon is
passionate about his business, innovative and
committed to make it a success. The only
disappointment was that all his product was
committed to retail customers and he had no
samples to offer! Nevertheless, we are very
grateful to Simon for making time between
finishing his last cider production batch and
starting an employment contract with British
Aerospace to give us an entertaining talk and
answering the many questions in considerable
detail.
SLOG PRUNING WORKSHOP
Saturday 12th February
About 25 members gathered at Halecat Orchard
in Witherslack equipped with secateurs etc for a
“hands-on” pruning session. The weather was
bright and sunny as Adele and Bob explained
the theory and practice of winter pruning. Sarah
Bradley kindly provided tea and cakes to round
off a pleasant and instructive afternoon.
FRUIT-FULL SCHOOLS
by Stuart Lockton
The national charity Learning through
Landscapes, in partnership with Garden
Organic and Common Ground, has developed
an exciting national project enabling thousands
of children to establish heritage fruit orchards
within their school grounds and in partnership
with their local communities. The project has
been awarded a National Lottery Local Food
grant and started in January 2010.
Fruit-full Schools will stimulate children’s
knowledge of cultural diversity and engage
them in hands-on learning about the benefits of
local fruit. 65,000 children will participate in
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THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
cultural festivals such as Wassailing, Apple Day
and other creative celebrations across England.
Schools will share experiences and access
learning resources through the national Apple
Club - the online hub of all activities - developed
in partnership with the UK champion for local
distinctiveness, Common Ground.
If you wish to contact Stuart, he can be reached
on stuart@activelearning.org.uk
HOW NOT TO GROW
FRUIT TREES
The story of an orchard’s battle against
adversity and man’s stupidity
by Mark Evens
The project will culminate in a national
campaign in which young people encourage
members of the community to sample local fruit
varieties and sign up to the ‘100,000 Reasons
Why I Love Local Fruit’ campaign.
50 secondary schools across England are
already engaged in the project. In North West
England Stuart Lockton is the Regional Coordinator; he is working with 5 schools spread
between Carlisle and Birkenhead.
Over the past year pupils have been learning
about heritage apples and have organised
school apple days.
Pupils from Sir Thomas Boteler School, Warrington visiting Norton
Prior orchard.
Next month Stuart will lead grafting workshops
in the schools. This will be the start of new
apple orchards in each of these schools, with
pupils grafting and caring for local and heritage
varieties of apples in nurseries, meanwhile they
will be entering a national orchard design
competition.
Once pupils in the 5 secondary schools have
gained the knowledge of their own trees, they
will work with surrounding primary schools to
establish at least 15 more new school orchards.
Part II : Selecting Varieties
The intention all along was to plant mainly
apples, with just a few pears and plums. The
reasoning for this was that apples keep, or else
can be juiced or turned into cider. Also, even I
recognised that here might be a tough location
for pears. I undertook some extensive research
into varieties of apples and drew up a “short
list” of 61 different varieties. In doing this I was
greatly helped by Ian Roger, of R.V. Roger
Nurseries, Peter Blackburne-Maze, Brian Gale
and Hilary Wilson (who was particularly helpful
as regards what might do well in Cumbria). The
list was then narrowed down based on alleged
suitability for the climate, disease resistance
(particularly to scab and canker) and last, but
not least, alleged qualities for flavour, keeping,
juicing and cider. The plan to make cider was
quite an important element, so a number of
traditional cider apple varieties were chosen,
which I am not sure has been done before in
North Cumbria! The cooking apples would be
for use in cider (to give acid balance) and juice,
as well as for cooking. The eventual selection
and reasoning was as follows.
Annie
Elizabeth
Locally grown
keeping
cooker.
Laxton’s
Superb
Ashmead’s
Kernel
Good flavour
dessert and
locally grown.
Lord
Derby
Belle de
Boskoop
Good disease
resistance and
versatile.
Lord
Lambourne
Bramley’s
seedling
It was there
already.
Major
Sweet
dessert.
Said to do
well in the
North.
Good
disease
resistance.
(Cooker)
Generally
liked and
grown
locally.
High
tannin
cider
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THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
Brownlee’s
Russet
Good disease
resistance.
Said to be
good flavour
dessert.
Monarch
Bittersweet
cider apple.
Newton
Wonder
Unique
flavour
dessert.
Disease
resistant.
“Enjoys sea
air”. But needs
hot summer to
ripen well!!
Early eater
and juicer.
Orleans
Reinette
Duke of
Devonshire
Bred in
Cumbria (ish).
(Dessert)
Ribston
Pippin
Egremont
Russet
Not Cumbrian,
but someone
persuaded me
to grow it.
Rosemary
Russet
Recommended
by a local
grower. Said
to be Cox-like
dessert.
Scotch
Bridget
Cooker which
can be used in
cider. Said to
do well in wet
regions.
Cooker which
can be used in
cider (AKA
Tom
Matthews
cider apple).
Said to do
well in the
North.
Sunset
Dabinett
D’Arcy
Spice
Discovery
Fiesta
Forge
Golden
Spire
Rev. W.
Wilkes
Tom Putt
apple.
Sweet
cooker
which may
be OK in
cider too.
Said to
like wet
conditions.
Sweet
cooker.
Good
disease
resistance.
Good
disease
resistance
and good
flavour,
but needs
warmth to
develop!
Cooker
which
should
handle wet
conditions.
Good
flavour.
Widely
grown in
North.
Good
disease
resistance.
Good
flavoured
dessert.
Multipurpose
apple with
fragrant
juice.
Grown
widely in
NorthWest.
Cox-like
dessert.
Grown
locally.
Cooker
and cider
apple.
Grown
locally.
Katy
Early dessert
which can be
used in cider.
Tremlett’s
Bitter
Keswick
Codling
Of course!
Winston
Lane’s
Prince
Albert
Keeping
cooker with
good disease
resistance.
High
tannin
cider
apple.
Good
disease
resistance.
Hardy.
Keeps
well.
Two and a half years on, it is clear that some
varieties are doing better than others. The
biggest
disappointment is the
Fiesta. I read recently in “The Fruit Garden
Displayed” that it is “prone to toxicity and
canker on acid soils less than pH 6”. I can testify
to this. Most of my Fiesta has been hit by a
severe
form
of peeling, papery bark canker
Figure
1: Papery
bark canker on
Fiesta
canker on Fiesta
Some varieties, such as Lord Lambourne, are
naturally less vigorous. Other varieties
(particularly the triploid ones) are much more
vigorous. This can Figure 2: Lane's
cause
problems Prince Albert. Note
with wind damage the deer fences.
(see below under
“staking”). The trees with vigorous but whippy
growth (i.e. more like a plum) have done well
and cope with wind better. Examples are
Laxton’s Superb, Duke of
Devonshire and Dabinett. The Newton Wonder
is supposed to be vigorous, but mine isn’t. Also,
it seems to be inclined to flower on the tips,
which Newton Wonder isn’t supposed to do, so
maybe it isn’t Newton Wonder. For some reason
the Lane’s Prince Albert is doing very well. This
is not supposed to be a vigorous tree, but mine
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THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
is growing well and fruiting too! (see Fig.2). As
regards the plums and pears, there wasn’t half as
much science in the selection – more a question
of getting a variety of ripening periods, crosspollination and some chance of coping with the
conditions. I settled on a Damson (Shropshire
Prune), Marjorie’s seedling plum, Greengage
(some hope!), Rivers’ Early Prolific plum,
Hessle pear, Concord, Williams Bon Chrétien,
and Conference. All except for the Conference
seem to be growing OK but not fruiting yet. The
Conference has the wettest spot in the orchard,
next to the beck and is suffering badly from
canker.
Lastly a word about rootstocks. For the apples, I
chose MM106. I didn’t want dwarf trees, but I
did want to be able to pick them easily (although
cider apples can be shaken off). I harboured the
thought that, once established, I might be able to
let sheep back in the orchard to save me mowing
the grass. To that end I decided to go for a halfstandard form. With the benefit of hindsight
(again) I might have been better to have selected
a slightly more vigorous stock (such as M111)
for the less vigorous varieties, or to have gone
for a more intensive planting of bush trees and
forget the sheep. Instead, I think that some of
the trees may be a bit small to put sheep under,
whereas others may need constant summer
pruning to keep in check. The trouble is that
most nurseries do not offer M111. Maybe the
best thing would have been to have grafted them
all myself…? The plums are on “St Julien A”
and the pears on “Quince A”, both of which are
semi-vigorous (or semi-dwarfing, depending on
your point of view).
Planting and staking
Planting was greatly helped by having ploughed
the furrows (5 spits wide). Nevertheless,
planting over 100 trees is not to be undertaken
lightly. In planting, I think I made one good
decision and two bad ones (about the best ratio I
can usually hope for). The good decision was to
use woven polypropylene mulch mats (“tree
spats”) 18” square and pre-cut to go round the
trunk. These were easy to apply and have done a
great job of keeping down the weeds near the
trees.
The first bad decision was to use the spiral
“rabbit guards”. They do keep the rabbits off,
but have a number of disadvantages: they are
awkward if the tree is feathered and in any case
sappy feathers will grow inside them; they don’t
protect against deer or other large marauding
beasts; when you do take them off, the bark is
more tender than if it had been left exposed. It
would have been better to fence them properly.
The second bad decision was to use only canes
for staking. I had thought that as they were only
maiden whip plants, they wouldn’t need more
than a cane and a bit of bending in the wind
would make them grow stronger. I hadn’t
reckoned that some of them would grow quite
quickly such that the roots were not well enough
developed to anchor the tree in a strong wind. In
retrospect, I should have put in a stout stake
when I planted them, however silly it might
have looked. I ended up staking them all within
the first year. The advice, if staking after
planting, is to drive the stakes in at 45 degrees,
to avoid damaging the roots. This is very hard
work. It also means that the tree is more likely
to blow against the stake causing bark damage
as happened to a number of them this summer
(particularly Tom Putt and Belle de Boskoop). I
have had to re-stake the vulnerable trees
vertically, which would have been easier and
more sensible in the first place!
The trees were planted into ordinary soil (no
compost) with a bit of bonemeal added. Some of
them were treated to a mycorrhizal fungus dip.
As far as I can see this made no difference at all
and was just a waste of money and time.
Protection
We have huge numbers of rabbits in the orchard,
hence the use of rabbit guards. In the first year a
deer arrived and ate the top off one of the
Golden Spires. To discourage them I bought one
of the movement detectors that shines a light
and plays the radio at them. As recommended in
the instructions, I tuned it to a station with
mostly human voices (Radio 4). I’m not sure it
is very effective. Although we haven’t seen
much of the deer, I suspect they may gather
round to listen to the radio at night. I have
visions of going into the orchard early one
morning to see them all listening to “Farming
Today”.
Deciding that Radio 4 alone was probably an
insufficient deterrent, I put plastic mesh fences
4ft high around every tree. This seemed easier,
cheaper and less ugly than putting a big fence
6
THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
round the whole orchard and also meant that I
could do away with the rabbit guards. There
hasn’t been any further damage from animals,
but the fences bring their own problems in that
the trees rub against them and damage the bark.
If I’d put the stakes in vertically, then this would
have been easily dealt with.
[Ed-this is the second part of a three-part series. In
the next quarter Mark discusses pruning, orchard
management and his conclusions]
ORCHARD PROFILE
BRANTWOOD
Brantwood was the home of the Victorian
writer, artist, critic, social reformer and
conservationist John Ruskin from 1872 until his
death aged 80 in 1900. The estate comprises 250
acres of gardens, pastures and woodland
stretching from lakeside to open fell. There are
eight different gardens, which continue Ruskin’s
own experiments in horticulture and land
management. Close to the zig-zag path are two
apple trees which date from Ruskin’s time; a
Galloway Pippin and a Bramley’s Seedling, both
of which, despite being around 120 years old,
have been rejuvenated by hard pruning. Closer
to the house, in the Professor’s Garden, is a row
of cordons planted on M26 in 1992 using
Victorian varieties that are typical of what
would have been grown in Ruskin’s day.
Looking uphill, the seven dessert varieties on
the left are White Transparent, American
Mother, Brownlees Russet, Ribston Pippin,
Pitmaston Pineapple, Cornish Aromatic and
Roundway Magnum Bonum. On the right are
seven culinary varieties, Norfolk Beefing, Lord
Derby, Smart’s Prince Arthur, Lane’s Prince
Albert, French Crab, Golden Noble and Belle de
Boskoop. Lower down by the “Jumping Jenny”
restaurant are four young stepovers : Bradley’s
Beauty, Dumelow’s Seedling, Proctor’s
Seedling and Yorkshire Beauty which were
grafted under Hilary’s guidance at Acorn Bank.
The orchard, planted in 1989, is lower down on
the lake side of the road. Although it comprises
only nine trees, it is full of interest. It is here that
Head Gardener Sally Beamish is developing an
innovative orchard management system based
on biodynamic principles. These ideas
originated from Rudolf Steiner in 1924, who
integrated the principles of organic farming with
“natural preparations” and the astrocalendar to
advocate a holistic approach to agriculture. A
descending lunar rhythm is believed to make sap
flow less active, accordingly for this year
pruning was planned for 22-25 February; 15-18
and 20-24 March. Entering the orchard, the first
of the twenty-two year old trees is a vigorous
half-standard Keswick Codlin on MM106, then a
Ribston Pippin, two Beauty of Bath, Grenadier,
two Egremont Russet, Edward VII and Court
Pendu Plat, mostly bush trees, some on M26,
some on MM106. The trees originated from
nurseries as diverse as Deacons on the Isle of
Wight and Tweedies of Dumfries, some arriving
by boat! The Court Pendu Plat had suffered
from canker, but under the biodynamic regime it
has recovered; the scars are still visible but no
longer sporulating. However, coral spot (early
canker symptom) has now appeared on the
Keswick Codlin and Beauty of Bath, so
although a battle has been won, the war is not
yet over. The orchard is grassed down and
mown, despite this the trees are vigorous and set
too much fruit which then needs to be
handthinned, which on the Keswick Codlin in
particular amounts to a barrowful of surplus
fruitlets. The fruit, when harvested, is all made
use of; the best quality sold fresh, the next grade
used for cooking in Jumping Jenny restaurant,
and the surplus juiced and sold in the bottle so
nothing is wasted. Elsewhere in the garden are
two pears, a heavy-cropping Black Worcester
and a slightly more shy Jargonelle, whilst
against the south-facing wall of the house is a
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THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
fig, fruiting happily within a confined rootspace.
Sally has been at Brantwood just over twenty
years, during which time she has led
considerable restoration of the garden and
continues to initiate new ideas not least the
biodynamic project in the lakeside meadows and
adjoining orchard. As a charitable trust of
limited means, Brantwood relies on volunteers
to supplement its limited resources. One of our
SLOG members, Kathleen Robertshaw, is
already a volunteer there and will testify to the
happy team spirit. The views over Coniston
Water and beyond to the Coniston Old Man
range are magnificent, yet it is off the beaten
track, and surprisingly tranquil compared to
most Lake District “beauty spots”. So if you
fancy a spot of volunteer work in a peaceful
location with unrivalled views…..and/or if
you’re interested to learn more about
biodynamic apple growing - this is probably the
only biodynamic orchard in Cumbria - just call
Sally Beamish or enrol for a great one-day
course on 24th May entitled 'What in Heaven's
Name is Biodynamic Gardening?' See
Brantwood
website
for
more
details
http://www.brantwood.org.uk/courses.htm
or
contact
Kathleen
Robertshaw
at
kathleen101@btinternet.com
Website: www.brantwood.org.uk Open all year,
Wednesday – Sunday 11am – 4.30pm until 13th
March and from 14th November; open seven
days a week from 14th March to 13th November
11am – 5.30pm. Gardens admission £4.50.
Location 2½ miles from Coniston on B1234 on
east side of Coniston Water. The best way to
travel is by boat across the lake from Coniston,
either on the National Trust’s steam yacht
“Gondola” or Coniston Cruise’s solar-electric
launch, both of which arrive at Brantwood’s
own jetty at the foot of the orchard. Postcode for
Satnav: LA21 8AD Tel 015394 41396
has a range throughout Europe and Asia Minor.
Malus ‘Purple Prince’
The crab apple yields fruit which may be so
called in the sense that it has a culinary use in
preserves, but in truth many crabs have been
bred for ornamental purposes; either for the
colour of their blossom, fruit or foliage.
Nevertheless, their fruit is famous for crab apple
jelly, and is high in pectin making it useful for
setting jams. The RHS advise that flavour
improves if fruit is not harvested until after it
has been frosted. Crab apples bloom profusely
over a longer period than edible apples, making
them versatile pollinators. Birds enjoy eating the
fruit of wild crab apples, but will leave some
hybrids
untouched.
FRUIT FOCUS
CRAB APPLE
Crab apples are a more diverse group than
edible apples – the reason for this is that edible
apples belong to or are derived from the single
species Malus sylvestris, whereas there are over
30 species (and even more hybrids) of crab
apples in the genus Malus. The wild crab apple
also belongs to the species Malus sylvestris and
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THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
Royal Beauty retains its red fruit, providing winter colour
The Individual species such as Malus floribunda
(Japanese crab), will grow true from seed on
their own roots. However all varieties and
hybrids must be propagated by grafting or
budding onto the same range of rootstocks as for
edible apples. The best culinary hybrid is
generally reckoned to be ‘John Downie’ whose
red/yellow fruit are reputed to offer the best
flavour in preserves, although it is susceptible to
scab, especially here in Cumbria. ‘Golden
Hornet’ is the most popular yellow fruited
hybrid, whose fruit hang on the tree well into
winter, long after leaf fall, because the birds
shun it. ‘Red Sentinel’ has bright red fruit which
also persist though winter. ‘Profusion’ is grown
for its red blossom and (or despite) its purple
foliage. ‘Evereste’ has attractive white blossom
and red/yellow fruit which the birds seem to
like. New crab apple varieties are still being
bred, tested and introduced. One that shows
promise is ‘Jelly King’, with white blossom and
orange/red fruit, bred in New Zealand and
introduced here by Frank Matthews (amongst
others). The name implies suitability for crab
apple jelly, and it will be interesting to see if it
offers better resistance to scab than ‘John
Downie’. Wild crab apples can be grown as an
attractive hedge and www.hedgenursery.co.uk
offers bare root packs of 25 at reasonable prices.
Cultivation is very similar to edible apples.
Rogers of Pickering offer six different crab
apple varieties on MM106 or crab rootstock.
Ashridge trees offer 16 varieties, all as
standards. But the greatest range of varieties is
50, sold wholesale by Frank Matthews
www.frankpmatthews.com
NEW APPLE ROOTSTOCK
M116 is a new apple rootstock which has only
just become commercially available from Frank
P Matthews. Between MM106 and M26 in
vigour, this very productive rootstock has
resistance to collar rot/phytophthora, replant
disease and woolly aphid. As productive as
MM106 with 10% less vigour this is likely to
prove to be an all round performer for many
commercial (particularly cider) and amateur
situations. The journal “Horticulture Week” of
03.07.09 described it as follows: “The East
Malling Research rootstock M116, produced by
crossing MM106 and M27 in 1965 and thought
to be of little or no commercial value, is proving
to have a useful market niche.
This is thanks to Worcestershire-based grower
Frank P Matthews, which found that the
rootstock's main advantage over others is its
strong resistance to Phytophthora.
Nick Dunn, who runs Frank P Matthews,
explained that the performance of M116 is
similar to that of MM106 — the main difference
between the two being M116's resistance to
crown and collar rots.
He believes that this advantage could benefit
cider-apple growers and Northern Ireland's
Bramley growers, whose trees have to withstand
wet conditions.
"Cider growers are desperate, because they lose
up to five per cent of their trees a year due to
Phytophthora," said Dunn. "Every year we're
asked for thousands of replacement cider-apple
trees."
Arguably M116's main downside is that it is
very difficult to propagate by normal means,
such as by rooting hardwood cuttings - which, in
any case, is very expensive. Dunn uses tissue
culture, which is also expensive but has the
advantage of being much more reliable.
This operation is done by a contractor, which
provides plug plants that Frank P Matthews
grows on for a year before budding them. This
year, around 10,000 will be budded, probably
mostly with cider varieties for gapping up.
M116 is being trialled by the National
Association of Cider Makers (NACM) on three
West Country sites. The varieties involved are
Katy, as the control, Dabinet and three new
ones: Angela, Lizzy and Tina. They are on
M116, or M116 with a M9 interstock or Golden
Delicious interstem to help control growth. The
trees are spaced at 4.6m x 1.5m and supported
by a wire trellis.
"MM116 is supposed to be more resistant to
Phytophthora and replant disease," said NACM
orcharding adviser Liz Copas, who is running
the trial. "Phytophthora can be a killer. If you
get a wet winter, you can expect a lot of
infection in trees that are just coming into good
cropping."
SLOG has obtained a small batch of M116
which will be available at the 5th March Grafting
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THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
Workshop for evaluation under Cumbrian
conditions.
GRAFTING TO ORDER
The SLOG grafting to order service is again
available this winter. If you want a particular
variety on a particular rootstock, it can, subject
to availability, be grafted for you. Bob Bradley
is the co-ordinator for this service. Price is
unchanged at £15 per tree, buyer collects. Call
Bob on 015395 52340 with enquiries & orders.
Visit
http://www.slorchards.co.uk/List%20of%2
0Trees%20for%20Sale.html to see the list and for
guidance on purchase and collection.
News from the National Trust's
Orchard Project
The NT's Orchard Project will be finishing at the end
of March and all their current news is on the latest
Orchard Matters newsletter on the SLOG website
National Trust Orchard Project newsletter
TAILPIECE
APPLE TREES FOR SALE
SLOG still has a list of maiden apple trees for
sale at £13.50 each, comprising traditional
varieties suitable for our Northern climate
mainly on M25 & MM106 rootstocks all grafted
last spring.
“The Apple of Your Eye” is a quarterly publication,
the next one being the summer issue due mid-May.
Contributing articles, preferably in word.doc, are
welcome, along with photos where possible, by the
end of April 2011 to: newsletter@slorchards.co.uk
Disclaimer - The information in this newsletter is provided on
the understanding that SLOG makes no warranties, either
expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness,
reliability, or suitability of the information. Nor does SLOG
warrant that the use of this information is free of any claims of
copyright infringement.
The opinions expressed in this publication do not
neccessarily represent the views of SLOG.
© 2011 South Lakeland Orchard Group
Ros, Adele and Bob select maiden trees at Halecat to pot up for sale
10
THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
An Evening with
ROBIN PAGE
Robin Page is a farmer, writer and
conservationist. He founded the
Countryside Restoration Trust (CRT),
with the help of friends, and has seen it
grow to a national charity dealing with
farming and wildlife. The CRT now owns
five farms, a smallholding, a wood, and
several other parcels of land. He has
written thirty-one books and is expresenter of “One Man and His Dog”. He
is also on the Council of the National
Trust and is Patron of Save Our
Squirrels.
“A Walk in
an English
Orchard”
Friday 18th March
CASTLE GREEN HOTEL
(The Function House)
A684 (Sedbergh Road),
KENDAL, LA9 6RG
Starts 8.00pm
(doors open & refreshments
from 7.30pm)
Tickets £7.50
including
11
THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
refreshments
(tea/coffee)
LICENSED BAR
Tickets from:
Ros Taylor, Tel 01539 741943 email
applepress@slorchards.co.uk
Organised by
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