Ivy sloes and chestnuts

BeeJayBee · Oct 22, 2012

BeeJoyful said:
Only about a dozen eating apples survived through to ripening.

Oops, I meant cooking apples - we had no dessert apples, not a single one.

garlicpickle said:
I remember it raining hard for a solid week at apple blossom time so I guess the bees just couldn't get out to pollinate the flowers

Our apple/pear/cherry etc blossom was pollinated, the trees were covered with developing fruit, which initially promised a good harvest, but it dropped before ripening. Same happened with some sloes and elders we were keeping an eye on.

richardbees · Oct 22, 2012

Justme

A Niece moved to Cornwall from S London four years ago and still can't believe how bad the weather is.
I remember that trains (in the old days) used to carry little advertisements under the luggage racks. Notably a happy tanned family frolicking on the heath / surf - "Visit the sunny Cornish Riviera"

I've had a record plum crop, lousy blackberries - but haven't seen a sloe in years!

Teemore · Oct 23, 2012

There is a real dearth of Sloes and Damsons in my locale (County Armagh) and the same goes for Acorns in my immediate vicinity. Normally the grey squirrels and crows are going to town on the acorns at this time of year. The grey squirrels are making great inroads into the horse chestnuts/conkers which seem ot be at their normal levels. A few miles away and there are oaks with a light crop of acorns....
Around me there seems ot be a really good crop of haws.

enrico · Oct 23, 2012

Nigel2 said:
500 nuts!!! last year we collected over 70 kilos, but the weather here has also hit the walnuts and we will be lucky to get 20 kilo this year! (and no Apples!)
The bees are busy here on the ivy and with temperatures expected to remain around 22°c for the next few days nodoubt they will continue with this late harvest.

Obviously you don't have grey squirrels!
E