Orchard planting

[Gilberdyke John]

and luckily enough, feral pigeon are not protected so no need to justify their control to packam and his ill educated mob

Some expensive shooting equipment being used here.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

they do make me chuckle, I have a friend who does a lot of fox lamping (essential now due to restrictions on using hounds) the amount of money he has spent on mahoosive scopes, night sights and 'state of the art' gunsmithing, yet he is no better at the job than the lad I mentored who uses midrange off the shelf rifles, ammunition, scope and lamp systems.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Blimey, this has been busy while I was away!

Thank you for all the comments - it's making me consider things I hadn't thought of (rootstock, wind protection, hive locations, etc.). It definitely shows why this forum is well worth being a member of.


That would literally make me weep. I hate food wastage.

We've got one nearby now (we don't own the land we're currently on) and we've managed it through careful inspection and raking, but we will keep an eye on it. My wife is definitely in your camp in terms of taking it down. It's in the Green Belt though, so I'd need to check if I need permission.

I'll take a look at that! The whole apple discussion has got me really thinking about what I want to grow. It's almost too much information. (In my line of work we call that "analysis paralysis".)

Good point, I need to carefully consider that.

The perimeter of the site is being planted with a hedgerow, which should reduce the wind somewhat, but it's a big field, so more protection is likely to be needed. I'll take a look at Alder.

Thanks - that's worthwhile knowing.

Thanks again everybody.

Just found my old notebook with a note from my uncle regards some of the old apple trees in the garden - he had a neighbour who could identify apple types, too late unfortunately for the best of my trees (two lovely eaters|) as they had both gone over the autumn before. Together with Lane's Prince Albert which is a lovely cooker originally a cross between a cooking apple and a 'sharp' eater - which if you leave them until they are on the point of falling do make a decent eater I would strongly recommend is Newton's wonder, it's a cooker that will cook down to a creamy 'puree' without the need to mash or fiddle with in any way, SWMBO likes to eat then uncooked towards the end of the season, they are not sharp at all and apparently are good in a salad (whatever that is)

 

[JamezF]

good in a salad (whatever that is)

Possibly this sort of thing:

Chicken and bacon salad | Sainsbury`s Magazine

Or I did have a fantastic smoked chicken salad at a local pub a while back. Note to self: build a hot smoker...

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Possibly this sort of thing:

Chicken and bacon salad | Sainsbury`s Magazine

Or I did have a fantastic smoked chicken salad at a local pub a while back. Note to self: build a hot smoker...

James

yes, but they keep spoiling meals like that by substituting chips with lettuce!

 

[Rob38]

How about throwing in a quince? strictly speaking more of a bush than a tree but great for jams and preserves

 

[Goran]

How about throwing in a quince? strictly speaking more of a bush than a tree but great for jams and preserves

If planting quinces, ones apple shaped are better than pear shaped.. More tasty and smaller stone cells in apple shaped.
" Leskovačka dunja" or maybe at your place " Quince Leskovac" is considered at my place best quince which exist on the world.. It is partially self fertile.

 

[BoothBees]

Thanks both. I'll add it to my list.

 

[ericbeaumont]

take a look at Alder

Excellent source of spring pollen. Invest also in Plants for Bees by Kirk & Howes.

 

[ericbeaumont]

" Quince Leskovac" is considered at my place best quince which exist on the world

About ten years ago I planted a quince Kranja on the allotment and it fruits well, but the ripening fruit goes brown inside very quickly. What causes this, Goran? The soil dries out in the summer and is not rich.

Kranja was developed at a Russian research station and was supposed to be edible from the tree (not true!).

 

[Goran]

About ten years ago I planted a quince Kranja on the allotment and it fruits well, but the ripening fruit goes brown inside very quickly. What causes this, Goran? The soil dries out in the summer and is not rich.

Kranja was developed at a Russian research station and was supposed to be edible from the tree (not true!).

Determining the harvest time.. Also some prevention before harvesting, treating with " Bellis" helps keeping the fruit longer ( keeps fungal diseases suppressed)..
I don't know much about quinces, though we have " Quince Leskovac" and one young from one very old quince ( which I think is some variety of Quince Leskovac) for our own needs.. Quince I also like to eat fresh without cooking - these we have, I just peel it off.

In apples, usually I came in touch when water core turn into rotten core.. The more You overdue harvest, the bigger is chance it will develop water core and more severe. It can be reversed in storage if not heavy ( water can retract into cells). Also some apple varieties are more susceptible than others. Let's say Fuji is like obligatory, and harvest window must be obeyed. Mostly I could reverse its water core before putting into ULO regime, but it needs to play with..
Also bigger fruits are more susceptible than small ones.

 

[ericbeaumont]

prevention before harvesting

Advice given so far is that the soil is too dry (not usually a problem with London clay) and alkaline (lot of gravel in the soil). The Bellis looks useful, though the brown appears internally and the skin remains beautifully yellow.

Somehow I mangled the name and contorted Vranja and Krymsk, which is the one I have.

I think you're right: pick earlier.

 

[Goran]

Advice given so far is that the soil is too dry (not usually a problem with London clay) and alkaline (lot of gravel in the soil). The Bellis looks useful, though the brown appears internally and the skin remains beautifully yellow.

Somehow I mangled the name and contorted Vranja and Krymsk, which is the one I have.

I think you're right: pick earlier.

I took a pic today of our quinces, it is their " fur" on them, not dirt, I didn't shine them to look better:

 

[BoothBees]

I've been window shopping (albeit online) and I think I've settled on a few candidates to start the orchard. In total I think I can afford around 30 trees.

- Blenheim Orange Apple
- Coxs Orange Apple
- Ellisons Orange Apple
- Sweetheart Cherry
- Sunburst Cherry
- Colney Cherry
- Beth Pear
- Beurre Hardy Pear
- Concorde Pear
- Victoria Plum

The main thing I need o focus on is making sure

 

[Rob38]

Nice selection there, I love a nice mixed fruit tree orchard. Victoria plum is a favourite

 

[BoothBees]

The main thing I need o focus on is making sure

Never post on Terrible WiFi. That's literally not everything I wrote.

It should have said ... making sure I learn how to correctly plant and care for the trees, and to make sure the soil conditions are correct. I plan to take soil samples.

Nice selection there, I love a nice mixed fruit tree orchard. Victoria plum is a favourite

I'm really excited to get it going!

Depending on how much land my wife lets me pinch for my own uses, I could do anything from a 9 by 9 orchard (81 trees) up to a 15 by 15 orchard (225 trees). I definitely don't need 225 trees. I could never eat, store, use or sell that much fruit. It'd look nice though.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

hope you have a convenient water source there, fruit trees need a heck of a lot of water the first few months after planting

 

[BoothBees]

hope you have a convenient water source there, fruit trees need a heck of a lot of water the first few months after planting

I hope I do too! (we're getting water quoted as horses also need a lot of water!)

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I hope I do too! (we're getting water quoted as horses also need a lot of water!)

when my father was alive, the 17 acre smallholding we had the horses and cattle on was a fair stride from the road through another smallholding, there was a stream running on one boundary and my father eventually found where he thought the old well was, but both would dry out in any prolonged dry period, it was a daily trek to carry the water (the lane to the farm was virtually undrivable) over two fields to the farm, we did it with a milk churn carried between us or five gallon jerrycans - my grandfather said we were lightweights as until they had water piped in to where they lived in the early 1960's he would carry a milk churn of water over the same distance on his own! we eventually rented the land between our holding and the road and as that farm was still occupied we only had to carry it a few hundred yards then!

 

[BoothBees]

when my father was alive, the 17 acre smallholding we had the horses and cattle on was a fair stride from the road through another smallholding, there was a stream running on one boundary and my father eventually found where he thought the old well was, but both would dry out in any prolonged dry period, it was a daily trek to carry the water (the lane to the farm was virtually undrivable) over two fields to the farm, we did it with a milk churn carried between us or five gallon jerrycans - my grandfather said we were lightweights as until they had water piped in to where they lived in the early 1960's he would carry a milk churn of water over the same distance on his own! we eventually rented the land between our holding and the road and as that farm was still occupied we only had to carry it a few hundred yards then!

Your grandad sounds tough as old boots.

We have a horse box we can transport water in, if needed. While annoying, it won't be the hard labour you described. Hopefully water won't be too expensive, It depends if they have to close the road to lay the pipes. That'll hurt.