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I have an abundance of apples.
I have an abundance of apples.
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They are not Winston, unless my one is not Winston. Winston is red. It is also late (as yours is). My Winston is Sussex is easily three/four weeks of maturity and I am in Sussex!!
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gobbledegook - My Winston is easily 3/4 weeks off maturity, and I am in Sussex.
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Yes, I picked them yesterday Blackbarn, they do turn more golden russet on storage. I see there is a variety called Pitmaston russet too which does have some ressemblance but photographic colours can be misleading.
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Just guessed at Winston because it seems to come in all sorts of colours, is very popular - the sweet taste of Cox's, as Foinavon described, and the hardiness of the Worcester pearmain - and sets late in the season.
While you're around, I have a huge old apple tree in my garden that's been a great producer until this year. The blossom looked weak and then in June it shed its leaves. The mistletoe has all fallen off, which suggests there's little sap left, and it's attracting woodpeckers, which suggests the bark may be peeling. The only positive is that the branches aren't snapping when pulled, but apart from that, would you guess it's worth leaving in place until next spring and seeing what happens, or have it taken down before then and replace with a couple of saplings? Thanks. |
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Foinavon - Assuming Pitmaston Russet is the same as Pitmaston Pineapple, it is very small and would probably fruit with you starting around now (Am I right that you are in the Midlands?). The key feature of this apple is its distinctive taste - very strongly of pineapple - there is nothing like it.
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Its been a funny old year Screaming, so I would be inclined to leave it until normal blossom time next year, then deadwood it and see whats left.
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Yes, I'm in Hall Green which is South East Birmingham. Used to be the border of Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
There are two Pitmaston russet varieties, the pineapple and the nonpareille. Checking on your suggestion that it looked like Egremont russet I found this site which compares the Pitmaston to it. The seller told me it was a heritage variety but unfortunately I lost the name. It was taking so long to start fruiting I almost dug it up but glad I didn't. http://walcotnursery.co.uk/products/pitmaston-russet.html |
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The apples are small, about 2 and half inches across but worth having.
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Many thanks, blackbarn. That was my inclination. Can always replace with saplings later in the spring if it doesn't revive in April or May.
Never seen this syndrome before. Would pruning be likely to harm or benefit at this stage? I know it's hard to say without seeing the tree, but "It's hard to say" has been the opinion of everyone who's looked at it. It's the fact that the limbs still feel springy that's confusing me. |
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Screaming - re pruning, I would wait till next years buds have formed (if any!!), You should be able to tell by the end of November. The rounder and fat(ter) ones are flower/fruit buds so leave them alone. The small thin(ner) pointy ones are growth buds and you could usefully shorten these stems by a third or so. Given your situation, you may not have many of either so no harm will come if you do nothing. What I would do is mulch a metre around the stem (not right up against it) with 2/3 inches of used potting compost or better still decent garden compost, to keep as much moisture/warmth in the ground as you can and inhibit competing weed growth. Good luck with it.
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If I had a pile of spare apples I'd probably try making my own cider.
It's funny how I like and eat apples during spring/summer, I now don't like them coming into winter, I've got a pack barely touched. I'm currently trying not to eat lots of comfort food.   |
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Thanks too Blackbarn.
Don't usually get apple fairs around here but have a pretty good idea of the variety now. Good luck with your tree Screaming, why not take some cuttings for grafting just in case? |
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Got the ladder out before the light went, and I think we're talking firewood rather than cuttings now. Some branches retained a little springiness, but others just snapped off. Bark peeling away on the trunk. Very hard to imagine any buds appearing now. The remains of the mistletoe crumbling to dust.
Might as well leave it for the winter and let nature take its course. See what the wind blows off and saw off the rest in the spring. Might leave the 18" thick trunk for the wildlife to continue to enjoy, and plant one early- and one late-cropping sapling in its place. Once again, thanks for the advice. The absence of budding settles it really. No shortage of wild apples here around Taunton. much of what appears woodland is in fact former farms, and there are some magnificent croppers in the hedgerows that normally go to waste, as so few people forage these days. I've got well over a hundred huge, delicious apples stored away from one such tree, which have always been left to rot before, as I'd had my own crop. They're green, with no russeting at all, the size and shape of a bell pepper and lovely and sweet. Any idea what the variety could be? |
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Sorry to hear the news Screaming. If the worst comes to the worst, a wood turner will bite your hand off for a "round" or several of 18" apple, and disease can often be a bonus to the colour and grain of the wood. Every cloud and all that.....
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Whort about coconuts ,bananas or oranges ? Got a surplus of turnips and would be happy to do some barter ?
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It has taken eight weeks but the last apple is harvested. Got somewhere between 400-500lb trayed up in the shed. 80% eaters 20% cookers. Probably 5-10% will go off over the winter, they will be thrown out for the birds. The rest will see me and the family through to Feb/March time.
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It's strange how some apples can keep for a long time (months), others kept near them go off quickly.
The sell by dates in supermarkets can be very conservative, they can keep for a lot longer. If you've a blender and lots of apples, try an apple smoothie. |
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Just Checking - As The Spartan who posted before you will know, keeping quality is hugely dependant on variety, some keep, some dont - loads of cooking varieties end up dessert apples after Christmas if kept properly (eg Lanes Prince Albert), and some dessert varieties (eg Ashmeads Kernel) actually improve with keeping. There is one variety that stores till May but I can't recall what it is.
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Ashmead Kernel was the last one I picked and along with Kidds Orange Red you can't do much with them till after christmas. I had a huge crop on my cooker Grenadier, they are lovely as an eater after christmas. My two early varieties Katy and James Grieve need to just be kept for 2 or 3 weeks to ripen them.
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Spartan - You could have chosen a better name
 Love your choice of apples My own orchard is fairly new, although I have experience of others. I am mainly cider varieties, but I have lots of old favourites and everything Sussex I could find. Going to be planting more soon so recommendations gratefully received. Where are you based? I am in mid Sussex, on the "apple" greensand ridge that runs east west across the middle of the middle of Sussex. Proper apple soil, so I have no excuses  |
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blackbarn 22 Oct 15 20:37 Joined: 02 Jan 05 | Topic/replies: 5,813 | Blogger: blackbarn's blog
Sorry to hear the news Screaming. If the worst comes to the worst, a wood turner will bite your hand off for a "round" or several of 18" apple, and disease can often be a bonus to the colour and grain of the wood. Every cloud and all that..... Thanks for that. I can't imagine I would ever have thought about investigating that use for it. Assuming the tree's not revived in the spring, I can saw off the branches by hand for the wood burner, but I'll get in touch with a wood turner to see whether anyone would be interested in removing the trunk. |
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I'm just outside Norwich on light chalky soil, south facing. I think that helps a little if you get a late frost when the flower is out. Early sun gently melts it away. Planted in 1997 mostly on M26 rootstocks. Very handy when it comes to picking as 90% can be done without a ladder. Never had a bad year since they started cropping properly. I think the main reason is I tried to pick my varieties from flowering groups 1 through to 5. Throw in an old cider apple and a couple of crab apples. So fertilisation is never a problem. The biggest problem is I have never been able to thin them as much as I would like in June/July. Every damn flower seems to set fruit.
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