Gallery: Early Summer Apple Progress (#NTQBfruit)
Well, I say “summer”, but of course, we haven’t really had a proper one of those, not yet. The weather in our neck of the woods has been distinctly changeable. A few sunnier spells have broken through the standard-issue blanket of thick cloud from time to time, but otherwise it’s been mostly grey, drizzly, occasional bursts of heavier rain. Distinctly dreich.
Still, the extra moisture availability isn’t all bad for the apple crop, not at this stage, anyhow. Fruits need a steady supply of water to swell and grow, and as long as there’s at least a decent, prolonged spell of sunshine later in the year to actually ripen them, we could be in for a bumper harvest.
Too bumper, in many cases. This year certain varieties of apple seem to be hanging on to every last fruitlet, ignoring the whole concept of the “June drop” in favour of maximising their reproductive chances. Fine for the trees, not so great for the orchardist hoping for a crop of good quality apples this year, and similar next year as well; fruitlet thinning is most definitely a good idea, to help improve this year’s apples and attempt to reduce the chances of a poor year in 2025.
I’ve been busy at work with my thinning snips and twisting fingers, removing what looks like an obscene amount of fruit when you see it all in the big plastic trug, but which seems to have hardly touched the sides when you look up into the higher reaches of the canopies1I really ought to get the larger ladders out, but it’s tricky during open-to-visitors hours. of the more mature trees I’m working with, even after an hour or so of snip, twist and chuck-it-in-the-bucket action.
I have, however, found time to pause and snap a few pics of the various varieties and cultivars of apple that we’re growing in the Quarry Bank kitchen garden orchard and immediate environs; it’s very important to take short breaks from repetitive work. As a result, here’s a quick gallery of fruitlets at mid-July stages of growth and development, for those as are interested in that sort of thing.
‘Worcester Pearmain’
The most mature, and massive tree in the kitchen garden – one of only a few survivors from the pre-2010 NT acquisition and re-development of the kitchen garden, if I remember correctly – and apparently a variety that’s quite ridiculously bad at shedding its own surplus fruitlets. I mean, just look at how many are in each cluster. It’s a tricky one to thin out, too. It’s growing on an awkward bit of a slope, and there’s the antique dipping pond right next door as well, all of which makes it a bit tricky to place the size of ladder needed to get up into the canopy.
Ashmead’s Kernel
Another variety that is having very little truck whatsoever with the whole “June drop” concept. The third photo below demonstrates another reason to thin fruitlets: densely-packed clusters of apples make for perfect nesting sites for apple ermine moth, as evidenced by the sticky mass of their frass-filled webs – and the grub-filled white chrysalis and pupae within – in the second picture below:
They’re not a huge problem, but their grubs will emerge and start to voraciously eat the nearby leaves, and all that sticky, frass-filled webbing isn’t a pleasant addition to the apple crop. Depending on your biodiversity goals you can either leave them alone to do their thing, or take the opportunity to remove their webs and chuck them in the compost along with the fruit thinnings.
‘Rosemary Russet’
Again, not much self-thinning in evidence here. But after a bit of work with the snips, there’s much more room for the chosen few to grow and develop.
‘Charles Ross’
By way of contrast, this apple seems to be a much more sensible, better-behaved cultivar, with well-spaced groupings of two or possibly three fruitlets. Very little thinning required. Gold star.
‘Lucombe’s Pine’
A vintage variety, this one, which originated c. 1800, according to the NFC Database. I’ve not had the pleasure of trying this variety yet, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops and ripens.
‘Adams’s Pearmain’
This one is another orchard classic, originating c. 1826, and has what’s thought of as the classic “pearmain” shape. (I really must look into the origins of the word ‘pearmain’ some time, see if I can pin down whether it’s always indicated a pear-shaped apple, or not.)
‘Royal Jubilee’
Another one of the old survivors, from pre the 2010 acquisition of the kitchen garden, this veteran tree is a wonderful example of the sheer bloody-minded-ness of nature: almost completely hollow trunk, leaning at a pronounced angle, propped against collapse, but still producing top-notch fruit. I’ll have to write up a full post on it at some point, it deserves its own moment in the spotlight.
‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’
What can I say? The classic apple fan’s classic apple. Parent to so many twentieth century cultivars it’s untrue; check out the NFC Database for details of its many, many offspring.
‘Egremont Russet’
My wife’s favourite apple, and pretty much the only russet you ever see in UK supermarkets, although I didn’t see any last year, so maybe it’s fallen right out of favour. I hope not, it’s a really good example of the type, flavourful and well-textured. Another classic.
‘Nine Square’
I don’t know much about this one, beyond the info I’ve found online: a Devonshire apple, triple-purpose cooker, dessert and cider, ripens to a greenish yellow. Another one I look forward to sampling for the first time later in the year.
‘Oaken Pin’ (??)
Now, here’s a bit of mystery to finish with. This tree isn’t growing in the kitchen garden, but out on the wider estate. One of our volunteers told me it was planted as a memorial tree and usually crops well, but they don’t know the name of the variety. I snapped the pics below and posted them to Twitter to see if anyone had any ideas. @Yummersetter suggested it might be ‘Oaken Pin’, and based on the National Fruit Collection reference photos, I reckon that could be a very good match.
There is some confusion in the NFC records though, with one entry for “Oaken Pin preferred name is Oak Peg”, but no more information than that, and no descriptive entry in the database for ‘Oak Peg’; and then a second: “Oaken Pin (of Taylor)”. I checked H. V. Taylor’s Apples of England 3rd edtn and sure enough, ‘Oaken Pin’ does have an entry, but is described as “large, roundish, somewhat angular; yellow, flushed dark orange-red”, with no mention of the elongated shape. Interesting. I shall wait for the fruits to ripen later in the year and attempt a full identification.
So, that’s roughly where we’re up to at Quarry Bank, in the kitchen garden at least. I’ve been on leave this past week, but I’m hoping to get into the Apprentice House orchard next week, so there might be another update coming your way. In the meantime, if you’re on Twitter / X you can see more Quarry Bank fruit action via #NTQBfruit.
How about you? Are your apples coming along nicely? What varieties and/or cultivars do you have in your orchard? Which ones are you particularly looking forward to eating when they’re ripe and ready? Do please let me know, via the comments.
Footnotes
- 1I really ought to get the larger ladders out, but it’s tricky during open-to-visitors hours. ↩︎
