In which an 18th century recipe for damson ice cream and some advice from Twitter inspires me to make my own delightful damson dessert.
Category: Feature Articles
Mid-Year Update, 2022 Edition
Here’s a quick summary of my various orchard-related activities so far this year.
Orchard Visit: Prospect Orchard, Llanidloes, Powys
A summer afternoon in June was the perfect time to visit the home of Welsh Mountain Cider.
Top-Fruit Thinning Season is Here Again
It’s that fruitlet thinning time of year again! Grab your sharpest snips and head on down to your orchard.
Stepover Apple Trees: Winter Pruning, Year Three
I’ve been shunning the standard advice and only winter pruning trained apple trees for three years now. Here’s how it’s going.
Climate Change in the Orchard: Later Frosts, Earlier Harvests?
A recently published research paper has outlined some of the possible implications of climate change for orchard growers.
Seedling Apple Trees – Let’s Give ’em a Go
In the face of all the best advice to the contrary, I’ve decided to try growing a new apple variety or two from seed.
How To: Top-Graft a ‘Family’ Apple Tree
Here’s how I went about creating a ‘family’ apple tree of six varieties, using the rind grafting technique.
A Tale of Two Crab Apple Trees
I’ve pruned two very different crab apples this year – here’s how I approached each one, and the results of the work.
A Frost-Pruned Fig Tree, and What Happened Next
Last year our fig tree was hit by a late frost. Every apical bud and fruitlet was killed. But that was far from the end of the story…