Checking Out a Local Seedling Apple, ‘Heys Pippin’
Sometimes a seedling apple tree produces fantastic fruit, sometimes not. What’s the verdict on this local-to-me pip-grown tree?
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Gallery: Allotment Apples, Early Autumn 2026 Edition
A quick stroll around the apple trees on my plot, to see which varieties of apple I can look forward to picking this Autumn.
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New Apple Tree Update – Summer 2026 Edition
A quick progress report on how my newly planted cordons and graftling apple trees have coped in this year’s harsh conditions.
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Excessive Codling Moth Damage – Reduced Harvests Ahead?
This year is shaping up to be a good one for the moth population, and potentially quite a bad one for orchardists.
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Fruit Harvest Highlights – Summer 2025 Edition
2025 has been an incredible year for all types of fruit. Here’s part one of my harvest highlights.
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Cordon Down! Minor Disaster Strikes…
In which a routine tree inspection reveals a bad case of die-back and prompts an urgent rescue mission.
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Essential Orchard Work for Early Summer
Summer can seem like a quiet, peaceful time in the orchard, but there are still plenty of important jobs to be getting on with.
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Winter Pruning Apple Trees? Watch This.
Before you start in on this year’s winter pruning, check out this sound advice from a 30+ year expert orchardist.
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Winter Pruning Cordon Apple Trees, ‘Short Spur’ Method
I’ve been winter pruning my cordon apple trees; here’s the general method I used and details of how I pruned each tree.
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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.
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Plot #79 Orchard Year in Review, 2021 Edition
We’ve had a mixed year on our allotment plot orchard. Here’s a round-up of the good, the bad and the downright ugly.
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The 2021 Ordsall Hall Medlar Forecast is: ‘Very Good’
One of the most reliable fruits in the heritage orchard has a very long history and a very unique flavour.
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Robert Donald, on Clamp-Storing Apples
A nurseryman provides details of a common method for storing apples, pre-fridges.
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Rescuing Grandpa Buxton, the Leaning Apple of Plot #79
Excess apple loads can cause serious problems at this time of year; a leaning tree is one of the easier ones to remedy.
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Thinning Apple Fruitlets in our Air-Pot Mini-Orchard
Now is a the best time to hand-thin apple fruitlets, particularly on smaller trees and definitely on any that are growing in pots.
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Time to Check Grafted Trees for Rootstock Regrowth
As leaves start to grow on your top-fruit trees it’s a good time to check your grafted plants for unwanted rootstock bud-break.
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‘John Downie’ is the Star of the Spring Show
We’ve had a really good year for blossom in the back garden, with crab apple ‘John Downie’ putting on a splendid display.
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Grafting Advice and New Cultivars from SkillCult
A shout out for Steven Edholm’s superb SkillCult blog, where he’s been offering grafting advice and talking about his apple breeding project.
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On Winter-Proofing Apples, 1820s style
When winter came in 19th century America, it was out with the thin linen cloths to protect the fruit still on the trees.
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Ads of Yore: Hardie Orchard Equipment
As this 1915 ad shows, when it comes to useful orchard equipment, some ideas and designs never go out of date.
