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?
-
-
Ray Blockley Makes May S. Metzler’s ‘Oatmeal Betty’
Here’s Ray’s modern take on a 1921 pudding recipe from the Date Cook Book. Looks absolutely delicious!
-
May S. Metzler’s 1921 Recipe for ‘Oatmeal Betty’
This early C20th recipe is simple to the point of minimalism and should appeal to anyone who enjoys a bit of stodge on their pudding plate.
-
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.
-
Anon, Field Magazine 1911, on Keeping Apples in Storage
This pre-refrigeration solution to the problem of medium-term fruit storage might be worth a look, if you have the resources to build it.
-
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.
-
Vincent la Chapelle’s 1733 Recipe for ‘Apples the Portuguese Way’
Here’s another very tasty-sounding C18th baked apple recipe, made Portuguese with the inclusion of apricot marmelade.
-
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.
-
A Few Notes on Seventeenth Century Fruit Carving Techniques
Back in the C17th, elaborate forms of carved fruit were apparently all the rage at high-status banquets, or so several sources suggest.
-
Alexis Soyer’s 1855 Recipe for Fruit Puddings
This is a very simple recipe for a classic, English-style, boiled pudding, penned by a rather remarkable author.
-
Five Years On: Development of a Fruiting Spur System
In which I revisit the subject of my ‘Year in the Life’ photo essay, to see how bourse-on-bourse fruiting structures grow and develop.
-
Winter Pruning: Training a ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ on M9 Rootstock
Training a tip-bearing apple tree is a tricky task at the best of times, but when it’s a vigorous Bramley, is it even feasible?
-
Dr Alvin Wood Chase’s 1871 Recipe for ‘Apple Pie Which is Digestible’
Well, you wouldn’t want to have to choke your way through an indigestible apple pie, would you?
-
The Latest Part of the ‘Beefing’ Apples Story is Now Live
This instalment details the convoluted story of the (re?)discovery of ‘Herefordshire Beefing’ by Dr Robert Hogg and Dr Henry Graves Bull in 1876.
-
Winter Pruning: Canopy Lifting and Canopy Thinning in Action
An overview of three recent pruning jobs, in which significant changes have been made to the shape and structure of the trees in question.
-
A Few Notes on My Apple Grafting Plans, 2026 Edition
Grafting season is almost upon us, and this year I’m planning to graft no fewer than forty eight new apple trees.
-
The Twelve Historical Fruit Recipes of Christmas
Tra la laaaa la la laaaa la, tra la la la la laaaa! It’s Christmas time, and here’s a selection of fruity dishes from the archives for your holiday dinner table.
-
Gertrude Mackay’s 1913 Recipe for ‘Apple Christmas Pudding’
This rice- and apple-based alternative to the classic Yuletide pud sounds rather delicious, but does it really scream “Christmas”?
-
Fruit Harvest Highlights – Autumn 2025 Edition
Part two of my harvest highlights from a superb fruit-growing year features plenty of autumn apples, pears, medlars and more.
-
Mrs Wigley’s 1877 Recipe for ‘Apple Snowballs’
Looking for an alternative to Christmas Pud? Here’s a recipe you’d have to be brave to attempt, but I think if you pulled it off the results could be quite impressive.
