the northern fruit group

There are hundreds of organisations that serve gardeners, full of expertise and passion for their particular interest.
Here in Nottingham, we are at the southern border of the Northern Fruit Group - dedicated to all things fruity that happen in the north of England.
Now, they're mainly Yorkshire folk and so can be forgiven for disdaining such frippery as websites and email addresses but I always eagerly await their little newsletter. I commend them to you.

And, of course, I read the newsletter and make notes so thought I'd share them with you..

 Northern Fruit Group Newsletter no. 59 summer 2012

A pippin is an apple of which we do not know both parents.

Blenheim Orange - the best dual purpose apple being a cooker up to Christmas and an eater in the New Year.

Ribston Pippin - 'the finest apple in cultivation'..

Black mulberry - 'the most delicious thing you can grow outside the tropics'.

Maxi crop seaweed extract successfully used in top and soft fruit production with little and often being best application. Stimulates beneficial microbes in the root zone, increased chlorophyll levels, stimulation of natural defence mechanisms and increasing resistance to stress factors ( drought, temp changes, wind, pests and diseases). Also increases small hairy roots.

Recent trials have indicated it is better not to mow orchards as longer foliage benefits beneficial invertebrates e.g. Lacewings, spiders, dragonflies and ladybird larvae.

asian or nashi pears

Over to Hungerhill Allotments, Nottingham for their Apple Day on Sunday.

Particularly taken with the fruit we were able to identify as the 'Asian Pear' (pyrus pyrifolia). Sorry photo is blurry.

The tree has glossy leaves and round yellow fruit that are quite unlike any pear I have had before. Very sweet and juicy with a hint of apple.

Also called Nashi pears, these are very popular in Korea.

We are planning to add twp pear varieties to our cordoned apple 'orchard'' before spring.

This one certainly had the wow factor.

medlars ............and bletting

The medlar is an uncommon fruit tree. I had had one planted sixteen years ago because of its white blossom and had completely forgotten it. Then, this week, I found medlar fruit on the ground beneath the tree and immediately wondered how the unappetising fruits could be used. The answer is a process called bletting.

Bletting is a ripening process that brings about an increase in sugars and a decrease in tannins.

Ripe medlars are taken from the tree in late October and stored somewhere cool. Ideally, the fruit should be harvested from the tree immediately following a hard frost, which speeds the bletting process by breaking down cell walls and quickening decay.

The fruits may need several weeks until the first stages of decay; then are ready for eating.

Once the process is complete, the flesh will have broken down enough that it can be spooned out of the skin.

According to Wikipedia, the taste of the sticky, mushy substance has been compared to sweet dates and dry applesauce, with a hint of cinnamon.

some like it hot!

In Nottingham, England we are on the same latitude as Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada . So it may seem odd to try and grow Mediterranean fruits here. But we have a little warm corner that enjoys the afternoon sun and we like a challenge.

Plants often have sentimental attachments for us gardeners and this is true of three of the plants in 'Mediterranean Corner' as we stupidly call it.

In the pot is a Brown Turkey fig with seven figs on! Figs recall a wonderful family holiday to Asturias in Spain where delicious, sweet figs were availabale in the street markets.

Freshly planted is a Fathers Day gift from Sarah - a Black Hamburg dessert grape. A holiday in the baking Languedoc area of France and mile after mile of vines.

And then a nectarine. I'd never eaten nectarines until a holiday to Argelles, France twenty seven years ago. What a revelation! Our poor nectarine suffers with peach leaf curl, but three little nectarines hide beneath the blistered leaves.

plum fruits set

Our garden redesign last year saw a sunny, sandy south-facing side of the garden planted with shrubs, herbs and fruit. Here it is, one year on. The fence is still stark and awaits cloaking with climbers, but we have a clear idea of where we are going from this photo.

The foliage on the plants gives good contrast and interest. In this section there's a black currant and a Victoria plum. The thymes and other herbs planted along the path in front of the bed established well last year and clearly liked the sunny, free-draining conditions. Insects love flowering herbs - so this is especially good for wildlife.

The Victoria plum can be seen on the right of the photograph to the rear. Plums flower early, and so succumb to frosts. Here, the little white flowers have been pollinated and small fruits have set.

blueberries

I had in my mind that our fruit bed would last forever. Five years on and I was wrong.

Since our Ontario holiday in 2006, we have been trying to grow blueberries and planted two bushes - but they failed to thrive. Little growth and no fruit tells its own story.

After five years, our summer raspberries too were looking tired. So, with the allotment looking tidy, it was time to sort the fruit bed.

Yesterday we dug out the blueberries and forked over the ground to remove perennial weeds. Couch grass, in particular, had taken a hold. Then we dug out the raspberries and saved some strong young stems for replanting.

The blueberries have come home and we'll try them in ericaeous compost in containers on the patio. They like acid conditions and my drip watering system should keep them moist throughout the summer.

I will hand paint a sign sayng 'Do not peck the berries' to the hens.

fig tree victory

Back in 2006 I spied fig trees for sale in one of our favourite gardening catalogues. I have tasted fresh figs in Spain and France and they have no equal. I must have one!! A fig tree duly arrived. This was before the garden redesign began and the fig sat forlorn in its pot on the grubby patio throughout 2006.

It has been in its sheltered position soaking up the afternoon sun since spring of 2007. It has stayed in its pot because figs like to have their roots constrained. Last year was not a good year for anything and certainly not for fig trees. No bumper crop!

Will it be barren again? Was i being hopelessly optimistic? I waited expectantly and I was delighted to spot lots of small figs this week. With luck, they will stay on the plant overwinter and make delicious figs in 2008.

The tree will overwinter in the unheated greenhouse. Apart from that it will not get any special treatment.

Hopefully I will be pampered with figs this time next year!

attack from above and below

There is nothing that tastes quite as exquisite as a ripe strawberry plucked from the plant on a warm June day. Definitive. No argument.

To achieve that state of bliss requires an excellent variety of strawberry - this one is 'marshmellow'.

We removed all of the runners that create new baby plants and hoed to remove weeds. The plants also had a handful of organic fertiliser to build up their strength.

We have had lots of rain this week and the fruits are swelling and looking plentiful. We just need some good hot days to bring them to ripeness over the coming weeks.

Here, I've netted the plants to spoil the birds' fun! They love to swoop from above and grab a juicy ripe strawberry.

I was lucky to find straw that we'd squirreled away last year - all dry and ready to use. Local suppliers are completely out of straw and we must wait for the harvest until some more is ready. By which time it will be too late, because the slugs will have come up from below and got their slimy jaws around the fruits that rest on the soil.

Now, I'm looking out of the window for blue sky - and strawberry ripening weather.